Las Vegas-to-LA rail line: Here are the latest facts on the project
The Brightline West Las Vegas-to-Los Angeles rail project is gaining speed as the project awaits federal grant funding, but what is planned for the interstate high-speed rail line?
The trip is expected to take nearly 3 hours from Las Vegas to downtown Los Angeles, with the trip from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga taking about 2 hours and 10 minutes alone, according to Brightline.
ADVERTISING
The trains will be capable to going more than 186 mph, with each train capable of carrying between 450 and 500 passengers, and could depart every 45 minutes to an hour.
The project is expected to break ground by the end of this year if it receives necessary grant funding from the federal government for the project, and would then be on track to start service at the beginning of 2027.
The Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga line is expected to cost $12 billion.
Brightline and the Nevada Department of Transportation are awaiting a $3.75 billion grant through the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program that is part of the U.S. Infrastructure bill that would help fund the project.
The remaining cost of the project would be funded by tax-exempt private activity bond allocations from Nevada and California, and private capital. Private activity bonds are not backed by any government bodies and are instead backed by project assets and sold to private investors and large banking institutions, according to Brightline spokesman Ben Porritt.
Porritt also told the Review-Journal in April that Brightline has spent around $600 million to get the project ready for construction, which includes environmental assessments.
In June, the project was awarded $25 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to build passenger rail stations in Hesperia and Apple Valley, California, which are planned stops on the Metrolink between the Rancho Cucamonga Brightline West station and downtown Los Angeles’ Union Station.
