On track to become the first, privately-owned, high-speed passenger rail line in the United States, the Brightline West design-build project will connect people and places like never before.

The line will stretch 218 miles between Las Vegas, Nevada and Rancho Cucamonga, California — carrying passengers on a fleet of all-electric, zero emission trains capable of reaching 200 mph — and is designed to bring significant economic benefits to the surrounding regions and to support both California and Nevada’s environmental goals and initiatives.

Designing Momentum

HNTB has played a critical role in building Brightline West’s momentum. As a close, supporting partner to Brightline, HNTB led the planning/concept design, preliminary engineering and supported the environmental documentation for 183 miles of the high-speed rail service line in California and critical components system-wide, working closely with Caltrans, local agencies and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

Now leading final design on this expansive section, HNTB oversees progress on a comprehensive set of rail infrastructure elements including:

  • 100+ rail bridges
  • Drainage
  • Track design
  • Duct bank design
  • Systems coordination
  • Utility relocations and coordination
  • Highway infrastructure improvements

Location: California and Nevada

Client: Brightline West, Caltrans

Services: Planning/concept design, preliminary engineering, final design, environmental documentation

Accelerated Timelines

At the initial stages of the project, HNTB proposed innovative conceptual and preliminary design solutions that assured Caltrans and the State of California that the rail line could be built efficiently and safely — and without adverse impacts to traffic — as an enclosed rail corridor within the median of Interstate 15. As a result, the overall project impact and construction schedule will be reduced from the initial design concept and the established I-15 right of way will fast track overall delivery.

Transforming Regions and the Future of Rail

Now moving toward final design, Brightline West will not only transform the Southern California and Nevada regions’ mobility, economic development and environmental progress, but the project will also help fast track the next era of high-speed rail in America.

 

Images courtesy of Brightline West