LOS ANGELES (AP) – A plan to build a high-speed train between Southern California and Las Vegas is back on track now that a private rail company has taken over the project.
Brightline announced Wednesday that it has acquired the rights to XpressWest’s 185-mile (298-kilometer) federally approved rail corridor along Interstate 15.
The project had been stalled several times.
Brightline says it will start construction on the $7 billion line next year. It expects to complete a link between Las Vegas and Victorville, California by 2022 – with plans to eventually extend the line another 80 miles (130 kilometers) to Los Angeles.
It would be only the second privately funded express intercity passenger service in the U.S. Brightline currently runs a Florida rail system serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
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