I'll believe it when both tracks are meeting halfway, just like on Promontory Point. It has been talkings for years but no action.
Brightline Trains West!
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Metra Electric Rider
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I'm hoping for a Vegas-style golden spike ceremony!
Yes, when I was shipping Japanese tourists there, I learned that in Vegas nothing succeeds like excess.
frequentflyer
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frequentflyer
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frequentflyer
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In the Brightline video presentation to High Speed Rail Alliance yesterday they said that service would start operation before 2028 LA Olympics, well before CA HSR Central Valley service. A great presentation; it should be posted shortly. Lots of great info and explanation of Brightline strategy.
jis
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As long as they do not face significant permitting and/or funding headwinds, that is an achievable goal I think. In Florida they talked about getting it done in three years and actually took about eight or so. As is always the case in these things, one never know until the proverbial fat lady sings. But there is one thing about Brightline, once they set their sights on something, they do stick to it diligently, even with distractions like Branson coming and going.
Brian_tampa
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Partnering with Branson was one of their few misteps. The other one was not working with and communicating with the Treasure Coast area early on. They could have avoided much delay and other costs if they had not taken the absolute position they did back in 2013. They learned their lesson and applied it with the Hunters Creek crowd in Orlando though. They listened and found a solution that made everyone happy in the end.
Thats going to be a tight timeline we are going to need to see large contracts like trainsets, rail ect get signed this summer or maybe fall by the latest and have shoves hit the ground before the end of the year to reach that goal.
I'm doubtfully they'll get it open by summer 2028 as much as they'd like that.
Seems exceptionally optimistic. Victorville to Las Vegas is 180-190 miles (by driving) in a climate that isn't very forgiving to lay track six months out of the year. I think they can stay out of Mojave National Preserve; it's just a matter of who owns all that land (how much of it is BLM?) and how they're going to get into Las Vegas.
I could see environmental being approved and some construction underway by mid-2028 though.
At least they don’t face numerous grade crossings, movable bridges, and marine traffic, like Brightline (East)…
IIRC, the majority of the track is planned to be in the I-15 median.
cirdan
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I agree. Much as I wish them every success, I sense there is a lot of over-optimism here. Either genuine because of rose-tinted spectacles, or strategically so in an attempt to create some uplift and get partners onboard. Optimism and thinking big being the normal currency in Vegas.
I don't think it would be wise to order trainsets when the construction dates are still fuzzy, or when they haven't yet the money to pay for them, and Siemens will be asking for assurances.
In contrast to Vegas, engineers tend to think pessimistically. A prof of mine at uni said about 10% of engineering effort is getting stuff to work under friendly conditions (that's the easy bit) and 90% is working out how to deal with adverse situations, error handling and reliability issues, in other words, most of the effort is spent on the "what if it doesn't work?" scenario. That tends to influence the way you think.
I had a geology professor who worked for the petroleum industry before he got into academia. His mantra was "Double all time estimates; triple all cost estimates." That seems to have worked for me for most of my career.
First look: Brightline’s Vegas high-speed train station revealed
Brightline West plans to build a high-speed train station on Las Vegas Boulevard south of the Las Vegas Strip.
www.reviewjournal.com
Paywall. First they told me that I had to disable my ad blocker, then they said I had to pay. Scammers!First look: Brightline’s Vegas high-speed train station revealed
Brightline West plans to build a high-speed train station on Las Vegas Boulevard south of the Las Vegas Strip.
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cirdan
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works just fine for me.
I suspect that picture is of a MetroLink station in CA.
DavidSh
Train Attendant
The background train is labeled "Metrolink", a Los Angeles service, so I think somebody confused the two ends of the line. Though this doesn't correspond to other artists' renderings of the Rancho Cucamonga station.
Welcome to Las Vegas!
One of my Russian colleagues used to say "schedule is witchcraft."
