Construction of the long-awaited first high-speed passenger train between Los Angeles and Las Vegas broke ground Monday, promising to carry passengers between the two cities in half the time it takes to travel through the desert.
The $12 billion project is being led by Brightline West and will reportedly build 348 stations between the new terminal in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and another station just south of the Las Vegas Strip by 2028. It is said that miles of track will be laid. luck.
Wes Edens, founder and chairman of Brightline Holdings, said in a statement that the railroad’s groundbreaking on Monday, thanks to $6.5 billion in support from the Joe Biden administration and $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds, is “the cornerstone of a new industry.” “We built this,” he said. ”
Brightline won federal approval to sell $1 billion in similar bonds in 2020, Fortune reported.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is reportedly scheduled to participate in the railroad’s groundbreaking ceremony on Monday.
Once completed, Brightline West will welcome millions of passengers to the high-speed train, which will travel at 200 miles per hour between two major U.S. cities in just over two hours. This is about half the time it takes to drive between cities. LA and Vegas.
This speed is comparable to Japan’s Shinkansen, which has a network of nearly 2,000 miles of routes across Japan’s four major islands.
Brightline estimates that 11 million passengers will take the electric train one-way each year, which means 30,000 travelers per day. There will also be toilets, Wi-Fi, and dining facilities on board.
There is also the option to check your luggage, and with or without large luggage, you can expect ticket prices to be much lower than the price of a flight across the Mojave Desert.
The price of Brightline West’s tickets was not immediately clear, but costs for the airline range from $80 to $230, depending on the time of year.
Sin City’s Harry Reid International Airport set a record for passenger numbers in 2023 with 57.6 million passengers, Fortune reported.
Meanwhile, an average of more than 44,000 cars a day will cross the California-Nevada border on Interstate 15 in 2023, according to data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau. This is probably due to the influence of the Super Bowl and F1 Grand Prix, both of which were held there. Last year in Las Vegas.
With a population of nearly 3 million people, Las Vegas welcomes more than 40 million visitors annually.
Brightline CEO Mike Reiner said the goal is to have high-speed rail operating in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
According to Fortune, the train will run almost entirely along the median of Interstate 15, starting in San Diego, passing through Los Angeles, then passing through Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and more. It is said to fall into parts of Idaho and Montana.
At this time, there will only be one stop on the route in the Victorville area of San Bernardino County, according to Fortune.
Brightline West later announced that it may add stops in Palmdale, Calif., and other U.S. subways that are too close to fly but too far to drive, but details are not available. It is not yet decided.
The goal is to ease congestion on Interstate 15, where motorists are often stuck in slow-moving traffic.
Representatives for Brightline West did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Florida-based Brightline already operates a high-speed line between Miami and Orlando, with trains reaching speeds of up to 125 mph.
The service launched in 2018 and expanded to include service to Orlando International Airport in September 2022, Fortune reported. It currently makes 16 round trips a day, and a one-way ticket to travel the 235-mile track costs about $80.
Another high-speed train in the United States is Amtrak’s Acles, which reaches speeds of 150 mph while transporting passengers between Boston and Washington, D.C., although trains are considered “high-speed” unless they exceed at least 160 mph. not.
