Construction of a privately financed passenger rail connection between Southern California and Las Vegas will take place largely in the median of I-15, under a recently completed lease agreement between the California Dept. of Transportation and developers of the $4.8-billion privately financed XpressWest high-speed rail line.
The 50-year right-of-way use agreement, recently finalized following a mandatory 15-day public comment period, covers the 135-mile California section of the planned 170-mile corridor linking the town of Apple Valley in San Bernardino County with a station at a yet-to-be-announced location near the Las Vegas Strip. XpressWest, which will design, construct, operate and maintain the electric-powered train system, will pay annual rent of $842,000, an amount that will be adjusted according to changes in the consumer price index every three years. At the conclusion of the lease, XpressWest has the option to renew the agreement for an additional 49-year term.