Newsletter editor Rob Kachelriess wrote this piece with reporting by City Cast Las Vegas co-host Dayvid Figler and executive producer Sonja Cho Swanson.
It's been more than three months since Brightline West held an official groundbreaking for a 218-mile electric high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga.
The April 22 event was ceremonial, but celebratory with appearances by Gov. Joe Lombardo, Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigeig. The sentiment of “it’s really happening this time” was shared eagerly by the politicians and business executives in attendance, but questions remain about one of the most ambitious transportation projects in American history.
Where Is the Financing?
"After years of promises and years of lip service, we finally have all the funding — all the funding needed, all the approvals, all the permits, all the union workers, and there's only one thing left to do now to get this party started. We need to build it," Senator Jacky Rosen said during her speech at the groundbreaking.
Sen. Rosen’s office tells City Cast Las Vegas the statement only applied to public funding: $3 billion from the 2021 infrastructure bill championed by the Biden administration plus $3.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds.
That’s little more than half of the $12 billion the project is slated to cost, assuming it doesn’t run over budget. Brightline West is still trying to raise funds on the private market to fully finance construction.
“My understanding is that a groundbreaking should only be granted when all the funds are available,” said Nevada High Speed Rail Authority commissioner Harry Teng during a phone interview with Dayvid Figler of City Cast Las Vegas. "For some reason, they wanted to have this groundbreaking happen."
Where’s the Construction?
Prior to the groundbreaking, Brightline West completed an environmental impact study required to secure permits. Afterwards, activity has been dedicated to field investigation work — geotechnical borings and samplings, utility potholing, and land surveying on both sides of the state line.
Brightline West said it plans to have the train operational by the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but we seem a long way from laying track on a route that’s described as running alongside the median of Interstate 15. The leveling work alone would be a monumental task, based on dramatic shifts in terrain and elevation — most notably at Mountain Pass outside Las Vegas and Cajon Pass in Southern California.
“This is the first time Brightline West is building true high-speed rail," Teng says. "And the conditions from Las Vegas to L.A. are complicated. There is no existing technology that can solve those problems in building or operating high speed rail here.”
The future of travel? (Brightline West)
Where’s the Oversight?
The Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority was formed in 2015, but its duties were revised to assist the project, not oversee it. The authority's main role was selecting a franchisee — Xpress West, later acquired by the investment group that operates Brightline.
“My understanding is that the authority's progress has been somewhat concluded,” says member and railroad safety advocate Jason Doering. “I was informed that the Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority … will continue to receive updates on the project twice a year.”
The function of the Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority contrasts sharply with the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which has control of all high-speed rail construction in the Golden State with the ability to post design plans online for public comment and enforce safety regulations.
“But here (in Nevada), if you have a private company to build a high-speed rail project that has no experience in the U.S., it is very dangerous," Teng says. "They can build a high-speed rail that may not be safe and may not be operated safely.”
Assembly Bill 456, designed to strengthen railroad regulations and safety measures in Nevada, was vetoed by Gov. Joe Lombardo in 2023.
“Safety is my chief concern,” Doering adds. “In a state where the current governor has a penchant for vetoing crucial rail safety legislation, the last thing we need is another self-regulated rail operator like the freight railroads.”
Brightline West has been working directly with the Nevada Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The company did not respond to multiple requests to participate in this story.
- There’s a lot to digest about the future of Brightline West. City Cast Las Vegas co-hosts Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohan share an in-depth discussion about the realities of high-speed rail between Vegas and SoCal. Can it really happen? And is it safe? [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
