Brightline West: An Aerial Overview
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- Опубликовано: 18 май 2023
- Brightline West is Brightline’s second passenger rail venture which will connect Las Vegas with the Los Angeles Basin by true high speed rail in just over two hours. Specifically, Brightline West will follow Interstate 15 from Las Vegas to their LA station in Rancho Cucamonga, with additional stations planned for Hesperia and the Victor Valley.
In this video, I provide an aerial overview of the route the tracks will follow as it looks now prior to any construction beginning. While the info in the video is current as of May 2023, I drove the full route in March 2022 filming this video, stopping at most of the significant locations along the route.
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This was filmed in March 2022 with information as of May 2023.
Enjoy my videos? Consider supporting my channel! Anything contributed will go to covering the expenses I incur while filming these updates (such as flying to California to film this) and for upgrading my equipment. You can contribute through the following link: www.buymeacoffee.com/RoamingR...
To learn about the construction of Brightline Florida, check out my coverage of it in this playlist: • Brightline Florida Con... 
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There seems to be some confusion over the number of stations along the Brightline West route. There are only four stations planned which will be located in Rancho Cucamonga, Hesperia, Victor Valley, and Las Vegas. All of the other locations I show in this video are not stations, but rather just spots to help explain the route and terrain.
It's happened! Roaming Railfan has transitioned to the west coast! I have no clue why I'm so invested in Brightline as I'm a random European but I'm rooting for you guys to finally get your first HSR line! Great video.
I’m interested in Brightline as well, despite living in Colorado. I’d love to see a high speed rail along the Front Range, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon. Part of the problem is getting around once you reach your destination. So many of our cities are entirely focused on cars as the only viable transport option.
Exactly the same here!
Greetings from Spain! We know a thing or two about HSR.😂
No sweat. I never boarded Euro HSR but am well aware it’s far superior to US rail. Brightline needs to make better rail options happen.😎
This will be good for the development of the high desert region. Currently, there is a lot of cheap housing in the high desert region but there are few jobs in that region; for that reason, very few people live there. However, with this train, people in the high desert region, will be able to work in the Las Vegas area or the LA area. I’ve started looking to buy a house in Apple Valley.
You and us too. It's about 2 decades late but hopefully it'll relieve the intense pressure on the I-15 corridor.
2:20: "...this will take up area previously set aside for widening the interstate."
Does this mean that the DOT is actually smart enough to say they won't need that space to uselessly widen the freeway in the future? Because that's incredible and I love it.
Maybe you can document it once or twice a year... I do hope so... I love watching major infrastructure projects develop.
Maybe not only report on - but start to activly lobby it? Maybe there is a chance coming and a window of opportunity may open soon?
It deserves a documentary honestly. We need to see how people across different income classes, the laboring work force, the engineers, the managers, and the planner all work together to make one goal: make our life better.
I am sure the people in California and Nevada will look forward to your progress reports on Brightline's western railroad, just like we folks on the east coast have watched your progress reports in Florida. I predict some new subscribers when that work starts.
Just need to find a spot for a box jack tunnel. That's what sold me on watching @RoamingRailfan videos.
😋🍿
Me living a 15 min bike ride away from rancho station: 👁️👄👁️
I never thought I’d see the day where I’d be able to bike to family members in hesperia. My car and gfs car broke down on the way up the cajon pass.
Being able to go to Vegas for an event and be back in time to sleep in my own bed 🥳
Nevada resident here who just stumbled upon this channel. I’ll definitely be subscribing!
2:54 If Brightline really is able to run HSR trains at up to 6% grades (the current steepest HSR line is 4%), it would have major implications for the feasibility of HSR in other corridors nationwide. Thank you for this video!
A 6% grade may not be a big deterrent if it is not too long or if the reality of reduction of speed is necessary because of the grade. The TGV used short 3% grades to reduce construction costs and momentum to overcome the grade.
Keep in mind the it isn't the ability of the train to make the grade at speed that's the question, it's the ability of the train to make the grade from a dead stop in the middle of the grade that dictates whether or not it's feasible / practical. The major thing Brightline has going for it is that the trains are short and double powered. Realistically, they are overpowered for their length and weight but it does provide a longer service life as a side effect.
@@MRBenchwork The trainsets used for this route will be completely different than the ones used in Florida. They'll be pure electric units powered by overhead pantographs.
The Velaro Nova trainsets have distributed traction throughout the train. The Frankfurt - Cologne HSR uses gradienta up to 4%, and the ICE3 trainsets (Velaro evolved from these) are able to make these grades from a dead stop with 50% of their traction motors only!
So yeah, 20 years later we should be able to have a 6% gradient.
@@Ergzay You of course are 100% correct. It makes huge sense, given the differences in terrain, climate, user demand, ... . Adjusting design to requirements, what a concept.
2:19 "this will take up area previously set aside for widening the interstate"
sweeter words have never been said. just wondering if we had done with this so much other reserved highway RoW for intercity travel
The fact the train will be in the median and a driver doing 80 will get smoked by the train on the straight sections is absolutely fascinating and I cant wait to see the videos. I expect the press from the opening will help boost public support for high speed rail spending.
As a Las Vegas native, I'm extremely happy to see this project has finally gotten this far. I still remember when Amtrak stops providing service in 1997. This route has always been talked about going high speed. I would definitely enjoy watching your content if you documented the construction of this route.
It seems a natural for a High speed system
Oh boy. I can't wait for the moment (knock on wood this happens) where the first Brightline high speed test train hits 185mph and finally breaks the American rail speed record currently held by the jet powered budd car from the 1960s.
It will be such a sea change for the country.
Thank you for this. Raised in Vegas in the 90's until my work led me to San Diego since 2017. Have my parents and siblings still living there. It's a nightmare to drive 7 hours and 315+ miles one way with no traffic. One time I was stuck for over 12 hours on the 15 freeway due to an accident. Flying is no different, by the time you are done with check ins, security, boarding, etc, barely any time saving. Can't wait for this Brightline become a reality, I'll be the first to try it, lol.
This was extremely helpful. Real shame Victor Valley is getting a station, but not Barstow. Just going to encourage more sprawl. Seems there are a lot of tight curves on this route, would be interested to see a track speed map.
There are a lot of curves but with proper engineering, they should not have any significant impact on the overall speed.
Victor Valley Station makes sense. The question is why Hesperia instead of Barstow?
Including a station in Hesperia was part of the agreement to extend the route from the original terminus in the Victor Valley to Rancho Cucamonga
@@RoamingRailfan You are a goldmine of info. thanks for the replies! I lived 90 miles north of Victorville for almost 35 years, moved to Germany on retirement. So, between my interest in the area, and experience with high-speed rail systems, I have deep interest in this project. I was stuck in traffic heading south on the 15 20 miles north of Baker more than once. I would have preferred to board at Barstow, but Victorville would have been an improvement over parking on the freeway.
He addressed the previous in his discussion. He also mentioned that these are light vehicles, not heavily laden freight cars, a huge advantage. Even 60mp0h would be high-speed compared to Sunday afternoon Los Angeles traffic on the 15.
We are finally starting construction this month. I would like you to report until the construction is completed.
As someone who's never been to a desert before, it's crazy looking at it; it's so obviously an ancient ocean or lake bed. It's nut to imagine it full of water and how our current seas would look if it was as dry... imagine how big those mountains would be in some places.
Now THIS is what I've been looking forward to! Can't wait until constructions starts.
After all the excellent work you've done on Brightline's Florida expansion, hopefully they will be willing to fly you out west a few times a year to document the construction progress on Brightline West. Hopefully the region will consider tying in some sort of high-capacity public transit option. Ideally you'd get at least light rail running from the Brightline station up the strip and to Fremont Street, with a branch for the airport terminals, but from what I can find it looks like they're only considering BRT or streetcar service for such a route.
Putting the route through the median of the interstate is pure genius. Drivers will have to pass by the construction for 4 years and then imagine being passed by a high speed train while you’re stuck in traffic. It’s the ultimate billboard to advertise your service! Lol
Exciting to see you documenting this, too. I'm not sure how much I believe this is going to go ahead this year, but Brightline's earned a lot of credibility that once they turn over the first shovel of dirt, it'll get completed roughly on time--the question is when they're going to break ground!
The Cajon Pass is no joke. It used to be a common occurrence to see cars overheated on the side of the freeway near the top as some struggled to make it over, especially in the warmer months. I find it a bit surprising that Brightline would take this approach since there is already cargo rail in the valleys nearby but there may be space constraints they had to consider plus keeping a straight line may simply be the best solution considering the lighter passenger loads.
Personally looking forward to this, mostly since I'm hoping Brightline will be like the airlines and be low cost going the opposite direction of Las Vegas tourists on weekends.
Real road signs: "AVOID OVERHEATING TURN OFF AIR CONDITIONER NEXT 6 MILES"
Oh, dear! On social media I've been commenting about this train ending in Victorville. Now I have to remember it's headed to Cucamonga! Jack Benny would be proud.
It's amazing that you went to so much trouble to fly out and document the route. I live out here and have driven this many times, but have a much clearer picture of it now.
Id love to see you document the construction of BLW.
It will be the first actual HSR line in the US, and will beat California by a few years. It's imperative from a historical perspective that it be documented. You're positioned to be the best one to do so.
I guess we finally learned that "just one more lane, bro" isnt going to cut it.
The 23-mile segment from Hesperia to Fontana will not be faster than 90-95 mph due to the steep elevation change (from 3176 feet to 1237 feet) and the short distance between Fontana's I-210-I-215 Interchange and Rancho Cucamonga (4-5 miles) inclusive of a sharp turn to enter existing tracks towards Rancho Cucamonga Station. The 5-mile segment between Victor Valley and Hesperia is flat enough and electric trains can reach 185 mph in 3.5 to 4 minutes, but the distance is so short that it's unlikely to surpass 130 mph before trains have to slow down for each station. For 150-160 miles between Victor Valley and Las Vegas, trains should reach 185-200 mph.
I've been following this story since the first plans were made public. At that time, it seemed like a developer's pipe dream. I am 75 years old. Amazingly, I may be able to ride this train in my lifetime. I wish I could say the same for California Highspeed Rail.
This directly benefits me. I live near LA and we usually go to Las Vegas and take the 5 hour drive twice a year
13:21 oooh man Mad Greek Cafe is gonna have some business with the construction workers. That’s good.
They’ve already had additional business due to Brightline West from me!
Fascinating video, thank you! This seems like a great project, I hope they'll manage to build it.
I also hope they'll do the obvious thing and electrify the tracks between Rancho Cucamonga and Union Station eventually, so the trains can run through to there. It is such a relatively easy win, and it makes both Brightline West and Metrolink (if they buy electric trains) much more useful and attractive. It could be a great starting point for electrifying all of Metrolink.
Significant state funding potential eventually for electrifying Metrolink. Socal is a bit miffed that the Bay Area took all the funds for electrifying Caltrain and started the HSR in the central valley, leaving socal high and dry...
A great video for those on the east coast who have no concept of just how expansive this area of the US really is..
Drive time from Las Vegas to the LA area can grow from 4 to as many as 12 hours on a busy weekend. If built, this train would take thousands of cars off I-15 and make it about a three-hour trip.
As a semi-truck / tractor trailer driver for 22 years.....I traveled that stretch of highway so many times - that there is no possible way for me to count the trips. The statements from
viewers about the long, long delays due to traffic are not exaggerated ! A HSR line from the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas would help enormously with the congestion ! My normal
operations took me from the beef processing plants in Colorado and Nebraska to the Port of Los Angeles where my freight would be loaded into refrigerated shipping containers
for delivery to Singapore, Viet Nam, South Korea, and other Asian countries.....I was a single link - in the chain - feeding that part of the world !
Those were some great aerial shots of the proposed Brightline Rail! I never knew how long the distance is, but train service would be monumental between the states. Thank you for giving us a bird's eye look and a prairie dog look at the route! I know it would be some task, but would love to see if and when the construction starts.
Benny Seagal had this vision 70 something years ago when he built the Flamingo Casino, to connect LA with Las Vegas with a very high speed rail line, it looks like his vision is starting to take root, and I hope it finally comes to fruition some time soon.
This is definatley a long term plan for Brightline, they should use this opportunity to develop land so people can commute to Las Vegas or LA without sitting in hours of traffic or paying an insane amount of rent
Knowing Brightline, there will definitely be development associated with their stations.
Oh wow! Everyone's been begging in the comments for months for you to start making videos on Brightline West when it starts construction. Hoping this is a positive sign! :)
Love the visuals and the new information. Very fitting you got stuck in traffic in the middle of nowhere out there. It also cracked me up that you got a bug on your windshield in front of the camera in Nevada. Same thing happened to me. 😄
I am also truly curious what type of stanchions or barriers will be put in place to protect the train right-of-way from a fully loaded semi truck accidentally losing control and crashing into the median (which happens more often than you would think)
There will be concrete walls or some other significant barrier the whole way. It’s not going to be built in the median unprotected
It would be a travesty for you to not try and negotiate with Brightline to cover this new project. Your videos are truly some of the most affordable marketing they could purchase. Additionally, your videos offer Brightline a place to direct media when they want visual updates on the construction and it's also valuable from the company side as well in keeping executives up to date on the day to day of the project. Finally it's in their best interest to have you on contract as they can then ask you to fly and film in the event they need coverage on a certain aspect of the project or need video for the engineers / Architects. This would easily be 70-80K a year (plus whatever you make from RUclips) if you ask them.
The demand for this train is going to be insane. Hope fares are reasonable
This is a project that I am really looking forward to, especially if it is able to link up to the California HSR project. I do hope they provide enough parking at the Rancho Cucamonga station, they are going to need it. One thing I really hope they decide to do is to extend the line as much as possible to points closer L.A and/or the San Gabrial Valley, possibly sharing track with the California HSR (match the electrical specs of the CHSR).
Most of the proposals related to Brightline have it link to LA Union Station via a connection with the future CAHSR Project in Palmdale (with Brightline trains either continuing on the CAHSR tracks or passengers having to transfer). Right now a version of this seems more likely due to lower cost of building in the High Desert vs the San Gabriel Valley, but a more direct line from Rancho Cucamonga to DTLA would be better for ridership.
@@SolXabidarraMetrolink will be the connection to L.A union station from Rancho Cucamonga.
Excellent description of how Brightline is going to get high speed rail between LA and Las Vegas! All that open space will sure make planning and construction a LOT easier than ... say ... the Northeast. Your extensive use of drones, auto, voice and maps to show us how it is going to be done was terrific and left me with few questions. I hope to see updates from you in the future as this project matures. Good job!
I’ve been waiting for this one. Even if you only document this project sporadically, it would still be cool to tune into your videos hearing “coming up in this brightline west construction update.” This is going to be a really neat project to watch.
That scene at 12:00 will be the greatest advertisement for Brightline West. Imagine sitting there on your way to Vegas staring down an 18 wheeler's backside, and then the train whizzes by at 150+ mph.
Roaming railfan you are at it again; doing an outstanding effort to inform us of another greatly and overdue needed construction project. Thank you.
Will be waiting for your construction progress updates.👍🏼
Finally, a comprehensive video of the route. Been waiting for something like this for years. Well done!
Thanks for making this very interesting video. What really struck me was the desert and those I15 "interchanges" that essentially go nowhere. What a contrast with Florida. If you document this project, remember to stay hydrated. 🙂 Cheers from Wisconsin!
They don't actually go nowhere, quite a few are access points into the Mojave Preserve. There's a lot of history out there, wagon roads, ruins of cavalry forts, native american sites and things of that nature. It's a popular off road area during the cooler months.
The sooner the better. Thank you for sharing.
You've done a terrific job documenting the Brightline in Florida. I hope you decide to do the same for Brightline West. Your reputation with the company can only help with the new line.
As someone who has driven this route a hundred times or more over fifty years, I am sooooo tiered of this drive, and cannot wait to use
this system. Hope I live long enough to use it.
someday God, Brightline Heaven
Excellent overview of the route. Have driven the route at least once a year for the past 17 years, so your aerial views of familiar locations like Zzyxx Rd were fun to watch. Over the past 17 years, the traffic continues to get worse each year, especially around major holidays. So I had to laugh when you mentioned getting stuck in traffic on a weekday, that was us on our last trip a few months ago! So hopefully the train can help relieve some of that traffic congestion.
To me your documentation of the Brightline system is great to watch. I wish you to continue if possible. Thank you again for Brightline Florida
Just wanna say thank you for all the work you did with the east coast. Now it’s time to move forward to head to the bright west😉😉. Thanks for helping me with my depression, watching these videos truly made my life better and something to hope for. 🎉
First time I heard that the line was going to Rancho Cucamonga - GREAT NEWS!
Excellent video !! , Is super informative , Thank you very much , I live in southern california this new rail will certainly help tremendously , Take care
Here to rewatch this to get familiar with what to anticipate in the next few years...
Great video!
5:20 they're putting a station here? Looks barren. I'm curious how much use a station there will get 🤔
Thank you for this video
Thank you for making this video!
I'm so excited for this project! I live in Vegas and have family in LA and the lack of a rail option is a real pain. The drive on I-15 is brutal and taking a plane for such a short distance is so inconvenient. Vegas doesn't even have Amtrak service currently, so being able to take Brightline West not only to visit LA, but to access Amtrak routes up to Seattle or down to San Diego is going to be amazing. Can't wait! =)
Great video! As a resident of SoCal, I look forward to the train- the drive between LA and Vegas is tedious (often flat and straight for long stretches), and as mentioned in the video traffic is often bad, especially at the Cajon pass. On holiday weekends the drive can be hours longer due to traffic.
Great coverage!
Fantastic!
Way Cool! Go get 'em!!! The commitment is very much appreciated!!!
Thanks so much.
Nice Job-Thank You..
That was perhaps the most interesting way someone could do a “train runs through an empty desert” video. Well done!
Thank you!
Excellent video. Thank you. Cheers from Brazil.
that video provided a very good overlook, thank you!
Great video! Thanks!
Very informative video ! Thank you!
Great video. Very imformative. Thank you for producing.
Very well done and informtive.
Please keep us posted on its progress!
thank you
Great overview of the project!
I'm excited for Brightline West, can't wait to have it completed!
This is an awesome, and informative, video! Looking forward to riding that train speeding along the desert!
Great detailed video, so cool to see you over here on the west coast!
best video ive seen in a long time!
Congrats Brightline!!! $12Billion approved.
Thank you for creating this video, I have been wanting to see a High Speed train to las Vegas for years! Excellent work in your presentation.
Thank you for the time and effort of making this video, it's very detailed, informative and very well done
Thank you for this great overview! Really hope you will continue to cover brighline west construction project in the future
I really hope this happens!! It's desperately needed,and I hear there are plans for extensions to Denver, Salt Lake City and other places being talked about and considered!
A really fantastic video, thank you so much for this and for everything you've done in Florida. Selfishly I very much hope that you do document Brightline West.
Thanks for a truly super report! I hope this entire venture will succeed -- it's a huge construction operation!
Thank you for a very informative & professionally done video. 👍
Thanks for documenting - this has been a long time in the works and I can't wait for them to break ground!
Awesome video! I’m so excited to see all the progress being made with Brightline West and CAHSR - can’t wait to zip around to Vegas and San Francisco 😎 🚆
I grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Crazy that they are finally building a train to Vegas!
I certainly hope you do document construction of Brightline West. I have greatly enjoyed your Brightline updates from Florida.
Great coverage I can’t wait for brightline to start building this project too
Wow great video 👍
Thank you for taking the time to document the route. Lots of good detail. I don't understand the lack of a station at Barstow.
Now that we've been teased with what's upcoming, of course, everyone will now expect the construction to be documented! Very cool video, thank you
On a road trip with dad about decade ago,we took most of this going west. Beauty route.
very good videos!
Brightline getting s... done. Can't wait for Orlando to open. Then on to Vegas baby. 🙂
Absolutely excellent video! Factual. Complete. Good production, script, and editing.!!!