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Thread: Another delay for the X-Train between Vegas and Southern California??

  1. #1
    Management of the Las Vegas Railway Express sent out another email today to shareholders and those interested in the X Train project that will restore passenger train service between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles and Southern California market.

    There was one line in the email which makes me think that the rail service will be delayed again. That one line refers to construction of the train station and platforms in the old Amtrak station behind The Plaza in Downtown Vegas. Here is the line:

    "Approvals will take about 6 months before we can begin construction."


    This means construction could not begin before mid-April. I have seen some of the plans for the project and I am sure that construction will not be an overnight thing. In other words, it won't be like Habitat for Humanity putting up a house in a weekend. I wouldn't be surprised if the construction takes three months to six months.

    And then there is the issue of the train cars. That work could also go slowly and it's not slated to start until early 2013.

    I think train service for the summer of 2013 is a real Vegas long shot. But what's a few more months? I will be very happy to take the train in the fall and winter of 2013 and still look forward to it.

    Here are other parts of email that was sent:

    Dear X Train Shareholders and fans:

    Well, the long hot summer here in Las Vegas is over finally. And although the heat was turned up pretty high here, we had it turned up even higher on our project. We began our actual construction project on the station at the Plaza Hotel by hiring on our civil engineers, Walker Engineering, our General Contractor – R&O Construction, our Architects, Carpenter, Sellers, DelGatto, our rail engineers DeBerg & Associates as well as a host of ancillary professional staff with the City of Las Vegas. The civil engineering report was completed by Walker engineering and now identifies all infrastructure constraints on the site. We are now working with DeBerg to lay in the rail location and to orient the platform for speedy unloading. Approvals will take about 6 months before we can begin construction.
    We acquired 10 railcars outright and have them parked in a rail yard in Wisconsin. The cars are bi-level designs which we will refurbish into our Vegas Class club lounge cars. The designs for the interiors are being done by Carpenter Sellers DelGatto, architects, and are very spiffy.

    This is a working sample of one configuration which has a self-contained bar/lounge and food service area in each car and holds 40 people in complete comfort. (Photo not included) Other designs are in the works as well and we will show them to you as they are available. We will be acquiring additional rail cars to add to this set and expect to begin renovation after the first of the year 2013.
    Our marketing efforts have gone into high gear with the addition of our COO- Passenger Services – Penny Stegeman. Penny comes from the Vegas ticketing business and the airline services business. In her first two calls to major properties here in town, both customers indicated they could fill a train all year with just their own clients. Pretty good start for us on that. We have a lot more to talk about with these folks, but both are extremely excited about being part of the project. No names as yet. That is still confidential, but we will make it public when it’s all done.
    On the technology side, Bob Gottesman has come on board as our EVP/CIO and has two jobs he is responsible for. First he is the project manager for our development projects. This is like building the trip from the Earth to the Moon. Each project from station construction to car acquisition and build-out to logistics planning to IT systems is like a business of its own. I have attached Bob’s dashboard from the project management system so you can see what I’m talking about. It’s complicated, to say the least. We currently have about 400 tasks we manage. By the time the train runs, it will be 4,000.
    We completed an offering of $2.28 million for the company. This capital allows us to proceed with the development of the station, electronics infrastructure and to acquire the railset for the first train. Our next mission is to organize for our larger offering later this year. We have moved the ball forward with the railroads and expect final logistics to be completed by November for both railroads. Amtrak was selected as our haulage partner and we are now working on the marketing and technical interface with their existing train network. You will be able to buy an X Train ticket at any one of the thousands of Amtrak kiosks nationwide. We will be carried on their national timetable as well.

  2. #2
    In another press release today, Las Vegas Railway Express says it acquired two more passenger rail cars but the company also reveals the work on renovating the cars will not start till later in the year. This begs the question, how long does it take to renovate rail cars and will this match the timetable (now delayed) for construction of the Vegas rail station? Here is the press release as they sent it today:

    Las Vegas Railway Express, Inc. ("X" Train), a Delaware company (OTCQB: XTRN), is pleased to announce the company has executed an agreement with a private owner to acquire two additional Bi-Level passenger railcars for its "X Train" project. The acquisition brings the first railset to a total of 12 rail cars for the X Train. The terms of the cash purchase were not disclosed. "These railcars are to be added to the railset of passenger cars we first purchased in August of this year," stated Joseph Cosio-Barron, Asset Development Managing Director for the Company. "My charge is to acquire a total of two complete railsets for the X Train to meet the anticipated demand for the service." The first railset is the first of several which will undergo extensive renovation under the supervision of Mr. Cosio-Barron.

    "X" Train President & CEO Michael A. Barron said, "We continue to acquire sets of railcars. Our plan is to include these cars into the previous purchase set and to begin renovation work later this year."

    About Las Vegas Railway Express, Inc

    Las Vegas Railway Express, Inc. has been planning for the establishment of a "Vegas Class" passenger train service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas since early 2009. Service departures are planned to be Thursday and Friday to Las Vegas with returns on Sunday back to Los Angeles. An introductory price of $99 each way includes Vegas Class accommodation and all-inclusive food & beverage. In addition, the "X" Train will also offer the ability for its passengers to book hotel rooms, transportation transfers, entertainment & show tickets and other travel incidentals. For more information, please visit the Company website at http://www.vegasxtrain.com.

    Statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the company's plans, beliefs, and estimates as to projected market size are "forward-looking statements." Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including factors listed from time to time in the company's SEC filings, and actual results could differ materially from expected results. These forward-looking statements represent the company's judgment as of the date of this release. The company disclaims, however, any intent of obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

  3. #3
    I noticed that there were two people with "Barron" at the end of their name, which I thought was somewhat interesting, (as was the hyphenated name of one of them which you don't often see in men), and I wondered if they were related. I couldn't tell from what I found, such as the Forbes Profiles for Michael Barron and Joseph Cosio-Barron, but did note that there was another one as well; Dianne D. David-Barron who is the "Stations Development Manager". I have no idea if any of them are related, (although I'd be surprised if none of them were), but they have all been linked together for quite a while.

    Michael and Joseph co-founded Liberty Capitol, which changed its name to become Las Vegas Railway Express. Diane was a VP at Liberty Capitol. All of them also appear to have worked for both Shearson Home Loans and Finet corporation dating back to the early 90's. I didn't see any information about who founded Shearson, but Micheal founded Finet and since both Michael and Joseph served as CEO and president, respectfully, of Shearson I think its likely one or both were involved in its inception.

    Other than one SEC filing against a Finet Director, most of those companies appear relatively clean, with the possible exception of Shearson. I find it hard to be too critical of a mortgage company that collapsed during the financial meltdown in the late '00's, but it should be noted that on this page there is some negative information:

    Licensing for the SHL office at SHSNE's headquarters in Henderson, NV was revoked by final order on 2007-10-15 as reported in a Disciplinary Action Report by the State of Nevada Dept. of Business and Industry's Mortgage Lending Division.
    and the page also states there were 2 IRS liens against them and one pending civil suit as well.

    But the most curious reference I found was located here where a commenter posted this reply about the apparent demise of the company:

    Finally they are going down!!!! They are nothing but a bunch of crooks! (my opinion)This was a long time coming. I am suprised they lasted as long as they did considering everyone they ripped off. So I am so happy to say, So long Shearson and to the Baron ...you have got everything you deserve. No need to thank me I now have all the satifaction I need seeing your name on this site and NV MLD site
    Followed by one from another person stating:

    There are many, including myself, who share your opinion
    What does all this mean? Hell if I know. Maybe nothing, maybe something. I just thought it was interesting and thought others who have followed the X-train might as well.

  4. #4
    Realistically, when can we expect this project to actually be finished? I have been looking forward to this train for a long time now, and I am starting to think it is just all rumors and will never actually happen.

  5. #5
    Hi Jimi and welcome to the Forum. The last release from the X Train folks, just a few days ago when they announced the deal to use the Union Pacific tracks from Vegas to just outside Barstow, indicated that service will not start till late 2013. I would think that they would want to be in business for the holiday traffic in late 2013.

    But they have so much work ahead of them, and I will just list a few of the things I have seen mentioned in their various releases and some of my own observations:

    1. They still have to build/reconstruct the Amtrak Station behind The Plaza in downtown and construction permits won't be ready till January.
    2. They are still buying rail cars and still have to refurbish them. To the best of my knowledge not one rail car is ready yet, and I have seen no announcements about any refurbishing work starting on these "used" cars.
    3. They have to hire a staff to operate the service -- train service staff, food and beverage, ticketing and whatever else goes into running a rail service and they have not yet started to advertise. They did say on their Facebook page that once hired training could take six months.
    4. There is no advertising for the start of service and a company/service such as this would want to start advertising at least three months in advance not only to the public but also to travel agents and the hotels and destinations to coordinate their vacation packages.
    5. Look at the stock price. At around 15-cents a share, how close could the start of service be?

  6. #6
    Originally Posted by Jimi O View Post
    Realistically, when can we expect this project to actually be finished? I have been looking forward to this train for a long time now, and I am starting to think it is just all rumors and will never actually happen.
    As soon as the train is ready I am going to book a trip to Vegas through www.cheapovegas.com/hotels-strip because they usually have the best deals.

  7. #7
    Originally Posted by Jimi O View Post
    As soon as the train is ready I am going to book a trip to Vegas through www.cheapovegas.com/hotels-strip because they usually have the best deals.
    Part of the business plan of the X Train is that they hope you will book your hotel through them. Their business plan includes being a travel agent. In fact, the $99 one way fare might turn into being a loss leader so that they can book the rest of your visit including hotel, limo, shows, restaurants. And if the $99 fare isn't a loss-leader then I am sure they are looking for the other bookings to help boost their business revenue.

    Being a travel agent is really throwing yourself into a snake pit. Competition is very intense and there is little profit margin, and the Internet has allowed airlines, hotels, shows, restaurants to do their own reservations and bookings and they can bypass travel agents and avoid paying commissions.

  8. #8
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  9. #9
    Steve thanks for joining us. I am guessing that is your company? Do you provide service to Vegas and what is the price?

  10. #10
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  11. #11
    Here's an update: the plan is still to have a trial run at the end of this year, but regular service is not scheduled to start until January 4, 2014. I've heard nothing that would delay that timetable even though there hasn't been any "news" on the progress of that timetable.

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