It'll reduce the bottlenecks of commerce at our ports and our airports,' Biden said.

'The American Jobs Plan will build new rail corridors and transit lines, easing congestion, cutting pollution, slashing commute times, and opening up investment in communities that can be connected to the cities, and cities to the outskirts, where a lot of jobs are these days. Transportation is the largest source of U.S. The error has been corrected.But the idea isn't just nice family trips - it's to use improved rail infrastructure and service to alleviate problems such as traffic and air pollution as well as improve access to jobs. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, 1.6 million Angelenos visited “Sin City.”ĬORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Brightline West had secured bonds from the states of California and Nevada. LA is the top market of origin for Las Vegas visitors, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Later this year, it will extend its services another 170 miles to Orlando.īrightline’s train connecting the LA area and Las Vegas will be its first on the West Coast. The only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad in the United States, Brightline currently operates along a 70-mile stretch of South Florida, connecting Miami with West Palm Beach.

This month, the Federal Railroad Administration is expected to post its environmental assessment of the project and the permits that go with it, securing Brightline West’s right of way and allowing the project to proceed. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration grants for high-speed intercity passenger rail. Brightline West has also applied for a portion of $7.2 billion in U.S. Department of Transportation to help fund the project. The Southern California commuter rail system is working with Brightline to figure out how travelers will get between the two platforms and what fare will be charged “to make sure it’s a seamless experience for anyone using both systems,” she said.īrightline has received $1 billion in private activity bonds from the U.S. 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.īrightline West's high-speed train connecting LA and Las Vegas is expected to begin operations in 2027. 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. “As the most shovel-ready high-speed rail project in the United States, we are one step closer to leveling the playing field against transit and infrastructure projects around the world, and we are proud to be using America’s most skilled workers to get there,” Brightline Holdings Chief Executive Mike Reininger said in a statement. Brightline West expects operations will begin in 2027. (Photo courtesy of Brightline West)Ĭonstruction on the $10 billion project will create 35,000 jobs and is expected to begin later this year. “Americans want high-speed rail and Brightline West and the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition will deliver,” according to a statement from the coalition, which includes 13 rail worker unions representing 160,000 freight, regional, commuter and passenger railroad workers in the U.S.īrightline West has a memorandum of understanding with the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition to build the high-speed train connecting Las Vegas and Apple Valley. The 218-mile trip will take about 85 minutes on a train that will have a cruising speed of 200 miles per hour. The all-electric train will connect a station in Apple Valley, east of the city of LA, to Las Vegas along Interstate 15. 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. In just a few years, however, there will be another option: a train that will whisk visitors across California and into Nevada in half as much time as it takes by car. LOS ANGELES - Getting to Las Vegas from Los Angeles has always been problematic.

California high speed rail map