SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
LAS VEGAS–The state agency charged with building the nation’s first Maglev train and its private partner, the American Magline Group, have signed a Letter of Commitment with the Nevada Building Trades Council, ensuring that thousands of union workers will be put to work building America’s first super speed train. The two sides have committed to negotiate a Project Labor Agreement that insures union workers will build the system.
The Letter of Commitment reflects the strong feelings of support by Nevada’s union members, likening the Maglev project to the construction of the Hoover Dam during the depression, saying the super speed train will provide “jobs and economic benefits to the working men and women of southern Nevada, and their families who are at risk of losing their homes in a climate of one of the worst economic recessions in the history of the state.”
The Letter of Commitment between the two entities also lays out the union commitment to support and assist Nevada officials in asking Washington D.C. to release $45 million in federal funds which have been set aside for the State of Nevada’s Maglev project which have long been delayed.
“There is no question this is the train that Nevadans overwhelmingly support, this is the technology for the 21st century,” said Neil Cummings of the American Magline Group. “Our remaining hurdles have nothing to do with technology; the technology is proven. Our hurdles have nothing to do with the route; it is the only system and the route that Nevadans and Californians support. Our remaining hurdles are in Washington, where we need our leaders to realize that Nevadans and Californians alike have already made their clear choice. We need Washington’s support to create these jobs and we need that support today.”
The Maglev will be built in three segments with the first 40 miles built in Nevada from Las Vegas to Stateline. Simultaneously, final planning for the California segment between Anaheim and Ontario airport will begin with the final segment linking the two estimated to be completed within five years. Each segment of the system will begin to generate revenue as soon as it is completed.
While a lion’s share of the 90,000 new jobs the Maglev will create will be in the construction industry, other economic diversification will continue to occur as the stations are staffed with technicians and service personnel.
The Export-Import Bank of China has outlined a plan to loan the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission $7 billion dollars of the $12.1 billion dollar price tag for the entire system under a 30-year loan with attractive terms including no payments until the train has been fully operational for two years.
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Highly efficient Maglev technology, currently operational on a daily basis in Shanghai, China, with a 99.5 percent on-time rate, emits no direct greenhouse gas emissions and results in far fewer pollutants than traditional forms of ground transportation. The project will also help ease land consumption issues, impact to wetlands, endangered species and community disruption.
The Anaheim-Las Vegas corridor will provide quality passenger service to an estimated 43 million passengers annually by 2025– the equivalent of an eight-lane freeway moving at a constant speed of 60 mph, or 55 fully loaded 747s landing each day. A trip between Anaheim and Las Vegas will take only 81 minutes.
