A bullet train to Sin City? What to know about Brightline West project between LA and Vegas
In Vegas, it seems like trains are the new thing to set your soul on fire.
The Brightline West project is in progress to connect a suburb of Los Angeles to Sin City, aiming to reduce traffic and environmental impact.
The majority of the track will be in the median of Interstate 15 and trains will hit speeds of up to 186 miles per hour, cutting a roughly four-hour car trip without traffic into a two-hour ride.
The project received $3 billion in federal funding in December and $2.5 billion in private bonds from the U.S. Department of Transportation in January. The project is expected to cost $12 billion.
Preparations to break ground on the project are underway with the aim to start construction this spring, presenting a major contrast to the oft-delayed California High Speed Rail project.
Here's what you need to know about Brightline West.
Where will the Brightline West route start?
Brightline West will start in Rancho Cucamonga, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. A Metrolink train will connect Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to the start of the Brightline West line.
How long is the Brightline West route?
The Brightline West route will run 218 miles and have two stops between Rancho Cucamonga and Las Vegas.
Where does the Brightline West route end?
Renderings depict the Las Vegas Station being situated on Las Vegas Boulevard between Blue Diamond and Warm Springs roads, roughly 3.5 miles south of Mandalay Bay and 5 miles south of Caesar's Palace on the Strip.
The station is set to be built on 33 of 110 acres of land that Brightline owns in the area, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.
When is Brightline West scheduled to open?
Construction is scheduled to begin in spring of this year. The company aims to have service begin in time for the 2028 Olympics.
Has this been tried before?
A private bullet train that would connect Victorville, California to Las Vegas called DesertXpress was proposed in 2005. The name was changed in 2012 to XpressWest and the project was shelved in 2016 after XpressWest pulled out of a deal with a Chinese firm to construct the line.
Brightline purchased the project in 2018 and added an expansion from Victorville to Rancho Cucamonga.
Has Las Vegas had train service?
The Desert Wind Amtrack line ran between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City with a stop in downtown Las Vegas from 1978 to 1997.