P.M. BRIEFING : Bechtel Partnership Makes 1st Bid on Vegas-L.A. Train Project

A decade after a high-speed train linking this gaming community and Southern California was first proposed, a partnership plunked down $500,000 today along with the first formal bid on the $5-billion project.

Bechtel International Inc. of San Francisco and Transrapid of West Germany were the only bidders for the right to build a train that would cruise up to 300 m.p.h. on elevated track running alongside interstate highways between Las Vegas and Anaheim.

“We feel we are about to revolutionize ground transportation in the United States,” said Arnie Adamsen, a Las Vegas city councilman and chairman of the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission.

Bechtel officials presented the commission with a three-inch thick proposal detailing a 272-mile route between Anaheim and Las Vegas.

The proposed train faces enormous hurdles, not the least of which is its massive price tag and the uncertainty it would attract enough riders to be profitable. The earliest it could be in operation is the late 1990s.

Bechtel officials themselves say they will need to study the project at least another 16 months before deciding whether to proceed.

As projected by Bechtel, the train would provide several Southern California stops for commuters, and could later be expanded to link other California communities.