Brightline Buys XpressWest High Speed Rail which will connect Victorville to Las Vegas

Brightline is the nation’s largest and only privately owned operated express intercity passenger rail system. Brightline funded the Florida rail corridor previously. The Florida rail is a proven privately funded model for the Las Vegas Express. Brightline will now take over the construction, land acquisition. The initial phase is expected to build the right of way along Hwy 15 without pedestrian crossings. They expect construction to begin in 2019 with completion by 2022. The planned Las Vegas station is expected to run right to the resort corridor with access to limo’s, shuttles, taxi’s and rider sharing firms. The Victorville connection is 30 to 45 minutes from Los Angeles. They plan on additional stations and connectivity to the Metrolink which connects in Palmdale. They hope to also connect to the Cal High Speed rail likely at that junction also. Brightline’s ambitious plan is to complete the 190 miles from Victorville to Las Vegas in just three years. If they pull off their plan all privately funded then it will show Cal-High-Speed Rail authority’s costs and construction is way too expensive and slow. Overall it is good news for the high desert and Los Angeles.

California is Building a High Speed Rail for Florida

Brightline, being developed by All Aboard Florida. It will connect riders in Miami to Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando via railway. This is much the same as the Calhigh Speed Rail is attempting in California, but the Cal High Speed Rail is a Government project. The Brightline Miami to Orlando project is completely privately funded. They anticipate a plan to get people out of their cars by featuring food, drinks, affordable rates and comfortable seats. They are attempting to make a train more convenient than driving a car. They will also build travel hubs with retail space, residential homes and commercial properties. These trains are being built by Siemens in Sacramento. It seems like Florida has created a more cost effective solution to high speed rail travel with private funding and control, while California very expensive system is government run and currently underfunded. Maybe California will get a clue that privately funded Brightline and the Hyperloop is a more economical solution. The bottom line though is high speed transport is the future. If you look at self driving cars, Uber and Lyft private car solutions then a personal car is not like it used to be. Additionally, the potential growth of electric buses like BVD, and electric cars like Tesla also project a more economical environmentally friendly outlook in the plans.