Brightline West is bringing the first bullet train to the United States.
The Brightline West project will connect Los Angeles’ Metrolink system to the Las Vegas Strip with a high-speed train system projected to move two times faster than driving.
As part of the agreement, Brightline is committed to employing union workers for all aspects of implementing the new rail infrastructure, securing a $3 billion grant from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“Thanks in part to the men and women who work in our railroad and construction branches, millions of people who drive between Los Angeles and Las Vegas could soon be making that same trip on a comfortable train in half the time,” said IBEW president Kenneth W. Cooper. “Brightline knows that they can count on the members of our union coalition to get the job done safely and efficiently.”
160,000 freight, regional, commuter and passenger railwork personnel now make up the U.S. High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition, which includes the IBEW.
“The coalition met with Brightline several times and gave them a few of our concepts of how high-speed rail should be done,” said Al Russo, director of the IBEW’s Railroad Department.
Annually, an estimated 25 million people pass through the Southern California/Nevada corridor of I-15 alone. Brightline estimates the rail will reduce traffic by 3 million cars, removing 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
With this project, the United States will join the ranks of Spain, France, Japan, China and other countries with high-speed rail systems already in place. These trains run on specialty tracks, moving at speeds of at least 155 mph and higher. Brightline West’s 218-mile-long route is projected to reach a maximum speed of 200 mph. In contrast, drivers on I-15 have a speed limit of 70 mph.
Brightline is currently establishing city-to-city rail service in Florida from Miami to Orlando, and currently operates in Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach—though its top speed in Florida is 130 mph.
Feelings toward this project are optimistic, and there are hopes to continue expansion.
This project is expected to create thousands of jobs during construction and hundreds of permanent union jobs once it opens, which Brightline projects may be as early as 2027.
