Anaheim Among 9 Sites Picked for Vegas Train Study

A two-state commission seeking the best route for a futuristic high-speed train linking Las Vegas to Southern California authorized a study Saturday of nine communities--including Anaheim--being considered as possible station sites.

The $145,000 study will consider ridership potential and economic and environmental impacts in each of the nine communities.

The commission met near Disneyland, which Anaheim officials say is a tourist destination that would create tremendous ridership.

When the report is complete--probably in October--the 16-member California-Nevada Super Speed Ground Transportation Committee will select a route and station sites for the proposed 200-m.p.h.-plus train.

Lure of Magic Kingdom

“This study will allow us to decide how requests for proposals will be drafted and whether we want to drop locations from the list,” said California Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), chairman of the commission.

The California areas chosen for further study are:

Barstow, Victor Valley, Palmdale, Palm Springs, Ontario and the San Bernardino Valley, western Riverside County and Anaheim, according to commission officials.

In Nevada, study will focus on Las Vegas and the surrounding Clark County area.

Citing the lure of the Magic Kingdom and other tourist attractions, Anaheim officials have vigorously supported their city as an ideal terminus for the train, and had hoped that the commission would decide in their favor at Saturday’s meeting.

However, Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley officials have recently mounted an aggressive campaign touting a northern route through Palmdale that would eventually end in Mission Hills.

‘Solid Candidate’

Orange County Supervisor Don R. Roth, a former mayor of Anaheim, said he was not disappointed that the commission chose to consider other options.

“I support the study because I believe that when the consultants get back, Anaheim will be a very solid candidate,” Roth said.

Most public support at Saturday’s meeting was for the north San Fernando Valley route.

Palmdale Mayor William Knight said expected growth in the San Fernando Valley would better serve the proposed rail line by providing an increasing number of passengers.

“We would very much favor a route through Palmdale because it would support the enormous population that is moving north from Los Angeles into the valley,” he said.

At an average of more than 250 m.p.h., the high-speed train could whisk travelers between Las Vegas and Southern California in 70 minutes, according to early feasibility studies.

Those studies also project that as many as 3.6 million passengers would ride the train during its first year of operation, at a round-trip fare of $65.

Promoters of the so-called super train believe that the concept will generate enough private investment to cover the more than $2.5 billion construction and operation costs.