Commencement of work is scheduled for Monday on a $12 billion high-speed passenger rail project linking Las Vegas and the Los Angeles region, with expectations of millions of passengers boarding trains by 2028.
Brightline West, affiliated with a company already operating a swift train route in Florida between Miami and Orlando, intends to lay down 218 miles (351 kilometers) of new track from a terminal near the Las Vegas Strip to another facility in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The majority of the route will be constructed in the median of Interstate 15, with a station stop planned in San Bernardino County’s Victorville area.
In a statement, Wes Edens, founder and Chairperson of Brightline Holdings, described this moment as “the foundation for a new industry.”
Brightline aims to connect U.S. cities that are too close for flying but too distant for driving, according to CEO Mike Reininger. The objective is to have trains operational in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is expected to participate in Monday’s groundbreaking. Brightline received significant financial backing from the Biden administration, including federal infrastructure funds and authorization to issue tax-exempt bonds.
This project is hailed as the nation’s first true high-speed passenger rail line, with speeds of up to 186 mph (300 kph) envisioned, comparable to Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains.
The route between Las Vegas and Los Angeles primarily consists of open space with no practical alternative to I-15. Brightline’s Southern California terminal will be connected to downtown Los Angeles via commuter rail.
The project’s plan indicates that electric-powered trains will reduce the journey across the Mojave Desert from four hours to just over two hours, with projected annual passenger numbers of 11 million.
Las Vegas, a popular destination for Southern Californians, hopes the train line will alleviate congestion on I-15, where traffic often crawls for miles during weekends.
Brightline Holdings already operates a Miami-to-Orlando line with trains reaching speeds of up to 125 mph (200 kph). The company offers multiple round-trips per day, with one-way tickets priced around $80.
Various proposals for high-speed passenger trains between other U.S. cities have been discussed in recent years, but many have encountered delays.
