Brightline West: An Aerial Overview

Coming up, I provide an aerial look at  the future route of Brightline West. 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 March 2022, I made a trip to  Southern California to document   the route and have been awaiting  additional information since then   and those details have been made  available over the past few months. We’ll start at the station site in Rancho  Cucamonga and work east to Las Vegas,   sharing additional details along the way. Brightline West has an agreement to colocate  their station here at the site of the existing   Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink station. This will  allow easy transfers to Metrolink’s commuter   rail line for connections to downtown  Los Angeles and elsewhere in the basin.   Metrolink’s San Bernardino line offers close  to hourly service for most of the day currently   and that will likely increase to meet the  increased demand caused by Brightline. Brightline’s platforms will be elevated with  two tracks over the existing Metrolink tracks.   A large station building as well as parking  structure to be shared by passengers using both   services will also be constructed. A few retail  and dining options will also be made available. Here are a few of the artist renderings that have   been released of the station,  starting with a site overview. In addition to Metrolink, Brightline  plans to connect with other local   transit providers as well as shuttles  to nearby attractions and hotels. Leaving the station the route will travel  about a mile east to join the right of way   of Interstate 15, which it will follow  the rest of the way to Las Vegas. The   96% of the route will be built  in the median of the interstate.   Here in the LA basin, this will take up area  previously set aside for widening the interstate. Heading out of town and our first  stop will be as the base of Cajon Pass Cajon Pass has been a challenge for rail for over  a century as rail lines have had to zig zag to get   out of the basin between the San Bernardino  Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains. Being a light weight, electrified high  speed train, Brightline West will be able   to match the 5 to 6% grade of the interstate as  freight trains will not operate on the route. You can see a few of BNSF’s tracks here. Speaking of the trains, here are  the two renderings that have been   release to date of the Siemens  Velaro Novo and Alstom Avelia   Liberty as Brightline has not decided  on or signed a contract for trains yet. Next up is the site of the  future Hesperia station.   As part of the agreements to have  Brightline West run into Rancho Cucamonga,   Brightline agreed to add a station here  at the Joshua Street exit in Hesperia.   This station will be primarily focused  on serving commuters headed to LA to   provide an alternative to the often  crippling traffic through Cajon Pass. The platform will be located in  the median of the interstate. Next is just east of Victorville at the  future crossing over the Mojave River. While far from a raging river, the  tracks will cross the riverbed here. Just to the west of the river, they will  also cross over the BNSF Cajon Subdivision. Continuing east to the Quarry Road,  aptly named for a nearby Quarry.   Here the dominant scenery of the line of  the Mojave Desert is starting to appear.   The long straight sections of the interstate like   in this area will allow trains  to reach 186mph if not higher. Next is the location of the Victor Valley station.   Prior to Brightline’s involvement  and purchase of the route and plans   when the project was known as  DesertXpress and XpressWest,   this was going to be the end of the line from  Vegas and the property had been purchased already.   Brightline has since added the route into the  LA basin to their plans but will continue to   take advantage of this property for a  station and surrounding development.   If the High Desert Corridor is built, which  is a another separately proposed high speed   rail corridor which could allow Brightline West to  connect to the California High Speed Rail system,   this would also be where that corridor  would connect into Brightline’s route. Here is the single artist rendering  released so far of this station. Moving east again and this  is the Wild Wash Road exit. Brightline West will be completely grade separated   so there will not be any grade crossings,  resulting in an entirely sealed corridor. Now at Hodge Road and you can  see just how wide the median   is at parts that Brightline  is able to take advantage of.   The majority of the route will  be built with single track with   numerous extended sections of double track  where trains will be able to pass at speed. Most of these exits I stopped at to film   are more or less only used by people and  emergency services needing to turn around   with no businesses. Otherwise they just connect to  dirt roads heading into the mountains and desert. Next is just outside of  Barstow at Outlet Center Drive.   This spot provides a great view looking  down one of the long straight aways, There are no plans currently  for a station in Barstow,   so the tracks will just wind their way  through town following the interstate. We’ll now head into Barstow itself. Here on the east end of town will be one of the  most impressive structures on the project as the   line will have to rise up to cross over BNSF’s  Needles Subdivision on the Southern Transcon.   It will then having to come back down to  the interstate’s grade which is fairly   steep coming out of town as it goes down to  the cross over the Mojave River once again. Here is a look back into the city. Here is a quick look at a BNSF double stack  intermodal train passing through here,   which also gives a idea of  just how high Brightline’s   tracks will need to be in order for  trains like this to fit underneath. Now heading out of Barstow, which was the  last major settlement prior to Nevada,   and at Minneola Road. Here the median has widened even more,  providing plenty of room for brightline. On the right here, Union Pacific’s Las  Vegas subdivision briefly parallels the   interstate. It takes a much lengthier route to  Las Vegas in order to minimize the grades there. Continuing on to Afton Road. Brightline  will start hitting some of the more   mountainous areas and grades of  it route to the east from here. Next up is Basin Road.   This is where the route cuts through some  smaller mountains of the Mojave Ranges. It should be noted that while this project  under its various names has been talked   about for decades, it is now the most  shovel ready high speed rail project   in the nation with engineering work  and final planning nearly complete. So why is the   project even needed? Over 50 million trips are  made between Las Vegas and Los Angeles every year   and over 85% of them are car  trips here on Interstate 15.   Weekend traffic is bumper to bumper  and knowing that, I planned my trip   to be in the middle of the week to try to  avoid it, but still got stuck in traffic. This is Zzyzx Road. The interstate in the area  borders Mojave National Preserve. Brightline West   will be installing three all new wildlife over  crossings with one located in this general area.   They will also maintain and improve another 600+  culverts and other large crossings that exist   today. These all provide a safe path for wildlife  to cross the interstate and future tracks. East of here the route takes a curve before  beginning a grade south into Baker, Ca. Now in Baker and this is the last settlement  in California offering services to travelers.   This remoteness brings up what might be  the biggest challenge of the project,   which is finding ways to house the workforce as  most workers will not want to drive hours each   way every day to get to work, so Brightline  will have to get creative to solve this. This interchange will need to be reconfigured  to make way for Brightline’s tracks. Here is a quick look at driving on the  interstate at sunset just east of Baker. Next is Halloran Springs Road Talking about having to realign that interchange  in Baker, new overpasses and underpasses will   need to be built at several of these exits and  other road crossings to make way for the tracks.   That will also benefit the general  public beyond Brightline’s passengers   by providing infrastructure build up to modern  standards. This will also include the addition   of new overpasses for emergency vehicles and  maintenance crews to get across the tracks   since they won’t be able to just cut  through the median like they can now. This exit also has a neat abandoned gas station. Leaving Halloran Springs and on my way  to my next stop at the top of that next   mountain range in the distance,  the interstate and tracks have a   lengthy downward grade followed by  a steep climb into the mountains. Now above Bailey Road at Mountain Pass and this  is the highest point on the route at approximately   4,370ft above sea level. This means the train  will have climbed 3163 feet from Rancho Cucamonga.   Several of the previous rail proposals had  envisioned tunneling under this mountain   but Brightline has determined modern high  speed rolling stock can achieve this feat   while also significantly reducing the  construction expenses and timeline. The Mountain Pass mine on the other  side of the interstate is one of   the only mines in the United States  able to supply rare earth elements. Just around the next curve east  from Mountain Pass is Nipton Road.   From this point, the tracks will begin a  fairly steep drop down into the valley below. Being electrified, Brightline’s aim is  to be powered by emission free sources   as much as possible, with a goal to be  fully powered by them by or before 2045. Coming closer to the ground gives a better look   at just how much the roads and  tracks will drop east from here. Now at the bottom of the valley and right  on the Nevada state line is Primm. This town   exists almost solely to provide a first or last  gambling spot for people traveling through here.   The biggest change Brightline will bring  about is demolishing a section of the now   abandoned monorail that used to cross  the interstate connecting the casinos. Continuing east to my last stop before  Las Vegas and this is where the line will   cross over Union Pacific’s Las Vegas line  following its extended route from Barstow. Brightline’s route will cross  over top of Union Pacific tracks. While I was flying, this  manifest freight was stopped   on a siding to waiting to meet a westbound train. In the distance here, you can  see the outskirts of Las Vegas. Shifting now to the road and here at  the interchange with St Rose Parkway   Brightline will shift out  of the median to the right,   or southeast side, of the interstate for the  rest of the way to the Las Vegas Station site. Now at this point, welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas,  Nevada. The land that Brightline has purchased for   its station is located on the south end of the  strip about a mile and a half away from Harry   Reid International Airport directly adjacent  to Interstate 15. Due to the proximity of the   airport, I was not able to fly over this area  but this 110 acre property is large enough to   host the station plus hotels, retail, and  potentially a major league sports stadium.   Brightline plans to partner with casinos and  hotels to provide check in and baggage services   directly at the station to bypass hotel check  in along with shuttle services. Like Florida,   Brightline plans to offer its Brightline+  mobility options for other destinations.   Here are a few artist renderings of the station. All of the stations will serve two tracks While I have not decided whether  or not I will actually document   the construction of Brightline West,  I hope this video has provided a good   overview of the route and terrain  that the train will have to tackle. Thanks for watching! Be sure  to hit the like button and   subscribe! Also check out my social media pages!

Channel: The Roaming Railfan

Views: 87,475

Keywords: bright line, brightline, brite line, west, california, nevada, las vegas, los angeles, XpressWest, DesertXpress, hesperia, barstow, victor valley, cajon pass, rancho, cucamonga, rancho cucamonga, zzyzx, primm, baker, interstate, 15, I15, I-15, drone, railfan, bnsf, union pacific, UP, metrolink, station, aerial, pre construction, future, median, exit, desert, mojave, high speed, rail, electric, electrified, high-speed, true, california high speed rail, high desert, palmdale, LA, Vegas, site, bridge, viaduct, cajon, henderson

Id: Vb1JJgEpOi0

Length: 22min 5sec (1325 seconds)

Published: Fri May 19 2023