Interstate High Speed Rail Las Vegas-SoCal

Los Angeles to Las Vegas High-Speed Rail (HSR) has been a vision for decades. Today, journeys between that city pair have grown to a 5-hour drive or 4-hour Total Air Travel Time. Los Angeles Consolidated Metro Area is the largest source of visitors to Las Vegas. A private passenger train company snagged a federal grant and is finally building it in stages — Thomas Dorsey, Soul Of America

In its Las Vegas-Southern California HSR project, Brightline West has raised $9.4 billion in private funds from a combination of venture capital, California tax-exempt bonds, Nevada tax-exempt bonds and a $3 billion Federal Railroad grant.

That sum is enough to acquire property south of the Las Vegas Strip across from Las Vegas South Premium Outlets, acquire 284 acres in Victor Valley, California next to Interstate 15 Freeway, and build 218 miles of HSR infrastructure for Las Vegas-Victorville-Hesperia-Rancho Cucamonga corridor.

For additional ROI, Brightline West will build mixed-use developments at their station properties similar to how Brightline Florida built mixed-use development at Miami Station.

Brightline West in Las Vegas-Victor Valley-Rancho Cucamonga Corridor

The initial market for Brightline West is San Bernardino County, Riverside County, and eastern Los Angeles County residents who commonly drive to Sin City. They should have a good alternative by late 2030-early 2031.

Brightline West & California HSR Segments by Environmental Clearance & Construction Status; (c) HSR Alliance

In December 2023, Brightline West received a $3 billion commitment for federal funds to extend from Victor Valley to Rancho Cucamonga. Construction broke ground in April 2024. Most of it will be built in the I-15 Highway median and go through a steep Cajon Pass to Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County. Unlike California HSR project, no tunnels and no long viaducts are planned for the project to boost top speed and average speed.

A new Brightline Rancho Cucamonga Station will connect to Metrolink San Bernardino commuter rail, which runs 41 miles west to Los Angeles Union Station and about 16 miles east to San Bernardino Metrolink Station.

Though Brightline West says its trains would travel up to 140 mph through Cajon Pass from Victor Valley to Rancho Cucamonga, that is unlikely to happen. having driven the Cajon Pass at least 30 times myself, I am confident that passenger trains will likely slow to 90-100 mph in the 4-6% grade of I-15 Freeway in Cajon Pass for 23 miles between Hesperia and the Fontana I-15 and I-210 Freeway Interchange.

The Fontana freeway interchange is only 5 miles from Rancho Cucamonga Station. Since land flattens after the freeway interchange, trains may increase to 100 mph in the I-15 Freeway median, then slow again to enter the last mile on Metrolink San Bernardino Line tracks to Rancho Cucamonga Station.

Brightline West has the benefit of using mostly freeway median Rights-of-Way, acquiring some adjacent property, engineering design and construction planning for several years. The project started construction in April 2024 and will require at least 5 years of construction, unless there are unforeseen delays.

Given the HSR project will require 9-12 months of systems testing for California Public Utility Certification, I anticipate late 2030 opening.

I’m excited that high-speed trains will rip through desert terrain at 185-200 mph to between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga in a satisfying 2 hours and 15 minutes. That will be a game changer that lets drivers enjoy desert scenery along the way.

Brightline West Also Needs Victor Valley-Palmdale-Burbank Airport-Los Angeles Corridor

The Brightline West commitment to build the Las Vegas-Victor Valley segment also sparked interest by Metrolink, California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), City of Palmdale, California HSR Authority, and LA Metro for Las Vegas-Victor Valley-Palmdale-Burbank Airport-Los Angeles Union Station service.

Planning is underway to replace Metrolink Palmdale Station with a larger California HSR Palmdale Transportation Center nearby. Metrolink also wants to extend its commuter rail service from Palmdale to Victor Valley on the same track.

Thousands more daily riders from Santa Clarita and north San Fernando Valley would ride Metrolink or drive 25 miles to Palmdale, then transfer to Brightline West for a 233-mile ride to Las Vegas. Their 30-60 minute drive to Palmdale combined with a sub-2-hour train ride to Las Vegas is still shorter than Total Air Travel Time or a long drive to Las Vegas.

Perhaps a Brightline HSR Victor Valley-Palmdale segment will enter construction the same time as California HSR Bakersfield-Palmdale segment. If so, that will spur public demand to build California HSR Palmdale-Burbank Airport-Los Angeles Union Station-Anaheim segment sooner.

When those combined HSR segments are built, more people from the rest of Los Angeles County, Ventura County, and Orange County will ride. The Network Connectivity Effect will boost ridership California HSR, Brightline West, Metrolink andAmtrak Pacific Surfliner.

Brightline West complements the CalSTA goal for more electric-powered HSR mileage to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Smog before 2040 by replacing most regional flights from 5 LA Metro Area airports, and many intercity drives to Las Vegas.

Don’t be surprised if Brightline West creates a party train service to Las Vegas — especially for Raider football fans.

Brightline West Costs Have Leaped

Here’s why Brightline West HSR, California HSR and the media must educate the public to understand that big infrastructure project costs inflate each year. That’s okay as long as the projects are difference-makers that will produce larger Benefits over Costs in the long term.

When Brightline West initially planned to start construction in 2020 from Las Vegas to Victor Valley (61 miles from Los Angeles Union Station), estimated cost was $8 billion raised from private funds.

By 2023, Brightline West correctly figured that ridership and revenues would significantly jump, if they extended from Victor Valley to Rancho Cucamonga to connect with LA Metrolink commuter rail (41 miles from Los Angeles Union Station). Estimated cost jumped to $12.4 billion, so they requested and were allocated a $3 billion grant from the Biden Administration. Brightline West said they would raise an additional $1.4 billion.

Better informed of real costs from pre-construction activities in 2024 and early 2025, Brightline West quietly increased the estimated cost to $16 billion. It required them to raise $13 billion of private funds to couple with Biden’s $3 billion grant.

In October 2025, Brightline West says estimated cost is $21.5 billion and they seek an additional $5.5 billion federal loan to complete the project. This is another proof point that our public-private dollars should be estimated larger and invested faster to limit inflation.

For more insights on the challenges and progress of California HSR and its relationship to Brightline West, visit the links below.

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