Construction Begins On High-Speed Rail Project Between IE, Las Vegas

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — Construction has started on a $12 billion high-speed rail project to transport passengers between the Inland Empire and Las Vegas.

A groundbreaking for the massive Brightline West project took place Monday in Nevada, with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and other federal, state and local officials on hand. Brightline founder Wes Edens and Rick Harnish, executive director of the nonprofit High Speed Rail Alliance, also attended.

Brightline West, whose sister company already operates 16 passenger trains per day between Miami and Orlando in Florida, says 218 miles of new track will be laid between a to-be-constructed terminal just south of the Las Vegas Strip and another new facility in Rancho Cucamonga.

California and Nevada have granted the Brightline West project a right of way in the Interstate 15 median, where most of the tracks will be laid. With its trains traveling up to 200 mph, Brightline West is slated to be in service in time for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Three Inland Empire stations are planned along the Brightline West route: Rancho Cucamonga, Hesperia and the Victorville area. Rancho Cucamonga offers connection to existing Metrolink routes.

The project's funding includes $6.5 billion in backing from the Biden administration, including a $3 billion grant from federal infrastructure funds and approval to sell another $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds. The company won federal authorization in 2020 to sell $1 billion in similar bonds.

Harnish called the project "a transformational investment in American trains."

"Just as the United States did for the Interstate Highway System, we need to establish a federal railway program that coordinates and supports the development of great train service," Harnish said. "This means a combination of high-speed backbones, connected with regional rail networks to give people throughout the country the option to use fast, frequent, affordable trains."

The California High Speed Rail Authority has more than 100 miles of a high-speed line under construction. See more here.

Additionally, the The Riverside County Transportation Commission is eyeing a project that would extend train service approximately 144 miles between Los Angeles and the Coachella Valley with stops in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties, including up to six stations on the east end. Read more here.