brightline west It benefits from $3 billion in federal funding from President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law. Trains could be operational as early as early 2028, in time for the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
Travelers have a lot to look forward to. Trains depart every 45 minutes from Las Vegas Station, south of the historic Strip, and Southern California Station, in the Los Angeles suburb of Rancho Cucamonga, about 60 miles east of downtown.
Brightline West trains travel at speeds of up to 186 mph (faster than any other train in the United States) and make the 348-mile journey in approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes.
President Biden: “Finally, we will build the first high-speed rail project in our nation’s history.” Talked about Brightline West During December. “We’ve been talking about this project for decades. Now we’re really going through with it.”
Other high-speed trains carrying passengers at speeds of more than 200 miles per hour are under construction in California, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest.
According to Google Maps, driving between Rancho Cucamonga and Las Vegas takes at least three hours without traffic.
“You’re riding Brightline and you’re sitting there looking at the brake lights on the freeway and thinking, ‘This sucks,'” said the company’s CEO. Jim Matthews said. Railway Passenger Associationhe said on Friday. “What that will look like for all the people trying to get to Las Vegas from metropolitan Los Angeles.”
Brightline West trains travel along Interstate 15 for most of their journey. They will make two halfway stops in California, one in Hesperia and one in Apple Valley.
Travelers coming from Los Angeles have the option of taking a ride metro link, a regional rail system in Southern California that runs to Rancho Cucamonga Station near the intersection of Interstates 10 and 15. Traveling between Downtown Los Angeles and Rancho Cucamonga takes at least 50 minutes by car or 1 hour and 15 minutes by train, without traffic jams. .
Speed is not the only reason to ride Brightline West.
Brightline’s Florida operations, which connect Miami and Orlando, opened in September, giving prospective customers in the West an idea of what to expect. Before Brightline’s debut, Amtrak dominated intercity passenger rail travel for decades.
The station is spacious with comfortable seating areas, a bar selling craft cocktails, and a lounge for premium passengers. Onboard, travelers enjoy assigned seats and high-speed WiFi. Throughout your trip, attendants will walk you through the aisles offering snacks and drinks.
Brightline told investors it had a record 258,307 passengers in March, and one in three trains was nearly full.
Brightline’s strong ridership numbers, although slower than initially promised to investors, make a strong case for building faster, more frequent trains between major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
According to the federal government, Brightline West estimates that 6 million people will ride the train during its first full year of service. environmental assessment. That number is expected to rise to 9.2 million within 10 years.
The company estimates that without rail, three-quarters of its passengers would travel by car between Southern California and Las Vegas. Another 15 percent fly, and the rest don’t fly at all.