[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 135 (Friday, July 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40176-40178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11154]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Environmental Impact Statement: DesertXpress High Speed Train 
Between Victorville, CA and Las Vegas, NV

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for the proposed 
DesertXpress high-speed train project. The project includes passenger 
stations, a maintenance facility, and a new railroad line along the I-
15 corridor between Victorville, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. FRA 
is issuing this notice to solicit public and agency input into the 
development of the scope of the EIS and to advise the public that 
outreach activities conducted by the FRA will be considered in the 
preparation of the EIS. Federal cooperating agencies for the EIS are 
the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the Federal Highway 
Administration (FHWA) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 
Alternatives to be evaluated and analyzed in the EIS include (1) take 
no action (No-Project or No-Build); and, (2) construction of a 
privately financed steel-wheel-on-steel-rail high-speed train, 
including a proposed station in Victorville and a station in Las Vegas, 
and a maintenance facility in Victorville. Several alternative routings 
would be considered in the EIS.

DATES: Three scoping meetings will be held during July of 2006. Scoping 
meetings will be advertised locally and are scheduled for the following 
cities on the dates indicated below:
     July 25, 2006, Las Vegas Nevada at The White House, 3260 
Joe Brown Drive time 5-8 pm.
     July 26, 2006, Barstow, California at the Ramada Inn, 1571 
E. Main Street, time 12--2 pm, and
     July 26, 2006, Victorville, California at the San 
Bernardino County Fairgrounds Building 3, time 5-8 pm.
    Persons interested in providing comments on the scope of the EIS 
should do so by August 15, 2006. Comments can be sent to Mr. David 
Valenstein at the FRA address identified below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Valenstein, Environmental 
Program Manager, Office of Railroad Development, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue, (Mail Stop 20), Washington, DC 
20590, (telephone 202/ 493-6368). Information and documents regarding 
the environmental review process will be made available through the 
FRA's Web site: http://www.fra.dot.gov at Passenger Rail, Environment, 
Current Reviews, DesertXpress.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FRA will prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the proposed DesertXpress high-speed train project. 
The FRA is an operating administration of the U.S. Department of 
Transportation and is primarily responsible for railroad safety

[[Page 40177]]

regulation. Federal cooperating agencies for the EIS are the Surface 
Transportation Board (STB), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 
and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM has approval authority 
over the use of public lands under their control. The FHWA has 
jurisdiction over the use and/or modification of land within the I-15 
right of way. The STB has exclusive jurisdiction, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 
10501(b), over the construction, acquisition, operation and abandonment 
of rail lines, railroad rates and services and rail carrier 
consolidations and mergers. The construction and operation of the 
proposed DesertXpress high-speed train project is subject to STB's 
approval authority under 49 U.S.C. 10901. To the extent appropriate, 
the EIS will address environmental concerns raised by federal, state 
and local agencies during the EIS process.
    Project Description: DesertXpress Enterprises, LLC (the project 
Applicant) proposes to construct and operate a privately financed 
interstate high-speed passenger train, with a proposed station in 
Victorville, California and a station in Las Vegas, Nevada, along a 
200-mile corridor, within or adjacent to the I-15 freeway for about 170 
miles and adjacent to existing railroad lines for about 30 miles.
    The need for the project is directly related to the rapid increase 
in travel demand between Southern California and Las Vegas, coupled 
with the growth in population in the areas surrounding Victorville, 
Barstow, Primm and Las Vegas, which has resulted in substantial 
congestion along the I-15 freeway between Victorville and Las Vegas. 
Ridership is estimated to be 4.1 million round trips in the first full 
year of service. To accommodate this level of ridership, trains would 
operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily, 365 days a year at 20 to 30 
minute intervals during peak periods.
    The project would involve construction of a fully grade-separated, 
dedicated double track passenger-only railroad along an approximately 
200-mile corridor, from Victorville California to Las Vegas, Nevada. 
Where the railroad alignment would be within the I-15 freeway corridor, 
continuous concrete truck barriers, as well as American Railway 
Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association crash barriers at all 
supporting columns of bridges at freeway interchanges and overpasses 
would be provided. The project would include the construction of a 
passenger station, as well as maintenance, storage and operations 
facility in Victorville and one passenger station in Las Vegas.
    The proposed Victorville Station would be located along the west 
side of I-15 between the two existing Stoddard Wells interchanges. The 
facilities directly associated with the Victorville station would 
occupy about 60 acres of land, and would have a parking capacity for up 
to 10,000 automobiles. Access to the Victorville station would be via 
the two existing Stoddard Wells Road Interchanges.
    The Maintenance, Storage and Operations facility is proposed to be 
located in the City of Victorville on a site that lies within the 
Victorville Valley Economic Development Area. The facility would 
require approximately 50 acres and would include a fueling station, 
train washing facility, repair shop, parts storage, and operations 
center. It is estimated that approximately 400 employees would be based 
at this facility.
    The Las Vegas passenger station would be located at one of three 
possible locations: (1) Near the south end of the Las Vegas Strip; (2) 
in the center section of the Strip; or (3) in downtown Las Vegas. A 
light maintenance, cleaning, and inspection facility would also be 
built near the Las Vegas station.
    Alternatives: A No-Build alternative will be studied as the 
baseline for comparison with the proposed project. The No-Build 
Alternative represents the highway (I-15) and airport (McCarran) system 
physical characteristics and capacity as they exist at the time of the 
EIS (2006) with planned and funded improvements that will be in place 
at the time the project becomes operational. The project build 
alternatives have the same stations and maintenance facility. The 
railroad alignment between Victorville and Las Vegas can be divided 
into 6 distinct segments. Within the segments, several build 
alternatives are being considered as discussed below.
    Segment 1: Victorville to Lenwood (south of Barstow, California): 
Alternative A would depart the Victorville Station in a south-westerly 
direction before turning north and generally following the existing 
BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) railroad corridor and Route 66 to a point 
just south of Barstow. Alternative B would depart the Victorville 
Station and head north generally following the west side of the I-15 
corridor. The alignment would diverge from the I-15 corridor near Hodge 
Road and head northerly to a point just south of Barstow near the 
exiting BNSF railroad corridor. Alternative B would be approximately 
6.8 miles shorter than Alternative A.
    Segment 2: Lenwood (South of Barstow) to Yermo, California: From a 
point south of Barstow, the build alternative alignment would head 
north for about five miles, cross the Mojave River and turn east 
through the City of Barstow. Through Barstow the alignment would 
utilize an existing, but abandoned, former Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe 
railroad corridor along the north side of the Mojave River, for 
approximately three miles before reaching the vicinity of the I-15 / 
Old Highway 58 interchange on the eastside of Barstow. From this point 
the alignment would head east along the north side of I-15 corridor 
through the town of Yermo to a point just east of the agricultural 
inspection station on the I-15 Freeway.
    Segment 3: Yermo to Mountain Pass: There are two alignment 
alternatives in this segment: Alternative A entirely within the median 
of the I-15 freeway; and Alternative B along the north side of the I-15 
corridor.
    Segment 4: Mountain Pass to Primm, Nevada: Alternative A would 
leave the I-15 freeway corridor and head south for approximately four 
miles before returning to the I-15 freeway corridor south of Primm. A 
portion of this alignment may encroach on the Mojave Desert Preserve, 
about one half mile south of the I-15 freeway. Alternative B would 
leave the I-15 freeway corridor and head north before returning to the 
I-15 freeway corridor south of Primm. A 4,000-foot long tunnel would be 
necessary for Alternative B.
    Segment 5: Primm to Jean, Nevada: Alternative A would be entirely 
within the median of the I-15 freeway. Alternative B would continue 
along the east side of the I-15 freeway corridor between Primm and 
Jean.
    Segment 6: Jean to Las Vegas, Nevada: There are three alternative 
alignments in this segment. Alternative A would continue in the median 
of the I-15 freeway into the Las Vegas passenger station. Alternative B 
would cross the I-15 freeway corridor from the east side to the west 
side and continue along the west side of the I-15 freeway corridor into 
the Las Vegas passenger station. Alternative C would diverge to the 
east and generally follow the existing Union Pacific railroad corridor 
into the Las Vegas passenger station. To reach the downtown Las Vegas 
passenger station Alternative A would leave the median of the I-15 
freeway corridor near Oakey Boulevard and diverge to the east to follow 
the Union Pacific railroad corridor to Bonneville Street. Alternatives 
B and C would follow the

[[Page 40178]]

west side of the I-15 freeway corridor and cross at Oakey Boulevard to 
the east to join the Union Pacific railroad corridor to Bonneville 
Street.
    Scoping and Comments: FRA encourages broad participation in the EIS 
process during scoping and review of the resulting environmental 
documents. Comments and suggestions are invited from all interested 
agencies and the public at large to insure the full range of issues 
related to the proposed action and all reasonable alternatives are 
addressed and all significant issues are identified. In particular, FRA 
is interested in determining whether there are areas of environmental 
concern where there might be the potential for identifiable significant 
impacts. FRA invites and welcomes public agencies, communities and 
members of the public to advise the FRA of their environmental 
concerns, and to comment on the scope and content of the environmental 
information regarding the proposed project. Persons interested in 
providing comments on the scope of the EIS should send them to Mr. 
David Valenstein at the FRA address identified above by August 15, 
2006.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2006.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Development.
 [FR Doc. E6-11154 Filed 7-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P