Florida firm acquires company planning Las Vegas to LA rail line

XpressWest, the high-speed rail proposal to link Las Vegas with Los Angeles has been acquired by a company that provides rail service in Florida. Brightline announced plans in September to take over the rights to XpressWest’s 185-mile federally approved rail corridor along Interstate 15. Brightline indicated it also would acquire 38 acres adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip to build an intermodal transportation station with access to taxis, buses, shuttles and limousines. The company indicated it would begin building the rail line next year and complete a link between Victorville and Las Vegas by 2022. Under the company’s plan, a dual-track line free of grade crossings would be built between Las Vegas and Victorville. Eventually, the plan envisioned a 60-mile link west between Victorville and Palmdale, California. From Palmdale, the line would meet with Southern California’s Metrolink commuter rail lines and the California High Speed Rail line that is under construction.