Las Vegas High-Speed Rail Line Next in U.S. if Brightline Gets Its Way
Skift Take
Brightline wants to make sure that private companies have equal access to the billions of dollars in new passenger rail funds proposed by President "Amtrak Joe" Biden. That could allow the railroad to speed up work on the country's next high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Southern California.
U.S. President Joseph Biden has a vision of fast trains whisking Americans to and fro around the country. His nearly $2 trillion infrastructure proposal includes $80 billion for new trains that could go a long way toward beginning to realize his vision.
Amtrak has already stepped up with a massive plan for Biden's proposed rail dollars that would add dozens of new daily trains and connect 160 additional communities to passenger rail. And private rail operators Brightline in California and Florida, and Texas Central are also eager for any additional federal funds to speed construction of new lines.
"This is the moment" for new rail investment, Brightline CEO Michael Reininger told reporters on Tuesday. "We are highly impatient about making sure that this moment does not go by."
Top of Reininger's list is kicking off work on the company's planned Brightline West project between Las Vegas and Southern California. The high-speed rail line would initially connect Sin City with Victorville, California — a city just outside the Los Angeles basin on the sole interstate to Las Vegas — about 170 miles distant. Work could begin later this year with trains running as soon as 2024 or 2025.
