Panel likes light rail line linking key Las Vegas facilities

LAS VEGAS – An advisory panel says Las Vegas needs a light rail passenger line linking key airport, university, shopping, medical and government facilities.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that a 36-member board on Thursday passed the idea to the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada for possible approval in September.

Plans say the 8.7-mile (14-kilometre) rail line could start running by 2025 mostly along busy Maryland Parkway and cost $750 million in federal, state and local money.

It would connect McCarran International Airport, UNLV, Sunrise Hospital, the Boulevard Mall, downtown Las Vegas, a bus transit hub, city and Clark County administration centres, Las Vegas Premium Outlets North and University Medical Center.

The committee also considered less costly options including $335 million for bus rapid-transit lanes and $29 million in Maryland Parkway improvements.

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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com