Brightline West kicks off construction on high-speed rail between Las Vegas and Southern California

Shovels are in the ground on a high-stakes project to link Southern California with Las Vegas by high-speed rail.

In Las Vegas Monday, Brightline West officially broke ground on its new system that, within four years, is expected to offer travelers a two-hour ride between the two metropolitan areas at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.

Once operational, this "dream for decades," as Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) put it Monday, will be the nation's first true high-speed intercity rail system.

And, this project will, in many ways, expand on Brightline's innovative concept and service in Florida that currently connects the Sunshine State's southeast coast with Orlando.

A $12 billion project

Discussed for years, the estimated $12 billion Brightline West project got a significant leg-up in December, when the Biden administration announced $3 billion in grants supporting Brightline West, made possible through partnerships with California and Nevada via the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

Though the scope of the project is immense, Brightline appears to be in a strong position to see it to completion: The project has full environmental clearance, the company said Monday.

Brightline West trains will run along the Interstate 15 corridor in Nevada and California, right down the median of the highway.

That should help the company avoid many of the time-consuming permitting processes that come with clearing land or cutting across properties — often factors that can delay major infrastructure projects.

Brightline's Florida system similarly avoided the trappings of bureaucratic red tape by relying on existing tracks and rights of way for its routes.

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When will Brightline West open?

Construction on the Brightline West project is expected to last about four years. If all goes according to plan, that timeline could see the new system open just in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

"A short four years from now, this will be one of the world's great transportation centers," Brightline founder Wes Edens predicted at Monday's ceremony.

The plans for Brightline West

The groundbreaking at Brightline's future station in Las Vegas marked the official start of construction on the planned 218-mile rail line.

In Las Vegas, travelers will be able to catch the new Brightline West trains at an expansive station near the city's iconic Strip, not far from Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport (LAS).

Renderings shared by the company Monday show the rail operator's signature bright yellow signage at the Vegas station, along with a premium bar — amenities familiar to travelers who have traveled with Brightline in Florida.

From there, the all-electric trains would cross the Nevada desert en route to Southern California stops in Victor Valley and Hesperia before reaching the westernmost station in Rancho Cucamonga, outside Los Angeles.

The entire 215-mile trek should take just over two hours, a far cry from the frequent four hours-plus travelers face while navigating the I-15 corridor between the two regions by car.

The 80,000 square-foot Ranco Cucamonga station will be located a short distance from Ontario International Airport (ONT) and steps from a California Metrolink stop, which will allow travelers to connect with regional transportation to other parts of Southern California.

In total, a Vegas-to-Rancho Cucamonga trip followed by a Metrolink connection to central Los Angeles should take closer to three hours, the company says.

The trains will run on all-electric energy, reducing emissions while simultaneously providing incentives for drivers to take the train between California and Vegas instead of driving.

An eye toward a rail-centric future

For Brightline, the Western system is just its latest foray into pushing the boundaries of America's innovation in rail travel.

Monday's Brightline West groundbreaking came exactly seven months after the company opened the extension of its Florida line, connecting its coastal stations with the terminals at Orlando International Airport (MCO), providing travelers with unique new opportunities to explore both Central Florida's theme parks and South Florida's Beaches.

And it could well serve as a launching pad for future high-speed rail corridors, Edens predicted at Monday's event.

"In short order, I believe there will be many train systems developed using the blueprint that we're using," Edens said, rattling off other U.S. city pairs that meet the company's "too short to fly, too long to drive" criteria, specifically calling out Houston and Dallas, Portland and Seattle, and Atlanta and Charlotte.

His predictions surely drew an eager audience in U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who, as part of the Biden administration, has been a major proponent of passenger rail — and similarly predicted Brightline West will be just the beginning of high-speed rail development in the U.S.

"I am firmly convinced that, once the first customer buys that first ticket to ride true high-speed rail on American soil, there will be no going back," Buttigieg said, speaking at Monday's event.

"In this particular case," Buttigieg said, "what happens in Vegas should absolutely not be confined to Las Vegas."

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