A date has officially been set for the groundbreaking on the Brightline West Las Vegas to Southern California high-speed rail. On Monday, work will begin on the US$12 billion project that will feature electric trains departing stations every 45 minutes. The trains connect a Las Vegas station south of the city’s storied Strip and a Southern California station in Rancho Cucamonga. The latter is a Los Angeles suburb around 40 miles east of downtown. What’s more, the trains will travel faster than any train in the country, with speeds of up to 186 mph. The 260-mile trip will be made in an estimated 2 hours and 10 minutes by the Brightline West trains. According to google maps, this trip takes no less than 3 hours without traffic if one were to drive.
The high speed rail opening date
Brightline expects that the project should be completed with trains running as early as 2028. This will be just in time for the Los Angeles’ Summer Olympics. The Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law benefits the Brightline West project with US$3 billion in federal funds. For nearly the entire journey, the electric trains will run parallel to the Interstate 15. Furthermore, two intermediate stops will be made in California, one in Hesperia and the other in Apple Valley.
Benefits of the Brightline West Las Vegas project
The Brightline West Las Vegas project will create thousands of jobs between construction and operating jobs. Additionally, the project aims to benefit tourism and ease traffic congestion on the Interstate 15. The train service will eliminate 400,000 tons of carbon pollution every year. If one were to come from Los Angeles, they will have the option of commuting with the Metrolink. This is Southern California’s regional rail system, and they can use it to the Rancho Cucamonga station located near the junction of Interstates 10 and 15. This trip takes just under an hour by car if there isn’t traffic and 1 hour and 15 minutes on the Metrolink.
“This is the physical action that we’ve been waiting for, for decades, finally bringing high-speed rail between Las Vegas and Southern California. It will boost our economy, provide efficient transportation alternatives and continue the success of all that we have worked for — both for the economic engine of Nevada and the people that live here,” said Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft, whose district includes the area where the Brightline station will be constructed.
More on Brightline
Brightline West is a privately owned train company. They estimate that 6 million people will ride its trains during the first full year of operation, according to a federal environmental assessment. That number is projected to grow to as many as 9.2 million people within a decade.
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