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Read on for a roundup of the important rail news and commentary in and around Nevada, along with some of our thoughts on it.

A rail line from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City?
Joanne Leovy on July 2nd, 2023 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Putting the fun back in travel.

Op-ed in favor of the Nevada Department of Transportation supporting Utah’s grant proposal to study reinstating rail service from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. Read our article on the study here.

Las Vegas is going big on Bus Rapid Transit. So, what is it?
Geoff Carter on July 13th, 2023 in Las Vegas Weekly
BRT, at its best, should feel something like light rail without the rails.

“Light rail was seriously considered, but the funding wasn’t there to support it, so RTCSNV pivoted towards Bus Rapid Transit.” While we’d also prefer light rail with the rails, RTCSNV shares some interesting ideas for improving Las Vegas’s bus infrastructure here.

South Las Vegas could transform with high-speed rail, resort, arena planned
Patrick Blennerhassett on July 16th, 2023 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal
One California developer has taken the leap and is constructing a giant apartment complex in the corridor south of the Strip. Now, with other significant projects planned, the area could change forever.

With Brightline West moving towards a groundbreak later this year, developers and investors are thinking up ways to reshape the south Las Vegas corridor.

Federal regulators seek feedback on plan to collect train length data
Joanna Marsh on July 24th, 2023 in FreightWaves
The Federal Railroad Administration wants more data on train lengths so that the agency can better assess what impact, if any, longer trains might have on operations.

The Nevada Legislature passed a bill this legislative session that would restrict freight train lengths but the Governor vetoed it.

FRA’s Long-Distance Study Produces Map of Expanded Amtrak Services
Justin Franz on July 31st, 2023 in Railfan
A map that was recently shared at town hall meetings shows a dramatically expanded long-distance network.

New United States rail system map just dropped. Check out that green line from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas (to Barstow).

Read on for a roundup of the important rail news and commentary in and around Nevada, along with some of our thoughts on it.

Rail, mass transit projects are needed
Steve Fong on June 1st, 2023 in The Nevada Independent
Improvements to the bus system, bike infrastructure and especially extending the Las Vegas Monorail would be better for carless travelers and actually help all Clark County residents given the metro area’s incredible growth.

Op-ed in favor of building train infrastructure like Brightline West over expanding highways.

Could the A’s stadium breathe new life into Las Vegas Monorail?
Richard N. Velotta on June 4, 2023 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Las Vegas Monorail is headed for decommissioning around the time a new stadium for the Las Vegas A’s would open. But would ridership increase with the stadium?

As the author explains, the answer is almost certainly no, but he makes the argument for why a hypothetical expansion of the Monorail across the street to the equally hypothetical A’s stadium across the street would be a win for tourists and locals’ movements anyway.

New Railroad Museum Visitor’s Center Coming to Boulder City
C.C. McCandless on June 7, 2023 on FOX5 Vegas
After the passage of the Capital Improvement Bill, AB 1, The Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City was granted final approval for the construction of a new museum Visitor’s Center.

Railroads were vital to our state’s past! Let’s continue to work to make them part of its future.

Amended A’s stadium bill would restrict location, resurrect two vetoed bills
Sean Golonka, Tabitha Mueller, Jacob Solis on June 13, 2023 in The Nevada Independent
The changes arrive after the bill, SB1, came under withering scrutiny in a Senate hearing last week that stalled the special session convened by Gov. Joe Lombardo to consider the legislation and pushed negotiations into this week.

One of the resurrected vetoed bills that made it into the A’s stadium bill was language that requires rail and monorail projects to comply with Nevada’s prevailing wage law. The stadium bill was eventually passed.

Transportation projects, Knights get a lift from LVCVA board
Richard N. Velotta on June 13, 2023 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Of the $70.5 million total, $60 million is dedicated to a three-year extension of an operations and maintenance agreement with Western Management Group for the Las Vegas Monorail.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority funds the Las Vegas Monorail for another three years.

Track to railway museum restored
Mark Bassett on June 28, 2023 in The Ely Times
On Friday, June 16, the Nevada Northern Railway Museum and the White Pine Public Museum witnessed a historic moment.

Another blast from the past as a 1917 locomotive traveled between the two museums on a 117-year old restored track.