What to know about Brightline West’s Las Vegas high-speed rail project
This video explores the history and future impact of the Brightline West high-speed rail project that will connect Las Vegas to Southern California.
The Federal Railroad Administration signed an agreement that sends $3 billion to the Nevada Department of Transportation for Brightline West’s planned high-speed rail project from Las Vegas to Southern California.
Brightline CEO Michael Reininger in a press release called the signing a “historic commitment that will jumpstart the high-speed rail industry in America, creating thousands of jobs all across the country.”
Once completed, Brightline West will be the first high-speed rail project in the nation, as passenger trains travel over 200 mph between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, the company stated.
The 218-mile route by all-electric rail trains will travel in the middle of Interstate 15 with stops at stations located in Las Vegas, Apple Valley, Hesperia, and Rancho Cucamonga where it would connect to an existing Metrolink line to Los Angeles.
American made
“Brightline West will be American made and American built and will serve as the blueprint for connecting city pairs that are too close to fly but too far to drive,” Reininger said.
The grant signing comes after the December 2023 announcement of Brightline West being awarded $3 billion in funding from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. The rest of the project will be privately funded and has received a total allocation of $3.5 billion in private activity bonds from USDOT.
In May 2024, Brightline announced that Siemens Mobility had been designated the “preferred bidder” to build train sets for the Brightline West high-speed rail project.
The contract with Siemens will include a fleet of 10 “American Pioneer 220” train sets to be manufactured, delivered to Nevada and tested to support Brightline West’s timeline of initiating service in 2028, company officials said.
Privately led infrastructure project
Brightline West’s rail route, which has full environmental clearance, will run within the median of Interstate 15 with zero-grade crossings.
The privately led infrastructure project is one of the largest in the nation and will be constructed and operated by union labor.
It will use 700,000 concrete rail ties, 2.2 million tons of ballast, and 63,000 tons of 100% American steel rail during construction. Upon completion, it will include 322 miles of overhead lines to power the trains and will include 3.4 million square feet of retaining walls.
The project covers more than 160 structures including stations, viaducts, bridges and wildlife crossings.
The nearly $12 billion rail project is expected to create over 35,000 jobs, including more than 10,000 union construction positions. Nearly 1,000 jobs are expected to be created once the rail line is in service, Brightline officials said.
Brightline aims to open for 2028 Summer Olympics
In 2023, Brightline West officials signed labor agreements with the High Speed Rail Labor Coalition and California and Southern Nevada Building Trades, representing employees who will work in the construction, maintenance, and daily operations.
In April 2024, Brightline West officials and guests were in Las Vegas as part of the high-speed rail project groundbreaking celebration. No groundbreaking has occurred in Southern California.
A Brightline spokesperson said construction on the high-speed rail project is expected in early 2025, a FOX News affiliate reported last week.
Brightline West plans to begin operations in 2028, in time for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, scheduled to begin in mid-July of that year.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
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Publish date : 2024-10-01 02:11:00
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