Brightline Takes on an Ambitious project: Connecting Las Vegas to Southern California

By Matt Martella

Brightline is undertaking a bold new project to connect Las Vegas to Southern California by a high-speed rail line. This project is meant to facilitate travel from Las Vegas to California, and company officials say that the construction of two new train stations will hopefully open up thousands of job opportunities within the area.

The cost of the high-speed rail link is proposed to be $5 billion and they hope to have it up and running in 2026.

The Las Vegas train station is currently planned to be built south of the Strip near the South Premium Outlets mall.

Huge New Train Station in Las Vegas

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that that station would span more than 273,000 square feet on land and would be two stories tall.

Plans for the first floor of the station would include a self-ticketing, departure lobby, office space, and baggage claim, while the second floor would have retail space, passenger waiting areas, and potentially some outdoor restaurants and bars.

Beside the station would be a seven story-tall parking lot planned to hold 2,680 parking spaces. A 138-foot-long pedestrian walkway would connect the parking lot to the train terminal.

Connecting to Victorville California

The 170-mile rail line from Las Vegas would connect to another planned train station in Victorville, California. The Victorville train station would be built off I-15. Brightline hopes the new train station will stimulate the economy in Victorville, whose population now stands at about 20,000.

On potential real-estate development resulting from the Las Vegas to Southern California rail line, SVP of Corporate Affairs for Brightline, Ben Porritt, says: “We have over 100 acres in Las Vegas and we own or control nearly 300 acres in the Victor Valley Region. In Las Vegas, we have shown preliminary site plans for our station but have yet to release any plans related to the rest of the development.”

Fortress Investments, a US hedge fund, is one of the investors. California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) has approved a $3.2 billion tax-exempt, fixed-rate revenue bond to Brightline and their affiliate DesertXpress Enterprises LLC to launch their project.

This money will be put to use on the 135 miles of land on the California side of the rail line.

In order to begin construction, Brightline must receive a “record of decision” by the Federal Railroad Administration. Despite this obstacle, the company has already started gathering materials and equipment for the rail line.

In addition to influencing the economy and creating new jobs along the rail-line, Brightline hopes that this project’s success, along with the success of a completed rail line connecting Miami to West Palm Beach, and now, Orlando, will open up the rest of the United States to the construction of more rail lines throughout the country.

Ready to Ride by 2026

Construction on the project is set to start later in 2022 intriguingly, and Brightline plans on having the rail line ready for the public by 2026.

Much of the reason behind building a rail line between Las Vegas and Southern California comes from Brightline’s other rail line in Southern Florida. To get a better idea of what the rail line project between Las Vegas and Southern California could look like, it is best to see the work that Brightline has already completed.

The Florida Project

The up-and-running train station in South Florida has made transportation in the area much easier, as travelers can now avoid driving on Interstate 95 or the Florida turnpike and instead take a more relaxing train ride.

There is an approximate 35-minute ride from Miami to Fort Lauderdale and a 40-minute ride from Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach.

The West Palm Beach train station is located in the best part of the city, close to all the stores, restaurants, and beaches one would desire to visit.

Just blocks away from the train station are the Palm Beach convention center, the Kravis Center of Performing Arts, and the Norton Museum of Art. In Orlando, it goes all the way to Orlando Airport.

 Miami Central Station

The Miami station has had a huge impact on the city in a short period of time. Located in downtown Miami, it is close to the Arts and Entertainment District and the American Airlines arena, making it the ideal destination for people who want to see a concert or live sporting event.

Regarding the real-estate development that has occurred in the Florida area, Ben Porritt says: “Brightline has sparked development in and around our stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. In Downtown Miami, there have been over 20 new projects announced or developed since we launched construction on our train station.

We’ve seen similar development in West Palm Beach including nearly 1,000 new apartment units within a half-mile of our station.”

Convenient to Public Transit

Transportation around the city is very convenient from MiamiCentral. Public transport options in the area include Metromover®, Metrorail®, Metrobus®, City of Miami Trolley Systems, future Tri-Rail Downtown Miami Link, and the new Brightline inter-city express train.

As of now, Brightline is focusing most of its efforts on building the Las Vegas rail line and adding to the Florida rail line.

On the topic of future developments, Porritt says “there are at least 10-12 city pairs across the country that fit the business model of too short to fly and too far to drive. Our model is connecting city pairs that are too far to drive and too close to fly.”

It will take a tremendous amount of time and effort to build and update the Florida and Las Vegas projects alone, but Brightline seems to be up for the challenge.

If these two rail lines are successful and the need for more rail lines grows,  Brightline could be making travel easier all across the United States.