Bechtel Consortium Gets Nod for High-Speed Train : Transportation: If all goes as planned, the service between Anaheim and Las Vegas could begin in 1997.

A business consortium led by the Bechtel Corp. was designated Tuesday as the franchisee to build a privately funded 265-mile high-speed magnetic levitation rail line that would carry passengers between Anaheim and Las Vegas at an average speed of 212 m.p.h.

The unanimous vote by the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission is subject to at least a two-month negotiation of a formal franchise agreement. That would be followed by an extensive Bechtel financial feasibility study, a lengthy environmental impact review and formal votes by both the California and Nevada legislatures.

Even if everything goes according to plan, the line would not be ready until 1997. It would apparently be the first long-distance “maglev” line in service in the world and perhaps the precursor to a new system of surface transportation with worldwide applications.

In a magnetic levitation system, trains riding on a slight cushion of air are propelled along a guideway by electromagnetic forces. The technology to be used in this system was developed by Transrapid of West Germany and is being tested on a 20-mile German track.

According to specifications released Tuesday by commission Executive Director Paul Taylor, the eight-car, 800-passenger trains envisioned for the Anaheim-Las Vegas service would have a design speed of 310 m.p.h. and a maximum service speed of 265 m.p.h. Through the urban portions of the route, mainly in Orange County, the train would go about 180 m.p.h., and through the Cajon Pass, perhaps 125 m.p.h., bringing the average nonstop speed to 212 m.p.h.

That works out to a 75-minute trip nonstop one-way, or a 91-minute trip should the train make three stops. Proposed alternative routes would take the train through Corona, Ontario, Victor Valley and Barstow, or to Riverside and Colton in place of Ontario.

It is not expected that the train would make all possible stops in any single run. According to Taylor, this would not be a major problem because of the large number of trains.

Taylor said that 52 trains would be scheduled on peak days and that during some hours, there would be one train every 15 minutes. Minimum service would be 25 trains a day.

Fares would be $115 for full fare and $80.48 with a discount, but those figures would be adjusted for inflation. Bechtel has been saying the system would cost $5 billion, but Taylor’s report indicates that as much as $7.8 billion in private financing would be needed.

Bechtel envisions that there could possibly be spurs to Palm Springs, Santa Ana and Palmdale in the future. A separate business group recently proposed an 80-m.p.h. maglev service using Japanese technology that would connect in Palmdale and go on to Los Angeles International Airport.

This consortium, led by the Perini Corp., has indicated that it would need a public cash subsidy of up to $100 million a year. The only government contributions the Bechtel group is asking for are donations of rights of way, generally along the Riverside Freeway and Interstate 15.

The Palmdale-Los Angeles Airport line--unlike the Anaheim-Las Vegas line--requires initial approval next month by the California Department of Transportation as part of a separate state program to encourage privately funded road and rail projects. Caltrans can approve only four of the eight proposals submitted to it.

Taylor sounded a note of caution on the Las Vegas line, saying that several consultants retained by the commission saw the Bechtel proposal as vague in certain respects. He expressed hope that it would be made much more specific by the time the franchise agreement is completed.

Taylor expressed concern that Bechtel had not described the exact state of present maglev technology and noted that West Germany had not yet certified it for passenger service.

Commission Chairman Arnie Adamsen of Las Vegas responded that he and two other commissioners had traveled to Germany last week and rode the train on an endurance run of 1 1/2 hours at speeds of 220 m.p.h. Adamsen said they had observed a run of 250 m.p.h. and that German engineers told the commissioners that full certification could be expected in September.

Adamsen and commission Vice Chairman Don R. Roth, who is also chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, generally brushed aside the consultants’ reservations, as conveyed by Taylor, insisting that the Bechtel consortium is worthy of confidence.

“The transportation revolution California and Nevada have created will thrust both states into the 21st Century,” Roth said. “From a regional standpoint, Orange County and Las Vegas greatly depend on travel, entertainment and tourism. We need to look at alternatives that will not only attract out-of-town visitors, but reduce traffic congestion and pollution within our respective areas. This is what the Super Speed Train concept does.”

Bechtel officials who were present said their proposal will become more specific as further studies are done.

Shortly before the franchise vote, Bechtel presented the commission with a check for $445,500, bringing to $500,000 the payment the company was required to meet under commission specifications. Taylor said much of this money will be used to finance studies by independent consultants on the validity of the construction and operating plans Bechtel has made.

In his report to the commission, Taylor forecast a total of 4.28 million round trips a year on the Anaheim-Las Vegas line by the year 2000 and 5.35 million trips by 2020. He said that there is additional market potential that could bring the annual round-trip figure to as high as 8.41 million by 2020.

Boosters of the project foresee millions of tourists traveling between Orange County and Las Vegas, visiting the amusement parks and other attractions here and the partaking of the gambling and entertainment there.

Proposed Super-Speed Train Bechtel International Inc. has submitted its proposal to build a $5-billion rail link between Anaheim and Las Vegas, using magnetic-levitation technology. Under the proposal, the maglev train 20037932601097429616Source: Bechtel International Inc.