Brightline Adds Rancho Cucamonga to High-Speed Rail Project Bound For Las Vegas

As mentioned in the Victorville Daily Press, October 28, 2021, Brightline West, which plans to build a high-speed rail system from Apple Valley to Las Vegas, recently announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will add another San Bernardino County city to the project. The MOU sets the framework for the rail company to use 48 miles within the Interstate 15 corridor’s right of way to connect its station in Apple Valley to a newly planned station in Rancho Cucamonga. Signed on Oct. 21, 2021, Brightline’s MOU is with the California State Transportation Agency, Caltrans and the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Apple Valley Councilman Art Bishop, who serves as vice president of the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA), said the company hopes to see a groundbreaking for the Apple Valley portion in the second quarter of 2022. Brightline officials have placed an estimated price tag of $5 billion on the total project that they say will run about 11 million trips annually. The new station will provide connectivity to Metrolink’s system in Rancho Cucamonga, offering an access point for passengers traveling to and from Los Angeles, Brightline said. The high-speed train will cut the total driving time by nearly half, with a two-hour trip between Las Vegas and the Rancho Cucamonga station, and three hours between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, according to Brightline officials. Brightline’s Rancho Cucamonga station will be in the Cucamonga Station in the HART District, a full-service transit station building that will include the existing Metrolink platforms. The new station will also include a planned underground tunnel that will reach Ontario International Airport, which is nearly 3 miles away. Cucamonga Station will be built adjacent to the existing Metrolink Station in Azusa Court, just west of Milliken Avenue and south Arrow Route. Brightline’s service there will operate under the jurisdiction of SBCTA. The rail service will use zero-emission electric trains capable of reaching up to 180 mph, which Brightline projects will reduce CO2 emissions by 400,000 tons each year and reduce vehicle miles traveled by 935 million annually. Brightline estimates the project will create 40,000 jobs during construction and 1,000 permanent jobs, with an economic impact of more than $10 billion. In 2020, Brightline entered into a lease agreement with Caltrans to use the existing right of way along I-15 for the construction of nearly 170 miles of track between Apple Valley and Las Vegas. The High Desert train station will be located near I-15 and Dale Evans Parkway, just north of Bell Mountain in Apple Valley.