VICTORVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A Nevada company is on the verge of landing a $4.9 billion loan from the Obama administration to build a high-speed train that would rocket tourists from the middle of nowhere to the casinos of Las Vegas.
The vast park-and-ride project is hooked to the idea that car-loving Californians will drive about 100 miles from the Los Angeles area, pull off Interstate 15 and board a train for the final leg to the famous Strip.
Planners for privately held DesertXpress imagine that millions of travelers a year will one day flock to a station outside down-on-its-luck Victorville, on the edge of the Mojave Desert.
A decision by the Federal Railroad Administration is not expected until mid-year.
