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Happened as dated, per the source[1]: "Brightline West[4] officially broke ground on April 22, 2024, on the nation's first true high-speed rail system." Completion: Brightline West PR director Antonio Castelan to Equipment World[2], 18 Feb 2026: the project's "formal completion date is now late 2029" (end = end of 2029).- Groundbreaking
- Apr 22, 202450% CONFIDENCEsource
- Completion
- Dec 31, 202950% CONFIDENCEsource
Problem it solves
SourceMany city pairs are too short to fly and too far to drive.
How: A 218-mile, 200 mph high-speed rail line in the middle of I-15 connecting Southern California and Las Vegas in about two hours, almost half the time of driving.
Brightline West Breaks Ground on US High-Speed Rail
Brightline West broke ground on a 218-mile electric high-speed line between Las Vegas and Southern California, aiming to become America's first true bullet train.
- Brightline West broke ground in Las Vegas on April 22, 2024 on what it calls the nation's first true high-speed rail system, a 218-mile (351 km) line between Las Vegas and Southern California[3][4]
- The route runs in the median of I-15 with zero grade crossings, using fully electric zero-emission trains; Brightline's release quotes 200 miles per hour, while Railway Technology describes American Pioneer 220 trainsets capable of up to 220 mph (354 km/h) in seven-car formations seating 434 to 450[3][4]
- Journey time is also stated two ways: two hours between Southern California and Las Vegas, "almost half the time as driving", in the groundbreaking release, and about two hours and ten minutes from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, "twice as fast as driving", in the later project profile[3][4]
- The investment is $12 billion, with $3 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and $3.5 billion in private activity bonds from USDOT, the rest privately funded[3][4]
- Economic claims at groundbreaking were over $10 billion in economic impact and more than 35,000 jobs, including 10,000 direct union construction jobs and 1,000 permanent positions[3][4]
- Stations are planned at Las Vegas (110 acres, about 80,000 sq ft), Victor Valley in Apple Valley (300 acres, about 20,000 sq ft, with a future link to the High Desert Corridor and California High Speed Rail), Hesperia in the I-15 median at Joshua Street for local service, and Rancho Cucamonga (5 acres, about 80,000 sq ft, near Ontario airport and co-located with Metrolink), plus a 200,000 sq ft vehicle maintenance facility on 238 acres in Sloan, Nevada with 100+ permanent employees[3][4]
- Materials quoted for construction: 700,000 concrete ties, 2.2 million tons of ballast, 63,000 tons of steel rail, 322 miles of overhead lines, 3.4 million sq ft of retaining walls and more than 160 structures, all Buy America compliant[4]
- Railway Technology dates the expected completion to 2028, with services projected to serve the Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games and about 11 million passengers annually; contractors listed are Grimshaw, Arup, Siemens Mobility, Atlas Technical Consultants and HNTB[3]
- The market case rests on over 50 million trips a year between the two regions, 4.7 million international travellers to Las Vegas and about 17 million Southern Californians within 25 miles of a station[4]
- Projected environmental effects are a reduction of more than 400,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas a year, more than 700 million vehicle miles and 16,000 short-haul flights, with an aim of 100% emission-free power by 2045[3]
- The groundbreaking drew over 600 attendees including Pete Buttigieg, Wes Edens, Governor Joe Lombardo and Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen[4]
- The project grew out of MOUs with California agencies in January 2019 (Las Vegas to Apple Valley) and April 2021 (Apple Valley to Rancho Cucamonga)[3]
- The B1M's December 2023 film "The $140BN Race to Build America's First High-Speed Railway" frames it as "this new plan for a US bullet train might actually work", noting that the $140BN in its title is the total being invested across all US high-speed rail projects at the time of publication, not this line[1]
Cost $12B