Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
SoCal-Las Vegas High-Speed Rail Back on Track After Sale
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
September 20, 2018

Share

Photo of California-Las Vegas train mapLOS ANGELES — A plan to build a high-speed train between Southern California and Las Vegas is back on track after a private rail company announced Wednesday it has taken over the project. Florida-based Brightline said it has acquired the rights to XpressWest’s 185-mile federally approved rail corridor along Interstate 15. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.Brightline said it will start construction of the $7 billion line next year. It expects to complete a link between Las Vegas and Victorville, California, by 2022, with plans to eventually extend the line another 80 miles (130 kilometers) to Los Angeles.The project stalled several times over the past decade, mostly over financing.
Nevada-based XpressWest’s $5.5 billion government loan was put off in 2013, and a Chinese funding partnership fell apart last year.

More Than 50 Million Trips

Brightline cites studies that found travelers make more than 50 million trips between Las Vegas and Southern California every year.

“Today those travelers are limited to traveling by air or car, and Brightline expects to offer a convenient alternative that will make the trip in less than two hours.”Brightline
“Today those travelers are limited to traveling by air or car, and Brightline expects to offer a convenient alternative that will make the trip in less than two hours,” the firm said in a statement.
As part of the agreement, Brightline will acquire 38 acres of land adjacent to the Las Vegas strip where it will build a train station along with a mixed-use development, the company said.
It would be only the second privately funded express intercity passenger service in the U.S. Brightline currently runs a Florida rail system serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
The announcement came the same day that the California High-Speed Rail Authority said it would recommend a study of a separate proposed bullet train route that would tunnel under San Fernando Valley neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
More than half of the 38-mile proposed line would be below ground — including through Sylmar, other parts of Pacoima, the Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains, the Daily News reported.
The segment, between Palmdale and Burbank, is part of an 800-mile state high-speed rail project connecting San Francisco to Anaheim.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Life-Threatening Meals: Restaurants Would Identify Food Allergens for Diners Under This Proposed Law

DON'T MISS

Iran Threatens to Strike US Bases in Region if Military Conflict Arises

DON'T MISS

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades

DON'T MISS

Fresno Measure C Transportation Tax Talks Continue Amid Renewal Uncertainty

DON'T MISS

Judge Bars Trump Administration From Detaining Mahmoud Khalil

DON'T MISS

Is a Waxed Apple ‘Ultra-Processed?’ CA Bill Could Trigger a Lawsuit Barrage

DON'T MISS

Edmunds: These Five Vehicles Are Hidden Automotive Gems

DON'T MISS

GM to Invest $4 Billion to Shift Some Production From Mexico to the US

DON'T MISS

How Your Air Conditioner Can Help the Power Grid, Rather Than Overloading It

DON'T MISS

Hundreds of Laid-off CDC Employees Are Being Reinstated

UP NEXT

Trump Warns Protests at Army Parade Will Be Met With Force

UP NEXT

Do Americans Support Trump’s Use of Marines in LA? The Numbers Might Shock You

UP NEXT

Marines Will Deploy to LA for 60 Days, Costing Taxpayers $134 Million

UP NEXT

First the National Guard, Will the Marines Be Next at LA Riots?

UP NEXT

Sights & Sounds: The 2025 Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade and Festival

UP NEXT

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

UP NEXT

FDA’s AI Assistant ‘Elsa’ Fails Its First Day on the Job

UP NEXT

8 Ways Musk and Trump Could Inflict Pain on Each Other

UP NEXT

D-Day Veterans Return to Normandy to Mark 81st Anniversary of Landings

UP NEXT

Lambda Legal, a Nonprofit Supporting LGBTQ+ Rights, Exceeded Fundraising Goal by $105M

Fresno County Wildfire Threatens Thousands of Acres. Evacuation Orders, Warnings Issued

4 hours ago

Fresno Fire’s Helmet Cam Catches Blaze Raging on House, Occupants Escape Safely

5 hours ago

Derek Carr Says Fresno Is Home, as City Honors Bulldog Great

5 hours ago

Fresno Councilmember Warns of Possible ICE Raid at Popular Outdoor Market

5 hours ago

Americans Split on Trump’s Use of Military in Immigration Protests, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

5 hours ago

Clovis Police Still Searching for Missing At-Risk Man

6 hours ago

Fresno Unified Spends Thousands to Reprint Diplomas With Misty Her’s New Title

6 hours ago

Another Dozen Migrants Are Transferred to Guantánamo

6 hours ago

Former California Corrections Sergeant Indicted on Child Porn Charges

6 hours ago

Israel Could Strike Iran as Soon as Sunday, WSJ Reports

7 hours ago

Trump Can Keep National Guard Deployed to Los Angeles for Now, Appeals Court Rules

(Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to maintain his deployment of National Guard troops in Los...

21 minutes ago

Law enforcement officers stand guard outside MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art), during a protest against federal immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters/David Swanson)
21 minutes ago

Trump Can Keep National Guard Deployed to Los Angeles for Now, Appeals Court Rules

Law enforcement officers guard Los Angeles City Hall during a protest against federal immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 12, 2025. (Reuters/David Ryder)
3 hours ago

Judge Temporarily Bars Trump From Deploying National Guard Troops in Los Angeles

4 hours ago

Israel Attacks Iran’s Capital With Explosions Booming Across Tehran

The Firestone Incident near Highway 198 and Firestone Avenue in Coalinga has grown to 50 acres with a critical rate of spread, prompting evacuation orders for Zone P19, warnings for multiple surrounding zones, and a road closure, according to CalFire. (X/CalFire)
4 hours ago

Fresno County Wildfire Threatens Thousands of Acres. Evacuation Orders, Warnings Issued

A late-night fire heavily damaged a Fresno home on on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, but all six occupants escaped safely with no injuries. (Fresno FD)
5 hours ago

Fresno Fire’s Helmet Cam Catches Blaze Raging on House, Occupants Escape Safely

5 hours ago

Derek Carr Says Fresno Is Home, as City Honors Bulldog Great

5 hours ago

Fresno Councilmember Warns of Possible ICE Raid at Popular Outdoor Market

U.S. Marines stand with their packs and weapons, as protests against federal immigration sweeps continue, in greater Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 9, 2025, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. (DVIDS/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo)
5 hours ago

Americans Split on Trump’s Use of Military in Immigration Protests, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend