SoCal to Vegas in two hours? High-speed rail comes closer to reality with $3-billion award

A high-speed rail project between the Inland Empire and Las Vegas landed a $3-billion federal grant that sets it on track to be open by 2028, in time for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, officials said Tuesday.

Brightline, a private company that opened an intercity rail line connecting Miami and Orlando, Fla., this year, secured the U.S. Department of Transportation grant as part of the historic infrastructure package, Nevada‘s U.S. senators said. The rest of the funds for the $12-billion project are expected to be raised through private capital and bonds.

The trip on the 218-mile electrified line from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas will take just over two hours, with stops in Hesperia or Apple Valley, according to Brightline. The trains can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour. The company already has the federal permits, the labor agreements and the land — a swath in the wide median of Interstate 15 — to build the line. Construction is expected to begin early next year.

In Southern California the line will connect to the Metrolink commuter train system, linking it directly to downtown Los Angeles. In Las Vegas, the terminus will be on the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard.

The company operates the only high-speed private rail service in the United States and its rapid rise runs in stark contrast to California’s effort to build a high-speed rail between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, which has been mired by politics, cost overruns and delays.

California submitted a separate $3-billion high- speed rail application that Gov. Newsom said in a letter to the White House would allow the state to complete an initial 119-mile segment in the Central Valley. Federal officials have not made any announcements on that project.

The Brightline grant application was co-submitted with the Nevada Department of Transportation.

“This is a historic moment that will serve as a foundation for a new industry, and a remarkable project that will serve as the blueprint for how we can repeat this model throughout the country,” said Wes Edens, founder and chairman of Brightline. “We’re ready to get to work to bring our vision of American-made, American-built, world class, state-of-the-art high-speed train travel to America.”

Although Brightline did not get the full $3.7-billion package that it hoped for, the grant will ensure the project’s construction, officials said. The train is conceived as both a premium tourist train and a more traditional transportation link between Southern California and Las Vegas, two regions with deep ties. The company has said that passengers may ultimately be able to check into their Las Vegas hotels at the train station.

“This historic high-speed rail project will be a game changer for Nevada’s tourism economy and transportation,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev). “It’ll bring more visitors to our state, reduce traffic on the I-15, create thousands of good-paying jobs and decrease carbon emissions, all while relying on local union labor.”

A high-speed rail project between the Inland Empire and Las Vegas landed a $3-billion federal grant that sets it on track to be open by 2028, in time for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, officials said Tuesday.

Brightline, a private company that opened an intercity rail line connecting Miami and Orlando, Fla., this year, secured the U.S. Department of Transportation grant as part of the historic infrastructure package, Nevada‘s U.S. senators said. The rest of the funds for the $12-billion project are expected to be raised through private capital and bonds.

The trip on the 218-mile electrified line from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas will take just over two hours, with stops in Hesperia or Apple Valley, according to Brightline. The trains can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour. The company already has the federal permits, the labor agreements and the land — a swath in the wide median of Interstate 15 — to build the line. Construction is expected to begin early next year.

In Southern California the line will connect to the Metrolink commuter train system, linking it directly to downtown Los Angeles. In Las Vegas, the terminus will be on the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard.

The company operates the only high-speed private rail service in the United States and its rapid rise runs in stark contrast to California’s effort to build a high-speed rail between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, which has been mired by politics, cost overruns and delays.

California submitted a separate $3-billion high- speed rail application that Gov. Newsom said in a letter to the White House would allow the state to complete an initial 119-mile segment in the Central Valley. Federal officials have not made any announcements on that project.

The Brightline grant application was co-submitted with the Nevada Department of Transportation.

“This is a historic moment that will serve as a foundation for a new industry, and a remarkable project that will serve as the blueprint for how we can repeat this model throughout the country,” said Wes Edens, founder and chairman of Brightline. “We’re ready to get to work to bring our vision of American-made, American-built, world class, state-of-the-art high-speed train travel to America.”

Although Brightline did not get the full $3.7-billion package that it hoped for, the grant will ensure the project’s construction, officials said. The train is conceived as both a premium tourist train and a more traditional transportation link between Southern California and Las Vegas, two regions with deep ties. The company has said that passengers may ultimately be able to check into their Las Vegas hotels at the train station.

“This historic high-speed rail project will be a game changer for Nevada’s tourism economy and transportation,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev). “It’ll bring more visitors to our state, reduce traffic on the I-15, create thousands of good-paying jobs and decrease carbon emissions, all while relying on local union labor.”