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>From the Surface Transportation Board, Washington, D.C.
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The federal Surface Transportation Board today reaffirmed its jurisdiction
over DesertXpress, a planned high-speed rail line linking Las Vegas and
Victorville, Calif.
Supporters of a rival rail service proposal had asked the Board to
reopen and reverse its 2007 decision. The California-Nevada Super
Speed Train Commission and the American Magline Group, who want to
build a magnetic levitation transportation system largely along
the same corridor, contend that DesertXpress's project is not
within the Board's jurisdiction over interstate commerce and the
national rail system because the DesertXpress project would not
directly connect to any other rail line.
But the Board said that the California-Nevada Super Speed Train
Commission and the American Magline Group had not identified any
new evidence or changed circumstances that would justify
revisiting the 2007 decision. "Moreover, federal regulation of
rail transportation in interstate commerce is intended to avoid a
patchwork of conflicting and parochial regulatory actions that
impede the flow of people and goods throughout the nation,''
today's decision said. "We have reviewed the statutory mandates
that underlie the need for uniformity and consistency of
interstate commerce regulation, and have concluded that these
considerations require federal oversight of interstate passenger
rail construction projects."
DesertXpress, a privately financed group of companies, plans to
construct and operate an approximately 200-mile passenger rail
line between California and Las Vegas. The planned route would
largely be along Interstate 15. In March 2009, the Federal
Railroad Administration issued a draft environmental impact
statement on the project. DesertXpress said it intends to apply to
the Board for permission to construct and operate the line at the
conclusion of the environmental review process.
The Board held an oral hearing on the matter on Oct. 27, 2009.
The full decision in the case, DesertXpress Enterprises,
LLC—Petition for Declaratory Order, STB Finance Docket No. 34914
( http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/WebDecisionID/40043?OpenDocument )
, can be found on the Board's website, www.stb.dot.gov.
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