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Explainer

Brightline West, explained

What's planned, where it will stop, how it's being paid for, and what has happened so far, from primary sources.

Photo: EgorovaSvetlana / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Not in service. Brightline West is under development. The company's current target for service is late 2029 (Review-Journal, Sep 28, 2026). VegasByTrain is independent and not affiliated with Brightline West.

What it is

Brightline West describes the project as a 218-mile, all-electric high-speed rail service between Las Vegas and Southern California. Trains are planned to reach up to 200 miles per hour and to carry passengers from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga in about 2 hours, which the company says is twice as fast as the normal drive. At its 2024 groundbreaking, the company said the line will run in the median of Interstate 15. Brightline West is a sister company of Brightline, which runs trains between Miami and Orlando. The Review-Journal reports that the two operate as separate entities.

Route & stations

218 miles · all-electric · up to 200 mph · ~2 hours Las Vegas Apple Valley Hesperia Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink → LA

Station 1 of 4 · planned

Las Vegas

Las Vegas Boulevard between Blue Diamond and Warm Springs roads, south of the Strip

The flagship station. A parking garage was started on part of the 110-acre site, and the Review-Journal reported in Sept 2026 that work there appears to have halted.

Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sep 28, 2026)

Schematic, not to scale. Stations and figures from Brightline West's project overview and the Review-Journal. Nothing is in service yet.

On a map

Skip the map
Map of Southern California and southern Nevada with a dashed line along Interstate 15 from Rancho Cucamonga through Hesperia, Victorville and Barstow to Las Vegas, and numbered pins for the four planned Brightline West stations: Las Vegas, Victor Valley, Hesperia and Rancho Cucamonga. The line is approximate.

The dashed line is Interstate 15, drawn from OpenStreetMap data. Brightline West says the line will run in the I-15 median, but it hasn't published route geometry, so treat the line and the pins as approximate. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Tiles OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles · Built October 23, 2026
Length
218 milesBrightline West (home page)
Top speed
Up to 200 mphBrightline West (groundbreaking release)
Trip time
About 2 hoursLas Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, which the company says is twice as fast as the normal drive
I-15 on this map
About 214 milesMeasured along the OpenStreetMap I-15 line, Foothill Blvd to Blue Diamond Rd
Planned stations, as Brightline West describes the sites
StationSite, in Brightline West's wordsWhere the pin sits
Las Vegas110-acre property north of Blue Diamond Road, between I-15 and Las Vegas BoulevardApproximate: between I-15 and Las Vegas Blvd, north of Blue Diamond Rd
Victor Valley (Apple Valley)300-acre parcel southeast of the Dale Evans Parkway and I-15 interchangeApproximate: southeast of the Dale Evans Pkwy interchange (I-15 exit 161)
HesperiaIn the I-15 median at the I-15/Joshua Street interchangeApproximate: I-15 at Joshua St (exit 141)
Rancho Cucamonga5-acre property at the northwest corner of Milliken Avenue and Azusa Court, co-located with MetrolinkRancho Cucamonga Metrolink station (OpenStreetMap node 6114626200)

Site descriptions: Brightline West press release: groundbreaking (Apr 22, 2024). Brightline West says the Rancho Cucamonga station will share the site with Metrolink, a few miles west of I-15. It hasn't published how the line gets from the station to the freeway, so the map leaves that stretch blank instead of guessing. Download the map data (GeoJSON).

Brightline West's home page lists a flagship Las Vegas station plus stations in Apple Valley, Hesperia and Rancho Cucamonga. Its October 2026 press release names the stops as "Victor Valley and Rancho Cucamonga". The Review-Journal places the Las Vegas station on Las Vegas Boulevard between Blue Diamond and Warm Springs roads, on a 110-acre site. In Rancho Cucamonga, the station is designed to connect to Metrolink for downtown Los Angeles.

Interstate 15 running south through the Mojave Desert
I-15 in the Mojave Desert, the planned Brightline West corridorPhoto: EgorovaSvetlana / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (license)

The trains

In May 2024, Brightline West named Siemens Mobility its preferred bidder to build ten American Pioneer 220 trainsets, subject to final agreements. The company's April 2026 construction report, filed on the MSRB's EMMA system, says car shells for the first trainset were in production in Germany.

How it's being paid for

  • $3 billion federal grant: announced December 8, 2023 and awarded to the Nevada Department of Transportation. The grant agreement was signed September 26, 2024.
  • Private activity bonds: the Review-Journal reports $2.5 billion issued by Nevada and California.
  • $6 billion federal RRIF loan (pending): The Bond Buyer reported in September 2026 that the company expected federal due diligence to finish by October, followed by a 90-day formal review. Bloomberg reported a decision could slip into January 2027.
  • $400 million equity by November 2, 2026: under its bond indentures the company must receive at least $400 million of equity (EMMA notice, Nov 21, 2025). The Fifth Supplemental Indentures moved that deadline from September 10 to November 2, 2026 (EMMA event notice, Sep 9, 2026), as reported by The Bond Buyer.

Cost: the Review-Journal reports the price rose from $9 billion to $20.1 billion. Brightline West told bondholders that the remaining budget under executed contracts is about $20.9 billion (The Bond Buyer).

Milestones

  1. $3 billion federal grant announced

    NDOT receives a $3B Federal-State Partnership grant for the project.

    Source: Brightline West press release: $3B grant announced (Dec 8, 2023)

  2. Groundbreaking in Las Vegas

    Ceremonial start of construction on the 218-mile line.

    Source: Brightline West press release: groundbreaking (Apr 22, 2024)

  3. Siemens chosen for trainsets

    Siemens Mobility named preferred bidder for ten American Pioneer 220 trainsets.

    Source: Brightline West press release: Siemens selected (May 1, 2024)

  4. $3B grant agreement signed

    The FRA grant agreement is formally signed.

    Source: Brightline West press release: $3B grant agreement signed (Sep 26, 2024)

  5. Up to $50M of bond proceeds released

    Bondholders consent. First trainset car shells reported in production in Germany.

    Source: Brightline West construction report, April 2026 (MSRB EMMA)

  6. President steps down

    Sarah Watterson becomes a special adviser. Mike Reininger remains managing director.

    Source: Bloomberg (Aug 17, 2026)

  7. Fifth bondholder extension

    The Fifth Supplemental Indentures move the Equity Contribution Condition Deadline from Sep 10 to Nov 2, 2026. The company puts the remaining budget at about $20.9B.

    Source: Brightline West company update + Fifth Supplemental Indentures, EMMA event notice (Sep 9, 2026)

  8. Target: late 2029

    The company says Brightline Florida’s Chapter 11 has no bearing on the West project.

    Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sep 28, 2026)

  9. Equity deadline

    Equity Contribution Condition Deadline in the bond indentures: the company must have received at least $400M of equity (EMMA, Nov 21, 2025).

    Source: Brightline West company update + Fifth Supplemental Indentures, EMMA event notice (Sep 9, 2026)

  10. Target start of service

    Company target as reported by the Review-Journal.

    Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sep 28, 2026)

Read every update with sources →

Quick answers

Will Brightline West go to downtown Los Angeles?
Not directly. The planned Southern California station is in Rancho Cucamonga, where Brightline West says riders will connect to Metrolink regional rail for downtown Los Angeles and beyond.
How fast will the trains be?
Brightline West says up to 200 mph, making Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga about 2 hours, which it describes as twice as fast as the normal drive time.
Is Brightline West the same as California high-speed rail?
No. Brightline West is a private company’s Las Vegas–Rancho Cucamonga line. California high-speed rail is a separate state project between San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anaheim. See how the two compare.
How much will tickets cost?
Brightline West hasn’t published fares, and we won’t guess. SBCTA said in October 2026 that its board discussed fare structures that complement Metrolink.