Not too bad of an idea, more details here:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?s...ocal&id=5133419

VICTORVILLE, Mar. 19, 2007 -

Transportation leaders in California and Nevada seem to be embracing the idea of a privately funded high-speed Victorville-to-Las Vegas train.

Plans for a magnetically levitated bullet train ferrying passengers between Anaheim and Nevada in two hours have been discussed for decades, but nothing has been built.

Now, a private group's 125 mph Victorville-to-Vegas train has the attention of transportation officials.

"There's still work to be done. But Caltrans thinks it's a very realistic proposal," said William A. Mosby, a district deputy director for planning and public transportation with the California Department of Transportation.

"It doesn't look like it's pie-in-the-sky thinking at all. If any of the projects move forward, I think it will be this one," Mosby said.

Thomas Stone said his Las Vegas-based DesertXpress Enterprises is counting on Los Angeles and Orange County residents to drive some 80 miles to Victorville to hop on the train.

Stone said the proposal calls for electric-diesel hybrid trains to make the 190-mile trip every 20 minutes. The trip would take about 1-hour, 45-minutes each way.

Private funds would cover the estimated $3 billion cost.

"Millions of people use Interstate 15 to get to Vegas, and it is getting too congested," Stone said. "We will have trains to carry that demand every 20 minutes."

Per-passenger costs could be an issue. Early estimates have round-trip tickets costing about $110, a price competitive with airline flights from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

A Victorville terminus may also be a problem.

"That's one of the concerns of ours," said Kent Cooper, Nevada Department of Transportation's assistant director of planning. "Typically, one of the major congested areas is Victorville to the Los Angeles Basin."

Victorville officials envision Las Vegas-bound visitors arriving in a 10,000-vehicle parking lot in Victorville.

"Victorville has flown under the radar for quite a long time," city development director Bill Webb said. "Most people would think Victorville is just a place people go through on their way to Vegas, but we are the powerhouse of the high desert. We are ready and willing to take on all the responsibilities of being a full-fledged city."

The project is still in the environmental-impact stage. Officials said groundbreaking could come as soon as next year with trains operating by 2012.

"If you've ever seen Interstate 15 on a Friday going north to Las Vegas, it's a parking lot," Mayor Terry E. Caldwell said. "The volume of traffic is unbearable. We look at the impact this will have, and we are seeing all positive."