Brightline West officials hammer rail spikes during historic groundbreaking ceremony

Brightline West officials and guests hammered yellow-colored rail spikes as part of Monday’s groundbreaking celebration for the nation's first high-speed rail system that will connect Las Vegas to Southern California.

Brightline West’s 218-mile high-speed rail system will be constructed in the middle of Interstate-15, with a flagship passenger station in Las Vegas and stops in Apple Valley, Hesperia and its final destination, Rancho Cucamonga.

The Las Vegas groundbreaking ceremony was attended by more than 600 people, including San Bernardino County Transportation Authority’s former President Art Bishop, who also serves as Apple Valley’s mayor pro tem.

“It was a fantastic once in a lifetime event, with people from all over the country attending,” Bishop told the Daily Press. “How often do you get to see an event of this magnitude?”

In his role with the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, Bishop has worked with Brightline officials over the last five years to make high-speed rail a reality, he said.

Bishop added that Brightline West is planning future groundbreakings in California.

Also in attendance, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Brightline Founder Wes Edens, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, Sen. Jacky Rosen, California Rep. Pete Aguilar, Senior Advisor to President Biden Steve Benjamin and Vince Saavedra of the Southern Nevada Building Trades.

Hailed as the greenest form of transportation in the world, the Brightline West project will run zero emission, fully electric trains capable of speeds of 200 miles per hour, the company said.

Brightline West is a watershed project for high-speed rail in America and will establish the foundation for the creation of a new industry and supply chain.

Funding 

The project was recently awarded $3 billion in funding from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. The rest of the project will be privately funded and has received a total allocation of $3.5 billion in private activity bonds from USDOT.

“People have been dreaming of high-speed rail in America for decades – and now, with billions of dollars of support made possible by President Biden’s historic infrastructure law, it’s finally happening,” Secretary Buttigieg said. “Partnering with state leaders and Brightline West, we’re writing a new chapter in our country’s transportation story that includes thousands of union jobs, new connections to better economic opportunity, less congestion on the roads, and less pollution in the air.”

Brightline founder Wes Edens said that Monday’s groundbreaking was “long overdue, but the blueprint we’ve created with Brightline will allow us to repeat this model in other city pairs around the country.”

“This is a historic project and a proud moment where we break ground on America’s first high-speed rail system and lay the foundation for a new industry," he said.

Construction

Brightline West's rail route, which has full environmental clearance, will run within the median of the I-15 highway with zero-grade crossings.

The privately led infrastructure project is one of the largest in the nation and will be constructed and operated by union labor.

It will use 700,000 concrete rail ties, 2.2 million tons of ballast, and 63,000 tons of 100% American steel rail during construction. Upon completion, it will include 322 miles of overhead lines to power the trains and will include 3.4 million square feet of retaining walls.

The project covers more than 160 structures including viaducts and bridges. Brightline West will be fully Buy America Compliant.

Stations and facilities

Brightline West’s Las Vegas Station will be located near the iconic Las Vegas Strip, on a 110-acre property north of Blue Diamond Road between I-15 and Las Vegas Boulevard. The site provides convenient access to the Harry Reid International Airport, the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.

The station is approximately 80,000 square feet plus parking, according to Brightline officials.

The Victor Valley Station in Apple Valley will be located on a 300-acre parcel southeast of Dale Evans Parkway and the I-15 interchange. The station is intended to offer a future connection to the High Desert Corridor and California High Speed Rail. The Victor Valley Station is approximately 20,000 square feet plus parking.

The Rancho Cucamonga Station will be located on a 5-acre property at the northwest corner of Milliken Avenue and Azusa Court near Ontario International Airport. The station will be co-located with existing multi-modal transportation options including California Metrolink, for seamless connectivity to Downtown Los Angeles and other locations in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The Rancho Cucamonga Station is approximately 80,000 square feet plus parking.

The Hesperia Station will be located within the I-15 median at the I-15/Joshua Street interchange and will function primarily as a local rail service for residents in the High Desert on select southbound morning and northbound evening weekday trains.

The Vehicle Maintenance Facility is a 200,000-square-foot building located on 238 acres in Sloan, Nevada and will be the base for daily maintenance and staging of trains. This site will also serve as one of two hubs for the maintenance of way operations and the operations control center. More than 100 permanent employees will be on staff once operations begin, company officials said.

Economic, environmental benefits

Brightline West's $12 billion infrastructure investment is expected to create over $10 billion in economic impact for Nevada and California and will generate more than 35,000 jobs, including 10,000 direct union construction roles and 1,000 permanent operations and maintenance positions, officials said.

The investment also includes over $800 million in improvements to the I-15 corridor and involves agreements with several unions for skilled labor.

The project supports Nevada and California's climate goals by offering a no-emission mobility option that reduces greenhouse gasses by over 400,000 tons of CO2 annually – reducing vehicle miles traveled by more than 700 million each year and the equivalent of 16,000 short-haul flights.

The company will also construct three wildlife overpasses, in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Caltrans for the safe passage of native species, primarily the bighorn sheep.

The market

The Las Vegas and Southern California travel market is one of the nation’s most attractive corridors with over 50 million trips between the region each year, Brightline officials stated.

Additionally, Las Vegas continues to attract visitors from around the world, with 4.7 million international travelers flying into the destination. The city dubs itself on being the world’s No. 1 meeting destination, welcoming nearly 6 million people to the Las Vegas Convention Center last year.

In California, approximately 17 million Southern California residents are within 25 miles of the Brightline West station sites. Studies show that one out of every three visits to Las Vegas come from Southern California.

Rep. Jay Obernolte said Brightline West’s groundbreaking marks the construction of a dynamic high-speed rail system and creating new jobs and fostering economic growth in California’s 23rd Congressional District.

“This convenient alternative to driving will reduce the number of cars on the road, decreasing emissions and reducing congestion in our High Desert communities,” Obernolte said. “This is an exciting step and I look forward to the completion of this project.”

Brightline West’s goal is the completion of the rail system by summer 2028, in time for the summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the company said.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Brightline West hosts historic groundbreaking ceremony in Las Vegas