LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Local, state and national lawmakers marked a major milestone for transportation in America, hammering in the first spikes of a new rail system that will link Las Vegas and Southern California.
The Brightline project will be 218 miles long and will take passengers from a station near Warm Springs and Las Vegas Boulevard to Rancho Cucamonga, California in just 2 hours and 10 minues.
“I really view this as the beginning of the high-speed rail era in the United States of America,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg told reporters at the ceremony.
“I think this is the opportunity to bring high-speed rail to America,” Brightline West President Sarah Watterson echoed. “And it’s something we’re starving for.”
Watterson says this project signals that America is catching up with other developed nations.
“When you look around at every major city in the rest of the world, they are connected by high-speed rail,” she said. “When we look at two international cities in the US, there’s no region and no two cities that I think of more than Las Vegas and the greater Los Angeles area.”
Brightline executives were asked about ticket prices. Founder Wes Edens was pressed about a comment he made earlier this year about the price per mile charged by Europe’s high-speed rail lines and whether that would be Brightline’s standard.
“50 cents to a dollar – those are good metrics to look at and figure it out,” Edens said. “But, of course, as with any transportation system, there will be early rides that are cheaper. There are peak rides that are more expensive.”
Brightline claims Southern Nevada will see an economic boost from this project, including the gains that come from rail workers being based here.
“We’re injecting billions of dollars into the local economy everywhere between here and Southern California,” Brightline CEO Mike Reininger said.
Union workers who will be building this line tell FOX5 they expect to get a timeline for construction next week.
Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.
