LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Over the last couple of years, transportation officials have set the goal of opening the new Brightline West high-speed rail line to Southern California in time for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
However, it doesn't look like the project will be able to meet that goal.
Last week, Brightline West officials posted over 1,200 pages of documents related to a new bond offering on MuniOS. According to those documents, the line won't be ready for passengers until December 2028.
The company is looking to raise about $2.5 billion in additional funding and the offering states that money would be broken down into private activity bonds with $1,875,000,000 coming from California and $625,000,000 coming from Nevada. The project is expected to cost about $12.4 billion overall and Brightline West has already received billions in federal funding.
According to those documents, Brightline West will operate as a catenary system, have substations, and is intended to use renewable power.
"The train service will be powered by Southern California Edison (SCE), which sources its power from several carbon-free energy options such as solar, hydro, geothermal and wind energy," the offering reads in part. "[We're] working with SCE with a goal to establish a power source option that will be 100% emission free. [We] estimate it will reduce emissions by approximately 325,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year."
Brightline West officials are working with Siemens, who will manufacture a fleet of 10 fully-electric, high-speed American Pioneer 220 trains for the rail line. According to Brightline, the trains can carry up to 440 riders per trainset and reach speeds of up to 220 miles per hour.
Siemens will also be responsible for train maintenance and will have a vehicle maintenance facility in Sloan, Nevada.
"Maintenance will be required to be performed in compliance with international standards for high-speed rail trainsets," documents state. "Siemens maintains their trainsets throughout multiple countries around the world. The Company expects that it may enter into an arrangement similar to the one used in Florida."
The line will be 218 miles long and 34 miles will be located in Nevada.
The bond documents state that Brightline West will hire the Las Vegas Paving Corporation to design and construct that 34-mile segment. Work will include grading, retaining walls, drainage, structures, earthwork, sub-ballast, and relocating certain utilities during highway re-alignment, widening, and reconstruction. Jacobs Engineering has also been hired to lead design work in relevant areas.
Brightline West officials state they're planning to hire McCarthy Building Companies for the design and construction of the Las Vegas Station, which will be located on South Las Vegas Boulevard near the Blue Diamond exit on Interstate 15.
The Las Vegas station will include a large, at-grade train platform. The platform and track area will consist of two tracks and a single platform with two boarding edges, measuring up to approximately 1,350 feet long, "allowing for the length of two coupled trains."
The station's main building will have multiple levels and include spaces for ticket sales, waiting areas, lounges, and security areas. The station will also include a primary concourse for passengers to connect to other modes of transportation including ride-sharing, resort shuttles, and car rentals.
When the station officially opens, it could eventually provide hundreds of jobs to local workers since Brightline West is basing their operations in Las Vegas.
"The Company expects to have approximately 900 employees for Brightline West, of which the company expects the majority to be allocated to rail operations (including onboard staff and maintenance support staff) and stations and hospitality operations (including station managers, station engineers, safety and security staff, ticket counter/guest services, public area attendants and baggage agents, café attendants and commissary employees)."
The bond documents state that Brightline is planning to work with Las Vegas resorts to enhance the guest experience, including possibly cutting down on hotel check-in times.
"With major hotel check-in times on peak days potentially exceeding one hour, the Company envisions developing a partnership where passengers can check into their hotels on the train and have their luggage transported from the train directly to their hotel rooms, without the need for renting a car," the documents state in part. "In addition to the hotel and resort pick-up service, the Company envisions providing a privately-operated shuttle option from the Las Vegas Station to major resorts to ensure seamless last-mile connectivity."
The documents also state that hotels and casinos will play a big role in helping with Brightline West ticket sales.
"The Company is expected to develop partnerships and affiliations with a variety of travel partners and wholesalers to integrate the Company's tickets into travel packages that are pre-sold to the leisure market," the offering states. "The Company expects to offer an array of products tailored to frequent travelers, such as annual passes and flexible ticket packs in various denominations. These will be sold through the Company's direct sales team, who will also sell packages for corporate groups and event-based charters, such as for the Las Vegas Raiders events."
Groups and corporate clients will also be able to rent a special lounge car on the trains.
As for ticket prices, Brightline officials said they haven't finalized their ticket pricing strategy yet.
However, based on their 2024 Revenue and Ridership Supplement, they project the average fare for a one-way standard ticket will be $119 and a one-way premium ticket will be $133.
You can see examples of the different cabins below.
That's cheaper than projections that Brightline founder and chairman Wes Edens gave last March. That's when he said that round-trip tickets could cost over $400. However, at the time, he did say the company was experimenting with prices.
According to Brightline officials, they're planning on 35 daily departures, which will leave hourly. They had previously said they were planning on trains leaving every 45 minutes.
The train will not go all the way to Los Angeles but will have stops in Victor Valley, Hesperia, and Rancho Cucamonga.
Brightline West officials say they're working with Metrolink, which can connect riders from Rancho Cucamonga to other parts of Southern California, including Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.
When looking to the future, documents state that Brightline is projecting to have 5.8 million passengers and revenue of $844 million in 2029, which will be its first full calendar year of operations.
They are anticipating that number to grow to 8.6 million passengers and $1.4 billion in revenue by the time operations stabilize in 2031.
According to the 2024 Revenue and Ridership Supplement, about 68% of passengers will come from Southern California, 21% will be from Las Vegas and Clark County, and about 11% will be passengers from other parts of the United States or visiting from overseas.
That being said, there is still a lot of work to do before passengers can hop aboard.
While the company has been doing soil testing along the proposed rail route for months, no construction has officially begun, as of January 2025.
WATCH: Soil testing advances Brightline West high-speed rail project along I-15
