C
onstruction firms may see their prospects brighten
in the near future—at least, if high-speed rail
advocates have anything to say about it. They
are championing nascent plans released by the United
States Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop
high-speed passenger rail infrastructure in the coming
decades.
The first such project is taking shape in the Mojave
Desert, where Xpress West, a privately financed venture
is working to link Las Vegas to the Los Angeles metropolitan area with the Xpress West rail project. Noted
regional transportation expert and former head of the
Western High Speed Rail Alliance, Tom Skancke,
thinks the timing is right for the project. “The Federal
Rail Administration did a study of the Desert Southwest
Region and the study actually proved that high-speed rail
connectivity between Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles
was not only feasible but a lot more promising than they
initially expected,” he said. “It competes extremely well
and provides service to as many people as the Northeast
corridor.”
Skancke believes that the project will be a major boost
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to the region’s economy, opening up both Las Vegas and
Los Angeles to world travelers who are experienced with
getting around on trains, “The international traveler is
accustomed to getting off of a plane and onto a train.”
One of the major arguments forwarded by Xpress West
project advocates is that it, along with other major highspeed rail projects, will create jobs. Skancke explains, “The
jobs it will create are construction jobs, engineering jobs,
secretarial jobs, architectural jobs, management jobs.” He
adds,. “This is global connectivity and global workforce
development.” Skancke also emphasizes that many of the
jobs created will be long term, “These are not low-tech
jobs. These are high-tech jobs that will continue once the
project is [completed].”
Still, there are major hurdles to overcome. The project
has been largely privately financed to date, but applied in
2010 for a government-backed loan. Catherine Levy, a
spokeswoman for Xpress West, explains, “We applied for
a loan from the federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program because our project
meets the requirements for and fulfills the objectives of
the loan program. Because our privately-owned railroad