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A Las Vegas-area public affairs consultant and professor are proposing to implement a high-speed rail training course at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), according to an Aug. 6 article posted on VEGAS INC’s website. VEGAS INC is a sister publication to the Las Vegas Sun.

Skancke Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Skancke and UNLV Howard Hughes College of Engineering Associate Professor Harry Teng have been working for almost two years to refine a proposal to offer what they’re terming as the "International High Speed Rail Institute" at the university’s engineering school. They plan to present the proposal to university administrators early next year.

Las Vegas could become a destination point for high-speed rail in the west. A group of developers have proposed building Xpress West (formerly DesertXpress), a privately funded high-speed rail system linking Victorville, Calif., and Las Vegas.

“I still think we’re going to be the first in the country to have high-speed rail,” Skancke said, according to VEGAS INC. “If we’re going to have high-speed rail in this country, I think the research, the education, the student exchange programs and the faculty exchange programs should be done here in the West because we’re the pioneers on this.”