Los Angeles to Las Vegas High-speed Railway to Commence Construction Within Two Months

The responsible person for the Brightline West, a fully electric high-speed rail project connecting the Los Angeles area with Las Vegas, announced on February 10th that construction is set to begin within the next two months.

This train system, hailed as the United States’ first true high-speed rail system, will link Las Vegas with the greater Los Angeles area, with the western terminal station located at Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County. The station will feature a parking lot capable of accommodating 3,700 vehicles and will connect with Metrolink, providing convenient access for passengers to various destinations in Southern California.

According to Brightline West, the high-speed rail line in Southern California will have two stops: one in Apple Valley in the Mojave Desert, named the Victor Valley Station, and another in Hesperia, which is 35 miles from downtown San Bernardino and will only have peak-hour stops. Eric Scheetz, senior project manager at the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), stated at an NDOT board meeting that other stations will have 37 trains stopping daily.

The fully electric trains manufactured by Siemens are expected to shuttle between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga at a speed of 200 miles per hour, transporting an estimated 8.6 million passengers annually with a travel time of approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes per trip. The drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas typically takes two to three times longer, around 4 to 6 hours, and even longer during traffic congestion.

Scheetz mentioned that the total project cost is estimated to reach $12 billion according to NDOT. In December 2023, NDOT received a $3 billion grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, while Brightline West is still in the process of securing an additional $9 billion in private financing. Previously, the project sold $1 billion in private activity bonds (PABs) in late 2024 and is currently attempting to sell $2.5 billion in PABs, which, if successful, would mean that over half of the project’s financing has been secured. Scheetz expects this financing to be completed within 2 to 4 weeks.

He stated, “At that time, large-scale civil engineering will begin. This phase will last for two to three years, after which workers will start laying down the tracks.” The remaining $6 billion in funding for Brightline is expected to come from a bank loan as part of private financing. Scheetz added, “We have received very positive feedback regarding Brightline, and banks are very close to signing agreements.”

Siemens announced in September last year plans to build a $60 million factory in Horseheads, New York, for manufacturing and assembling the first trains for the Brightline West project. The factory is projected to start operations in 2026, providing the American Pioneer 220 trains for the project.

Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility, stated in a release, “The new factory in Horseheads, New York marks the birth of a new industry in the United States, bringing high-speed rail production and some of the world’s most modern trains to the American continent simultaneously.”

The entire railway line is expected to be completed within four years, which may not meet the passenger needs for the 2028 Olympics. The project is expected to create over 35,000 jobs during the construction phase and generate 1,000 permanent positions in operation and maintenance.