The 350 km high-speed rail line connecting Las Vegas and Los Angeles is set to break ground this year and be completed by 2027.
Brightline intends to construct the Brightline West high-speed rail line connecting Las Vegas with Los Angeles. (Photo: Joe Raedle).
The American railway company Brightline has announced a contract signing with the High-Speed Rail Labor Alliance – a coalition of 13 labor unions representing over 160,000 railway workers in freight and passenger transportation – to build the high-speed rail line connecting Las Vegas and Los Angeles, according to Interesting Engineering on March 6. The line will have stops in Rancho Cucamonga, Apple Valley, and Hesperia.
The new high-speed rail project is named Brightline West. Mike Reininger, CEO of Brightline, stated that this will be the first high-speed rail system operated and maintained by a labor union.
“As the most shovel-ready high-speed rail project in the U.S., we are one step closer to leveling the playing field with infrastructure and transportation projects around the world. We take pride in having the best American workers to achieve this,” Reininger added.
Brightline estimates that the Brightline West project will have an economic impact of approximately $10 billion for the region, creating around 35,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs at the stops along the route in Southern California.
The company also estimates that the project will attract about 12 million of the 50 million one-way trips between Las Vegas and Los Angeles each year, with 85% of these currently being made by bus or car. Brightline believes that reducing car and bus trips will help decrease approximately 400,000 tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere each year.
The new rail line is expected to break ground this year and hopes to complete construction by 2027. The line will span approximately 350 km, designed for trains traveling at speeds of 320 km/h. This means the entire journey will take just over an hour. In contrast, driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas takes an average of 4 hours, depending on traffic conditions.
