By KEN RITTER (Associated Press)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A $12 billion high-speed passenger train connecting Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area was named the first true fast rail line in the country on Monday. The private company constructing it expects millions of people to buy tickets and ride the trains by 2028.
“People have been hoping for high-speed trains in the United States for many years,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg before joining union representatives and company officials at the future location of a terminal to be constructed just south of the Las Vegas Strip. “It’s really happening this time.”
Buttigieg mentioned the support of the Biden administration for the project, which he said will create thousands of union jobs, stimulate local economies, and reduce traffic and air pollution.
Brightline West, whose sister company currently runs a rapid train between Miami and Orlando in Florida, plans to lay 218 miles (351 kilometers) of new track mostly along Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, California. This will connect with a commuter rail link to downtown Los Angeles. A station is also in the works for the Victorville area in San Bernardino County.
Company officials aim to have trains traveling at speeds exceeding 186 mph (300 kph) — similar to Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains — running in time for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
“I believe we’ll look back at today and say, ’This was the birth of an industry of high-speed rail,’” said Brightline Holdings founder Wes Edens on Monday.
The company's goal is to connect U.S. cities that are too close for air travel to be practical and too far for people to drive.
Las Vegas does not have Amtrak service. The idea of a high-speed train to Los Angeles has been around for decades under various names, including DesertXpress. Brightline West acquired the project in 2019, and the company and public officials state that it has obtained all necessary right-of-way and environmental approvals, as well as labor agreements.
Brightline received support from the Biden administration, including a $3 billion grant from federal infrastructure funds and recent approval to sell an additional $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds. The company obtained federal authorization in 2020 to sell $1 billion in similar bonds.
Brightline West states that electric-powered trains will reduce the four-hour trip across the Mojave Desert to just over two hours. The company predicts 11 million one-way passengers per year, with fares that Edens said will be similar to airline ticket costs. Trains will offer restrooms, Wi-Fi, food and drink sales, and the option to check luggage.
Officials hope the train line will ease congestion on I-15, where drivers often endure miles of slow traffic while returning to Southern California from a weekend in Las Vegas. More than 44,000 vehicles per day crossed the California-Nevada state line on I-15 in 2023, according to data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Florida-based Brightline Holdings’ Miami-line made its debut in 2018 and extended service to Orlando International Airport in September last year with trains reaching speeds up to 125 mph (200 kph). It provides 16 round-trips per day with one-way tickets for the 235-mile (378-kilometer) distance costing about $80.
Other swift trains in the U.S. include Amtrak’s Acela, which can reach 150 mph (241 kph) between Boston and Washington, D.C. However, fast train connections for other U.S. cities have been suggested, including Dallas to Houston; Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago to St. Louis; and Seattle to Portland, Oregon. Most have faced delays.
In California, a proposed 500-mile (805-kilometer) rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco was approved by voters in 2008, but has been plagued by increasing costs and routing disputes. A 2022 business plan by the California High-Speed Rail Authority projected that the cost had more than tripled to $105 billion.
