BARSTOW--Backers of a hi-speed train connecting Victorville with Las Vegas say they could break ground on the ambitious project early next year.

The DesertXpress could zip across the 180 mile expanse of California and Nevada desert in an hour and 20 minutes. The trains would operate at speeds up to 150 miles an hour on dedicated tracks, in existing corridors, paralleling Interstate 15.

DesertExpress developers have spent $25 million in private funds the past six years preparing an environmental impact study.

Public hearings on that study opened last week.

Story Date: September 2, 2010