LAS VEGAS — The completion date for the Brightline West high-speed rail project has been pushed back again, this time to late 2029.
The company informed KVVU-TV of that date last week, but not did elaborate on reasons for the new estimate. It did say the project is in the “civil construction” phase, preparing the route along Interstate 15.
Brightline West will connect Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., with a 218-mile route built mostly along the right-of-way of I-15. On its website, the company says construction has been divided into four segments, three in California and one in Nevada; the project will also include four stations and a maintenance facility in Sloan, Nev.
At groundbreaking ceremonies in April 2024, officials said the project would be done in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which begin in mid-July of that year [see “Brightline West groundbreaking …,” Trains.com, April 22, 2025]. The company revised the target date to December 2028 in documents related to a bond offering last January [see “Brightline West now expecting …,” Jan. 26, 2025].
Increasing construction costs led Brightline West to apply a $6 billion loan from the federal government last year [see “Brightline West seeks …,” Oct. 6, 2025]. At that time, the cost of the project was estimated to have risen from $16 billion to $21.5 billion.
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If you give the project four times the current budget and four times the current time line, it won’t happen.
California has had enormous success not only in hugely expanding Amtrak but also in starting and expanding commuter systems. It does not follow that either Brightline West or CalHSR will ever be finished.