High-speed Las Vegas-to-LA train route could launch in 2023

LAS VEGAS – A 90-minute high-speed train route between Sin City and Southern California could launch in 2023.

At least that’s the aim of Virgin Trains USA officials who asked for the support of the Clark County Commission in Southern Nevada this week.

“We all know what the situation is on I-15, especially between Barstow and Las Vegas, and this project will have a direct impact on addressing a situation that was for many years just annoying but now is intolerable,” Virgin Trains USA attorney Chris Kaempfer told the commission.

The high-speed rail company projects 5.5 million people will ride the train to Las Vegas from California every year — a ridership that could remove 4.5 million cars from the jam-packed I-15 corridor. 

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Clark County officials are set to vote on a resolution to support the project on Nov. 5. 

“The timing is right,” said Bob O’Malley, vice president of corporate development at Virgin Trains USA. “The economy here in Clark County is booming. A lot of people want to be here — a lot of businesses want to be here.”

Backed by Fortress Investment Group, Virgin Trains USA is angling to secure $800 million in tax-exempt private activity bonds to help finance the $4 billion dual-track project.

Virgin Trains is seeking $200 million in bonds from Nevada to add to $300 million in California approved last month. Next year, California will consider approving another $300 million.

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Virgin Trains USA, previously known as Brightline, already operates a high-speed train in Florida.

Its California-Nevada project is expected to span 185 miles and take 90 minutes to move passengers at 180 mph between Las Vegas and Victorville, California, northeast of Los Angeles.

Like California’s publicly funded high-speed rail project, the private project has hit stumbling blocks. It was first proposed in 2005 and has changed ownership multiple times.

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But it’s now expected to have its trains up and running long before passengers can travel on the California’s proposed high-speed rail line linking Los Angeles and San Francisco. The state doesn’t expect to have trains running until 2028, and then only on a line of track in the Central Valley.

Construction in Nevada could start in 2020 and take three years to complete. 

The project could create 13,000 jobs during construction, O'Malley said.

Contributing: The Associated Press. 

Ed Komenda writes about Las Vegas for the Reno Gazette Journal and USA Today Network. Do you care about democracy? Then support local journalism by subscribing to the Reno Gazette Journal right here.