But the highway between L.A. and Vegas chokes on the weekend and thousands, if not millions of cars sit running and San Bernardino stews in some of the worst smog in the country.

Not to mention drunk driving issues.

So lets see, a high speed rail between L.A. and Vegas would:

reduce CO2 emissions
reduce horrible particulates in the area
unsnarl horrible traffic jams
relieve drunk driving incidents from revelers coming back from Vegas.

Yeah, that would really be frivolous and something to be embarrassed about.

What is this?  The Moral Majority Hour?

...I know it says 2005 on the map, but it's really just a rehash.

This map (or an almost exact likeness of it) has been around since the early 1990s.

Alot of it is based on current Amtrak routes.  But really, it's more just wishful thinking than anything else.  

Many of these corridors have no specific regional organizations to really push or advocate for their development ('cept California and a few others).  And regional interest groups are key in directing money towards specific projects.

The money may go to lines that run similar to a few of these routes, but don't expect that this is what they're aiming for right now.

That corridor from San Antonio to Tulsa has a unique history.  That diagonal line follows the Balcones Fault.  That's where the coastal plain and the mud run into limestone rock and the hill country.

That exact path was used by:

Wooly Mammoths migration trail
Cattle drive trail from Texas to Chicago
Interstate Highway 35

A well traveled route.

Electrification and improvement of our freight rail system could displace 85% of long haul trucking. And provide moderately high speed passenger rail as a side effect (100 mph vs 200 mph, but for every route in the U.S. that made sense for long distance rail).  I'm not saying we should not do others too, but freight+better Amtrak would be huge bang for the buck in money, in emissions reductions, and in oil savings.

I find it mind-boggling that there are people here who think Las Vegas can even exist much longer, let alone that there should be a supertrain built to it. Just handing out public money directly to bankers as bonuses would be more productive.

At most Vegas might hang on for a little while as an elite destination, and the rich don't want to ride trains.

As for yahoo weekend gamblers, if they really need their fix they'll build their own casinos. Already broke, how are they going to be able to even afford to drive there once gas prices resume their upward march?

Not to mention when they have to haul all their own water, since that Vegas tap will soon be running dry.

The map is old, obviously.  New Orleans should no longer be the hub of the gulf coast route; Baton Rouge is a more populous city after Katrina.  It is the state capitol, and home to the state (and region's) largest university.  

Obviously, some tweaking is necessary, but overall this map is a relatively decent high level discussion piece for HSR.

Couldn't we just legalize gambling and cancel all that travel to Las Vegas?   It is happening all over anyway, we have a choice of 5 native run casinos even here in rural wilderness, with a free bus ride.  And state lottery gambling machines in every store.

A whole new economy could be created in Las Vegas with solar powered recycling of the uneeded hotels and casinos.

Great news on electrified rail though!  I would prefer electrification of freight rail and passenger service on present tracks, then a longer term build out of ultralight high speed commuyer rail in tubes built into freeway medians, with HVDC super grid lines running underneath, between the commuter rail tubes (one in each direction).

Regular freight rail tracks could be HVDC corridors too.  This plan eliminates NIMBY and right-of-way issues for electrified freight and high speed rail and HVDC all at the same time.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

New Orleans is still a major port for the US.  Freight lines would benefit from a high speed line to both ocean and Mississippi River traffic.  A spur line to Baton Rouge would be a good option and should reduce traffic on an all ready overcrowded I-10.

The LV-LA sort of intercity rail seems like it would compete with air travel rather than car travel

Isn't that the point though?  HSR is supposed to compete with distances that would otherwise be (mostly) coveted by air travelers.  Slower rail takes on routes with distances considered more easily drivable.

This what happened when Texas proposed HSR between Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin.  It seemed like a great idea at first...so great that Southwest Airlines lobbied against it 'cause those Texas routes made up most of its profit at the time.

And killed it they did.

But with air travel so bogged down and so expensive these days (and yet still in great financial strains), now is the time to push for rail instead.

Absolutely! In fact, while I totally agree with Gar that freight rail improvements are crucial, I think true HSR is also needed as a realistic alternative to air travel, which is becoming more problematic by the day.

As for LA-LV, I just meant that we need to understand what the market is - will it take people out of cars or off planes? Without understanding things like that, you could build the thing and still see traffic jams leaving Las Vegas.  As I said, if it gets through the TIGER process, I have no problem with that link getting funding.  But at some point, these route systems will be considered for a greenlight of construction - and it will likely be only one. It's hard for me to believe that LA-LV should be the top priority in that case.