The media is out there with a lot of hurrahs about China giving about $100,000,000 to help build a choo choo train from Vegas to Victorville, CA (a place in the middle of nowhere)
From the LVRJ:
A newly formed Chinese-American joint venture said Thursday it has raised $100 million to help build a long-awaited high-speed train connecting Las Vegas and Southern California.
Construction on the XpressWest line could begin in about a year, in September 2016, according to Thursday's announcement.
The 230-mile line would have a station in Las Vegas and two in California, in Victorville and Palmdale.
It's not the first time, however, that construction plans have been announced. In early 2010, then-Desert Express announced it would break ground later that year. In 2012 the name was changed to XpressWest and officials announced the link to Palmdale, Calif., where the line would connect with California High Speed Rail System.
The joint announcement from XpressWest and the new China Railway International U.S.A. did not say when the line would be finished or how much it would cost. A statement Thursday from the joint venture described China Railway International U.S.A. as a new Nevada limited liability company and lists six entities within the LLC.
Officials with XpressWest and the Marnell Cos., which oversees it, declined to make anyone available Thursday to answer questions. An executive assistant with XpressWest, Ray Tao, said they will release more information "after obtaining additional required regulatory approvals."...
Over the years, different groups proposed conventional rail and magnetic-levitation trains. But in 2009, the XpressWest project drew a key supporter: U.S. Sen Harry Reid, D-Nevada.
"Senator Reid has been a cheerleader on this project for many years," Reid spokeswoman Kristen Orthman said Thursday. "He's glad to see this progress and remains committed to assisting as needed." http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/traffic-transportation/new-venture-touts-100-million-vegas-victorville-express-train
$100 million is just a drop in the bucket to create this choo-choo line- it may purchase a few buildings and property and make some people rich.
And so, where is the rest of the money, probably close to $2 billion, coming from?
Are they hoping the local, state and federal governments are going to chip in for the rest of the cost? If they believe that, then you might as well put a fork into this project.
And if Senile Harry Reid's paws are involved, then you know this a bad deal.
The Las Vegas Badger is about politics, humor, sports, reality shows in Las Vegas, especially Pawn Stars and anything else interesting. While I live in Las Vegas, my heart is still in Wisconsin. Thanks for visiting the blog and feel free to browse the web site.
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