HIGH-SPEED TRAIN SET FOR L.A.-SAN DIEGO RUN.Byline: Michelle DeArmond Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. A high-speed European train designed to provide time- and fuel-efficient means of travel was displayed here Friday, just days before it begins temporarily serving the Los Angeles-San Diego route. Amtrak Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., authorized to operate virtually all intercity passenger railroad routes in the United States. Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 in response to more than two decades of continuous operating deficits by privately run is participating in a two-year tour with the Danish-built Flexliner, which has been operating in Europe since 1990, and hopes to attract partners into a regular Las Vegas-Los Angeles passenger route. The Flexliner will run at speeds only to 90 mph during its North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. tour, although it can operates up to 112 mph. ``The Flexliner is one of several types of high-tech rail equipment that could be purchased for American regional passenger rail service if Amtrak had a dependable level of capital resources that a dedicated trust fund would deliver,'' said Thomas M. Downs, Amtrak president, chairman and chief executive officer. Downs was referring to pending legislation that would dedicate money to a trust fund for Amtrak to invest in new equipment and modernize its system. Amtrak hopes to develop and encourage travel along the Las Vegas-Los Angeles route and the Reno-Oakland route with faster, more frequent train service. The Flexliner will operate between Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. from July 21 through Aug. 1 and will be on display at various Amtrak stations This is a list of station locations used by Amtrak in order by station name. Each station is also identified by a three-letter code. These codes are not the same as the list of IATA-indexed train stations or the three character IATA airport codes. . After the demonstration in California it will be used by VIA Rail Canada for five months before returning to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Amtrak, in cooperation with international manufacturer Adtranz, will demonstrate the train upon request in various regions of the United States and promote its use for short-to-medium-distance intercity markets. ``The Adtranz Flexliner is the perfect solution to the increasingly complicated challenges of regional transportation,'' said Raymond T. Betler, president of Adtranz North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. based in Pittsburgh. ``The Flexliner is the most modern diesel train available in revenue service today that can be adapted for a multitude of uses and situations,'' Betler said. The Flexliner is self-propelled and does not require a locomotive. The trains are operated by qualified engineers who are positioned in a control booth at either end of the train. Either end of the train may operate as the front end. The Flexliner is manufactured to use either diesel fuel or electricity. The tour set is a diesel multiple unit A Diesel Multiple Unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor depending on country. which includes two three-car Flexliner trains. It can be separated and operated as multiple trains. The train features public cellular phones, outlets for laptop computers and at-seat meal service. The Las Vegas-Los Angeles train could offer live poker at both ends of the nonstop route and slots and other table games when it crosses into Nevada, officials have said. Amtrak makes three runs a week from Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. to Los Angeles, the final leg of the Desert Wind's Chicago-to-Southern California route. It costs Las Vegas-to-Los Angeles commuters $74 for a one-way ticket and $77 to $148 for a round-trip ticket, depending on available discounts. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color) Nevada Lt. Gov. Lonnie Hammargren pret ends to drive a high-speed train in Las Vegas. (2--color) People relax in the first-class section of a high-speed European train that was displayed Friday in Las Vegas. Associated Press |
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