Brightline West officially broke ground on the Las Vegas – Los Angeles high-speed rail which will allow trains to run at a speed of 320 km/h.
The event was attended by the U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Brightline Founder Wes Edens, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Senator Jacky Rosen, Senior Advisor to President Biden Steve Benjamin and Vince Saavedra of the Southern Nevada Building Trades. More than 600 people, including union representatives, project supporters and other state and local officials from California and Nevada, also attended the event.
“People have been dreaming of high-speed rail in America for decades – and now, with billions of dollars of support made possible by President Biden’s historic infrastructure law, it’s finally happening. Partnering with state leaders and Brightline West, we’re writing a new chapter in our country’s transportation story that includes thousands of union jobs, new connections to better economic opportunity, less congestion on the roads, and less pollution in the air,” Secretary Buttigieg said.
The 351 km rail system will be constructed in the middle of the I-15 and is based on Brightline’s vision to connect city pairs that are too short to fly and too far to drive. Brightline West will establish the foundation for the creation of a new industry and supply chain as will be the first high-speed rail in America. The project was recently awarded USD 3 billion in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. The rest of the project will be privately funded and has received a total allocation of USD 3.5 billion in private activity bonds from the US Department of Transport USDOT.
“This is a historic project and a proud moment where we break ground on America’s first high-speed rail system and lay the foundation for a new industry. The blueprint we’ve created with Brightline will allow us to repeat this model in other city pairs around the country,” Wes Edens, Brightline founder said.
The Las Vegas – Los Angeles high-speed rail route, which has full environmental clearance, will run within the median of the I-15 highway with zero grade crossings. The system will have stops in Las Vegas, as well as Victor Valley, Hesperia and Rancho Cucamonga, California.
The privately led infrastructure project is one of the largest in the nation and will be constructed and operated by union labor. It will use 700,000 concrete rail ties, 2.2 million tonnes of ballast, and 63,000 tons of 100% American steel rail during construction. Upon completion, it will include 322 miles (518 km) of overhead lines to power the trains and will include 3.4 million square feet of retaining walls. The project covers more than 160 structures including viaducts and bridges. Brightline West will be fully Buy America Compliant.
Brightline West will connect Southern California and Las Vegas in two hours or almost half the time as driving. The route will have four new stations (Las Vegas, Victor Valley, Rancho Cucamonga and Hesperia stations) and a 200,000-square-foot maintenance facility located in Sloan, Nevada, and will be the base for daily maintenance and staging of the high-speed trains to be built by Siemens.
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