Passenger train from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City under consideration

July 10, 2023 by Nicole Masson
Transportation

Posted on 2KUTV June 27, 2023

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — State agencies are looking into a potential passenger train connecting Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.

The Utah Department of Transportation says it applied for a $500,000 grant to study passenger rail with the two cities serving as endpoints.

Travel time is pegged at seven to nine-and-a-half hours each way, based on Amtrak’s Desert Wind service, which connected Las Vegas and Salt Lake City until it was discontinued in 1997.

UDOT says it is working in partnership with the Nevada Department of Transportation and Utah Transit Authority on the grant application and awards are expected to be announced in September.

A spokesman for NDOT says the agency provided a letter of support for the grant application and helped get support from Nevada’s congressional delegation.

Both agencies stress there is no obligation to continue through project development if the grant is awarded.

“These are just exploratory study efforts and do not mean that passenger rail is moving forward,” UDOT spokesman John Gleason said in an email.