USA: Project promoter Brightline West held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 22 in Las Vegas to launch its project to build a high speed line from the city to southern California.
As currently planned, the 351 km line would link Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga to the east of Los Angeles. An estimated 96% of the alignment would be located in the median of the I-15 highway, passing through federal land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service.
Most of the route will be laid out for 320 km/h operation, but environmental impact statements submitted to Federal Railroad Administration propose that the 80 km southern section through the Cajon Pass would be limited to a maximum speed of 225 km/h.
On December 8 last year, US President Joe Biden announced that the Department of Transportation had agreed to contribute up to $3bn towards the project under the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Programme. The rest of the project is planned to be privately funded and has received a total allocation of $3·5bn in private activity bonds from the US Department of Transportation.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by dignitaries including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Brightline Founder Wes Edens, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, and a number of other political and business figures from Nevada and California.
‘People have been dreaming of high-speed rail in America for decades — and now, with billions of dollars of support made possible by President Biden’s historic infrastructure law, it’s finally happening’, said Buttigieg. ‘Partnering with state leaders and Brightline West, we’re writing a new chapter in our country’s transportation story that includes thousands of union jobs, new connections to better economic opportunity, less congestion on the roads, and less pollution in the air.’
‘This is a historic project and a proud moment where we break ground on America’s first high speed rail system and lay the foundation for a new industry’, said Wes Edens, Brightline founder. ‘Today is long overdue, but the blueprint we’ve created with Brightline will allow us to repeat this model in other city pairs around the country.’
In Florida, Brightline already operates a 200 km/h push-pull diesel-powered inter-city service from Miami and West Palm Beach to Orlando, which it is seeking to extend westwards to Tampa along the Interstate 4 corridor.
Although the promoters describe Brightline West as the first true high speed rail project in the USA, the state government-backed California High Speed Rail Authority has been building the alignment of its 270 km Initial Operating Segment between Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield for several years. The launch of CHSRA’s trains is now expected in 2030-33, although these will not serve the Los Angeles basin, nor provide any connection with the Brightline West route.
- An in-depth article on the Brightline West project, including details of the alignment, stations, service pattern and rolling stock, appeared in the February 2024 issue of Railway Gazette International.
