Given some of the other issues related to this proposed service (has appeared on this board many times) I wouldn't get hopes up for operation in the near term. In the long term, if XpressWest gets their FRA construction loan, the HSR run will probably eat this operation's lunch especially if they get some kind of connection (buses even, though other things are being talked about too) into the Basin that allows people to park their cars closer to home.

This might be best seen as an interim operation that will fold when the HSR arrives. On that basis, running some mildly breathed-upon 50-year-old commuter cars might work, at least until they show their age by starting to break down often. Fares are clearly an issue, though, whether they follow Amtrak pricing or roll their own - has to be high enough to make money which might be well above what Amtrak charges for similar mileage.