Will DesertXpress Really Get Funded?

That's the first question. The second question is, will anybody actually ride it? As the high speed train from Victorville to Las Vegas is about to land a $4.9 billion loan from the federal government, national attention is turning to the train "from the middle of nowhere to the gambling palaces of Las Vegas." Via the AP: "The vast park-and-ride project hinges on the untested idea that car-loving Californians will drive about 100 miles from the Los Angeles area, pull off busy Interstate 15 and board a train for the final leg to the famous Strip. Planners imagine that millions of travelers a year will one day flock to a station outside down-on-its-luck Victorville, a small city where shuttered storefronts pock the historic downtown." [AP, via NPR]