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Yesterday, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) approved construction of a 190-mile high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and southern California.

The project is being proposed by DesertXpress Enterprises L.L.C., a group of California and Nevada companies. The group would build a high-speed rail line on a corridor between Victorville, Calif., and Las Vegas, operating along Interstate 15. Trains would reach speeds up to 150 mph along the corridor, which would not include any vehicular or pedestrian crossings. No stops would be made between the two cities.

The construction of a new railroad line requires prior STB approval. The STB granted the DesertXpress approval on the condition that the group would implement 146 environmental mitigation measures recommended in an Environmental Impact Statement that was approved by the Federal Railroad Administration earlier this year.