# BLM Rules on Desertxpress



## leemell (Nov 18, 2011)

The Railroad Industry News said:

18 Nov 2011 02:01 PM PST

The Bureau of Land Management approved on Thursday the right of way proposal for a high-speed rail line to run from Las Vegas, NV to Victorville, CA. The DesertXpress plan had already received approval from the Surface Transportation Board in October and from the Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration in July.

The Bureau of Land Management expects to use 821 acres of public land in addition to the 2,800 acres of private land for the rail line. In order to complete the $6.5 billion project, the company needs to receive about $4.9 billion in federal loans. Construction is estimated to begin early in 2012....

Now all they need is the money. <_<


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## afigg (Nov 19, 2011)

So, DesertXpress will be going for 25% equity investments and 75% public financing. Raising the $1.6 billion of private - or mostly private? - financing will be challenging, unless they already have casinos and large investment houses lined up. Would the state of Nevada or city of Las Vegas put any state or city funding into this? The high prices for oil and gas have to be making the casinos and other major investors in Vegas wonder what is going to happen to the weekend automobile traffic and airline flights from Southern CA if oil & fuel prices stay up over a long period of time.

The federal financing will be from the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) program which is authorized to provide federally backed notes up to a total of $35 billion at current US Treasury note rates. This would be by far the biggest RRIF loan to date. With the current administration favoring HSR, DX has a very good chance at getting approved for the loan _IF they can raise the $1.6 billion_, although there will be a lot of public attacks by the Republicans and anti-HSR crowd. Public attacks by the Republicans will be somewhat ironic because they constantly talk about more private-public arrangements for infrastructure projects which is what DX would be.

High risk project however without a CA HSR system to connect to at Palmdale or in no more than a few short years after the DX line opens from Victorville to Vegas. Or could go ahead and extend the line to Palmdale and team with Metrolink to upgrade the current tracks and charter trains from LA Union Station to Palmdale to connect to DX trains while waiting for CA HSR? Complicated situation at many levels. Would be interesting if DX does indeed end up being the first true HSR system in the US and a privately built one at that.


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## George Harris (Nov 19, 2011)

leemell said:


> The Bureau of Land Management approved on Thursday the right of way proposal for a high-speed rail line to run from Las Vegas, NV to Victorville, CA. The DesertXpress plan had already received approval from the Surface Transportation Board in October and from the Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration in July.
> 
> The Bureau of Land Management expects to use 821 acres of public land in addition to the 2,800 acres of private land for the rail line. In order to complete the $6.5 billion project, the company needs to receive about $4.9 billion in federal loans. Construction is estimated to begin early in 2012....


What Harry Reid wants, Harry Reid gets.


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## leemell (Nov 19, 2011)

afigg said:


> So, DesertXpress will be going for 25% equity investments and 75% public financing. Raising the $1.6 billion of private - or mostly private? - financing will be challenging, unless they already have casinos and large investment houses lined up. Would the state of Nevada or city of Las Vegas put any state or city funding into this? The high prices for oil and gas have to be making the casinos and other major investors in Vegas wonder what is going to happen to the weekend automobile traffic and airline flights from Southern CA if oil & fuel prices stay up over a long period of time.
> 
> The federal financing will be from the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) program which is authorized to provide federally backed notes up to a total of $35 billion at current US Treasury note rates. This would be by far the biggest RRIF loan to date. With the current administration favoring HSR, DX has a very good chance at getting approved for the loan _IF they can raise the $1.6 billion_, although there will be a lot of public attacks by the Republicans and anti-HSR crowd. Public attacks by the Republicans will be somewhat ironic because they constantly talk about more private-public arrangements for infrastructure projects which is what DX would be.
> 
> High risk project however without a CA HSR system to connect to at Palmdale or in no more than a few short years after the DX line opens from Victorville to Vegas. Or could go ahead and extend the line to Palmdale and team with Metrolink to upgrade the current tracks and charter trains from LA Union Station to Palmdale to connect to DX trains while waiting for CA HSR? Complicated situation at many levels. Would be interesting if DX does indeed end up being the first true HSR system in the US and a privately built one at that.


I was rumored that DX has been funded until now by the Casinos. It was also mentioned about three years ago that they had a couple of $B to start construction from the Casinos. That of course, may have changed now.


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## Shortline (Dec 19, 2011)

leemell said:


> afigg said:
> 
> 
> > So, DesertXpress will be going for 25% equity investments and 75% public financing. Raising the $1.6 billion of private - or mostly private? - financing will be challenging, unless they already have casinos and large investment houses lined up. Would the state of Nevada or city of Las Vegas put any state or city funding into this? The high prices for oil and gas have to be making the casinos and other major investors in Vegas wonder what is going to happen to the weekend automobile traffic and airline flights from Southern CA if oil & fuel prices stay up over a long period of time.
> ...


I hope that's true-Let the casino's finance this pipe dream, I don't want to see public money from the entire nation, go to build a train set to carry LA's gamblers to the cesspool in the desert!


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