The Route

From Victorville, a completely separate, dedicated two-track passenger railway would be constructed, largely following the north side or median of I-15, making maximum use of excess freeway right-of-way, and minimizing the impact upon the largely undeveloped land alongside the highway. There will be no grade crossings, thereby maximizing speed and safety.

The majority of the track would utilize public rights of way, on administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Two passenger stations are proposed, one in Victorville located along the west side of I-15 and the other station in Las Vegas at one of four possible locations designed to interface with taxi service, rental car facilities, proposed extensions of the Las Vegas Monorail™, with shuttles serving the resorts and the central business district.

The primary maintenance facility would be located in Victorville, CA and include the operations control center, train washing facility, repair shop, parts storage, trains storage tracks, meeting rooms and administrative offices.

Why Victorville?

Building the project to Victorville is a key DesertXpress will extend close enough to the population centers of Southern California to attract the ridership needed to pay for the cost of the project without federal grants or operating subsidies. In short, the line between Victorville and Las Vegas is sized to allow the project to be a finacial success.

Victorville is also the first major population center northeast of the Cajon Pass through the San Bernadino mountain range separating the High Desert from the Los Angeles basin and serves as a natural collection point for the approximately 11 million people that drive from Southern California to Las Vegas every year. Victorville is within only a 30 to 45 minute drive for rougly 5 million people who live in the Inland Empire, Antelope Valley, and the eastern portions of Los Angeles County, and only a one or two hour's drive for most of the rest of the Southland's 21 million residents - many of whom routinely drive at least an hour to and from work each weekday.

Victorville is the location where the I-15 narrows from four through lanes to three in each direction. With the station in Victorville, DesertXpress offers travelers an alternative to the uncertainty of the challenging 200-mile drive across the Mojave Desert that could take anywhere from 4 hours to 10 hours – you never know, because of congestion and incidents or accidents.