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Virgin Trains USA, previously known as Brightline, already operates a high-speed train in Florida. Its California-Nevada project is expected to span 185 miles and take 90 minutes to move passengers between Las Vegas and Victorville, Calif., which is northeast of Los Angeles.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 | 9:14 a.m.
A company with plans to build a high-speed train line between Las Vegas and Southern California says it has been approved for tax-exempt bonds that will allow it to break ground by the end of the year.
“West Coast, we’re coming for you,” said a tweet Tuesday from Brightline, which already offers rail service in South Florida and would run the new line here as Virgin Trains.
California on Tuesday approved a $600 million private activity bond allocation that will allow the company to raise up to $2.4 billion for the project, according to a report by Forbes.
Along with a provisionally-awarded bond allocation from the U.S. Department of Transportation and one pending in Nevada, the company is just $800 million short of the project’s $5 billion construction tab, according to the report.
Construction on the line is expected to take about three years.
The all-electric California-Las Vegas train would tentatively run every 45 minutes from 6 a.m. to midnight, carrying up to 500 people at speeds approaching 200 mph.
The trip would take about 90 minutes.
The Clark County Commission has already approved permits for a train station near the South Premium Outlets mall at Las Vegas Boulevard and Warm Springs Road. The two-story station would house a passenger terminal, shops and restaurants.
