"12,000,000 travelers from the Southern California metropolitan area drive to Las Vegas each year on a single stretch of road... the I-15."
CA Fruit Inspection Station on the I15
Genesis of the X Train: What began as a conversation over drinks discussing the difficulty driving between Las Vegas and Southern California lead to a quintessential “cocktail napkin” idea of Las Vegas Railway Express. What did we discover? We knew the costs of instituting the current High Speed Rail proposals were in the BILLIONS! We knew that, if any of the ideas came to fruition, it will take many many years before any passenger was traveling in a High Speed Train. We knew that our country’s taxpayers would have to fund a majority, if not all of its development and operational costs. We know our governments have exhausted their financial resources. We knew there are 12,000,000 travelers from the Los Angeles metropolitan area that drive to Las Vegas each year on a single stretch of road... the I-15.
We knew the price of gasoline was over $3 a gallon and rising. We knew that on Fridays and Sundays the travel time for this commute was between 6 and in excess of 8 hours. We knew that Amtrak had run the Desert Wind service and ended it in 1997. We knew people come to Las Vegas anyway in spite of driving the I-15.
Given the above facts, we came upon a study by the RTC of Southern Nevada and in the study it stated that the market for a conventional rail passenger train between Southern California and Las Vegas was potentially 4 million people a year. By combining bookings of hotel rooms, golf, spas, dining & show tickets, we could conceivably have a $500 million per year business.
It was an idea we felt was worth placing our time, effort and money on. In March of 2009, Las Vegas Railway Express was founded and incorporated as Las Vegas Railway Express, Inc., a publicly traded Delaware Corporation. Our plan is to re-establish a conventional passenger rail service between Las Vegas and Southern California. The concept is to provide a Las Vegas style experience on the train, which would traverse the planned route in approximately 5 hours.
From concept to reality - the X Train is coming!
We knew the price of gasoline was over $3 a gallon and rising. We knew that on Fridays and Sundays the travel time for this commute was between 6 and in excess of 8 hours. We knew that Amtrak had run the Desert Wind service and ended it in 1997. We knew people come to Las Vegas anyway in spite of driving the I-15.
Given the above facts, we came upon a study by the RTC of Southern Nevada and in the study it stated that the market for a conventional rail passenger train between Southern California and Las Vegas was potentially 4 million people a year. By combining bookings of hotel rooms, golf, spas, dining & show tickets, we could conceivably have a $500 million per year business.
It was an idea we felt was worth placing our time, effort and money on. In March of 2009, Las Vegas Railway Express was founded and incorporated as Las Vegas Railway Express, Inc., a publicly traded Delaware Corporation. Our plan is to re-establish a conventional passenger rail service between Las Vegas and Southern California. The concept is to provide a Las Vegas style experience on the train, which would traverse the planned route in approximately 5 hours.
From concept to reality - the X Train is coming!
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