High-speed rail developers issue Las Vegas-SoCal update

Be Newsweek Staff

The construction team for Brightline West, a proposed new high-speed rail line linking Las Vegas, Nevada, to Rancho Cucamonga in Southern California, says that it is “getting close” to the construction phase of the project.

Newsweek reached out to Brightline West for comment on Friday via email outside of regular office hours.

Why It Matters

The United States doesn’t have any operational high-speed rail lines, defined by the International Union of Railways as operating at a minimum of 155 miles per hour along specially built tracks, in contrast to other advanced nations such as China, which has nearly 30,000 miles of track in operation.

The race is currently underway between California High-Speed Rail, which is under construction between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Brightline West to see which can be the first to open a U.S. line.

What To Know

Brightline West told Fox 5 Las Vegas that it has now completed 99 percent of the field evaluations for the project, which will help finalize the design.

The company has been collecting soil samples along the proposed route since last year, which are being evaluated to determine the grading and what support is needed for the track, stations, and other facilities.

The company told the news station that it is “getting close” to the main construction stage, more than one year after it held a groundbreaking ceremony in 2024.

Brightline West trains are planned to travel at up to 200 miles per hour, meaning the journey from Las Vegas to Southern California could be reduced to around two hours.

The company originally planned to open the line in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but this date has since been pushed back.

In September 2022, Brightline launched a new railway line in Florida linking Miami and Orlando. This was the first privately operated rail line to open in the U.S. in a century, though it travels at just below the high-speed categorization.

What People Are Saying

Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Newsweek: ”If you look at the Brightline project in Florida between Miami and Orlando, now it’s not high-speed rail, but it is wildly popular. They’re putting more and more trains on that track every day because people like the idea that they don’t have to get on the I-95.

“If you build it, they will come, if you build it, it will be successful and I think that will be the case with Brightline West, Las Vegas to LA, and I think it will be true San Francisco to LA. I think they will be wildly popular. I really believe at this point if you build it, they will come and the proof of that is Europe and Asia. Their trains are wildly popular.”

What Happens Next

Work on Brightline West is expected to intensify in the coming months, while a separate proposal, called the High-Speed Desert Corridor, aims to link it to California High-Speed Rail via a third rail line. It remains to be seen whether Brightline West or California High-Speed Rail can build the first operational high-speed rail line in the U.S.