TRAVEL
Cost nearly triples to build train between LA, Las Vegas

By Olivia Harden, Travel Reporter
Oct 2, 2025


Brightline West was previously expected to be operational by 2027 but has been pushed back to 2029 amid rising costs.
Courtesy of Brightline

The planned high-speed rail from California to Las Vegas has a much heftier price tag than originally expected.

The company that owns the Brightline West project, which plans to build a nearly 220-mile rail line connecting Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, has recently revealed that the cost is almost three times higher than initially projected. The project was initially expected to cost $8 billion, and more recently, the number grew to $16 billion. As first reported by Bloomberg, a report from the Transportation Department released Wednesday estimated that the cost of building Brightline West is now $21.5 billion.

DesertXpress Enterprises, which operates as Brightline West, planned to keep costs down by starting the rail line in Rancho Cucamonga, approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles, thereby prompting travelers to use the existing Metrolink line from Union Station in Downtown LA. The company is also building the high-speed rail in the median of Interstate 15 to reduce costs associated with land acquisition. However, these cost-cutting measures were not enough to keep the project on budget.
Brightline West told Bloomberg that the company attributes rising price to increasing labor and material costs. In response, the company revised its financial plan by applying for a $6 billion loan from the Trump administration, which was initially intended to be secured through a bank facility.

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Olivia Harden is a travel reporter at SFGATE, where she has written and reported stories in destinations across the state since 2023. She was born and raised and refuses to leave Southern California. Olivia graduated from Chapman University with a B.A. in English and journalism and has since been featured in Buzzfeed, Mic and more. Her previous role was as a staff writer at Matador Network, a leading travel publication.