High Speed Rail

Rail operator Brightline West announced late last month that it has struck a deal with the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition to begin work on the nation’s first high-speed rail project. The all-electric train will connect a station in Apple Valley, east of the city of LA, to Las Vegas along Interstate 15. The 218-mile trip will take about 85 minutes on a train that will have a cruising speed of 200 miles per hour.

The High Speed Rail will feature upscale amenities such as hand-stitched leather seats, complimentary onboard Wi-Fi, and delicious food and beverage.

Business riders can turn the journey into the main event by hosting meetings and events in one of the High Speed train's in-station event spaces or add onboard entertainment on their trip to or from Los Angeles.

Groups will be able to save with fixed rates for business travel needs. Brightline West also offers a simple and accessible custom portal to book trips, allowing groups to have full control over their travel budgets.

The Brightline West portal will also help streamline travel by providing planners or organizers the flexibility to digitally transfer single or bulk rides for employee business travel. 

In 2020, Brightline signed a right-of-way agreement that allows it to build the 135-mile California portion of the corridor in the middle of Interstate 15. The agreement allows CalTrans to oversee construction and maintenance of the rail line that will begin in Apple Valley at a train station to be constructed off Interstate 15’s Dale Evans Parkway exit.

Brightline has received $1 billion in private activity bonds from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help fund the project. Brightline West has also applied for a portion of $7.2 billion in U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration grants for high-speed intercity passenger rail.

Construction on the $10 billion project will create 35,000 jobs and is expected to begin later this year. Brightline West expects operations will begin in 2027.