Utah
NDOT collaborating with Utah officials to reestablish rail service from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Nevada Department of Transportation said they provided a letter of support for Utah’s Department of Transportation grant application to reestablish rail service from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City.
NDOT said they are collaborating with UDOT, Utah Transit Authority, the Idaho Transportation Department and Amtrack on the application to fund its “exploratory effort.”
NDOT officials said they provided a letter of support for the application and got support letters from the Nevada congressional delegation and others from the state.
“The grant in question is solely intended for planning purposes,” NDOT officials said in a statement.
Officials said the program enables a route to progress from the planning phase to an analysis and implementation.
UDOT has been involved in grant applications for the Corridor Identification and Development Program under the Federal Railroad Administration which is a study phase for potential passenger rail.
UDOT is the grant applicant for studying Las Vegas to Salt Lake City in partnership with UTA and the Nevada Department of Transportation. The grant application is for $500,000. The Idaho Transportation Department is the grant applicant for studying Salt Lake City to Boise in partnership with UDOT, UTA, and the City of Boise. These are just exploratory study efforts and do not mean that passenger rail is moving forward.
NDOT
The travel time is around 7 to 9.5 hours based on a discontinued Amtrak service in 1997. The route is yet to be determined.
According to info provided by NDOT, if project moves forward, state would be responsible to help fund the service.