![]() ![]() Kunz said he’s confident Brightline will be able to build the Vegas line quickly. “It’s not fast enough or frequent enough.” Regular rail is OK, but it doesn’t pull people by the millions out of airplanes or out of cars,” Kunz said. “True high-speed rail is what’s transformative. This week the Biden administration is expected to announce millions more dollars dedicated to rail projects across the country.Īlthough this project would be the first major foray into high-speed rail in the U.S., China, Japan and numerous European countries have long embraced the mode of transportation, with trains connecting many major cities. The 2021 infrastructure bill had about $41.5 billion in funding for programs related to high-speed rail, according to the association. “The Biden administration is really leading the charge on trying to make this a reality in America,” said Andy Kunz, president and chief executive of the U.S. It’s not a true downtown-to-downtown connection. Whether Brightline West can come to fruition on budget and in such a short time will be a major test for the future of high-speed rail, said Yonah Freemark, a researcher at the Urban Institute that follows the development of the industry in the U.S.Ĭutting through two states and across the steep mountainous areas of the Cajon Pass can pose unforeseen challenges, he said. That 171-mile leg of the project is now estimated to cost up to $35 billion. Gavin Newsom said in a letter to the White House the grant would allow the state to complete an initial 119-mile segment under construction with double tracks in the Central Valley, build a downtown Fresno rail station, acquire six train cars and get construction ready for the remaining 52 miles of the first phase of construction, stretching from Bakersfield to Merced. 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 in politics, cost overruns and delays.Ĭalifornia’s separate $3.1-billion application for that project was also approved. In Las Vegas, the terminus will be on the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard. In Southern California, the line will connect to the Metrolink commuter train system, linking it directly to downtown Los Angeles. Three wildlife crossings have been added to a planned high-speed rail line project connecting Las Vegas and Southern California. to Vegas at 180 mph, bighorn sheep will have safe passage Construction is expected to begin early next year.Ĭalifornia As trains tear from L.A. 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. The trains can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour. 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 rest of the funds for the $12-billion project are expected to be raised through private capital and bonds. Department of Transportation grant as part of the historic infrastructure package, Nevada’s U.S. 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.īrightline, a private company that completed the final phase of the intercity rail line connecting Miami and Orlando, Fla., this year, secured the U.S. ![]()
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