America’s first true high-speed rail system connecting Las Vegas to Southern California in “civil construction” phase
The Brightline West high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to Southern California is now scheduled for completion by late 2029, the company told FOX5 late Tuesday.
The 218-mile line will run in the median of Interstate 15. Work is underway at the site of the future Las Vegas train station off I-15 near the 215, though Brightline says there is not yet a definite date for tracks being laid.
Project timeline and development
Brightline acquired XpressWest in 2018, a local company that had been working on a rail project for years and had made progress with permits.
In 2020, California approved the high-speed rail project between Las Vegas and Victorville. Caltrans entered a lease agreement allowing Brightline to build in the I-15 median.
Brightline announced in June 2021 that it was delaying the project until 2022 due to COVID-19.
In December 2021, then-Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak met with California Governor Gavin Newsom to discuss expanding I-15 by adding an extra lane on the California side. Newsom said the lane would be ready within months.
“And it will be done by this summer, you’re holding me to account, it’s on me to get it done by this summer,” Newsom said.
Four years later, the third lane has never been added, though the shoulder can now be used as a travel lane during heavy traffic. At that news conference along the I-15, both governors pledged to bring the Brightline line to fruition to get millions of people off the road and on the rails.
Federal funding and construction
The federal government gave Brightline the greenlight in 2023. President Joe Biden came to Las Vegas to announce $3 billion in funding for the high-speed line.
“Harry Reid, I told you 35 years ago to get this sucker done – we’re getting it done… It’s on track to be completed by the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles,” Biden said.
Groundbreaking occurred in April 2024.
Throughout 2024 and 2025, field work was conducted from Southern Nevada to Southern California in the I-15 median and off the interstate, including in Sloan south of the Vegas Valley at what will be Brightline’s vehicle maintenance facility.
Current construction status
In October 2025, construction was well underway at the future train station site south of the Strip. The parking garage of the Las Vegas station is now quickly taking shape in 2026.
Brightline says it is currently in the civil construction phase, preparing I-15 and the surrounding land.
The estimated cost of the Brightline West line is at least $12 billion.
