A swankier way to get to Vegas? See the ‘party car’ on the high-speed rail coming to SoCal
One day in the late 2020s, if the people at Brightline West deliver on their promised fast train between Southern California and Las Vegas, you’ll be able to order a drink while rolling toward the Strip.
And apparently you’ll be sipping that drink in a railcar that may remind you of a spacecraft interior.
Brightline West, the rail company that has begun building a fast train between Southern California and Las Vegas and aims to be done in time for the 2028 Olympics, has awarded a construction contract and released a rendering of lounge car designs for the route.
Brightline West spokesperson Antonio Castelan said the passenger cars would be pet-friendly, featuring charging ports at every seat, free Wi-Fi, storage for carry-ons and bikes and restrooms providing “an innovative hands-free experience.”
From the renderings, it seems the lounges will be sleek and spare, perhaps a minimalist design to match the desert blurring by outside.
“With bold fuchsia interiors and a luxurious vibe, it’s the perfect space to kick back, pop some champagne, and enjoy the ride from Vegas to California in style,” the company suggested in a recent post on X. (Responses included a brief debate over the definition of “bold fuchsia.”)
Production of the train cars is to begin in 2026 at a Siemens Mobility facility in Horseheads, N.Y.
Brightline West officials have said the trains, powered by electricity, will be capable of speeds up to 200 mph, traveling 218 miles from Las Vegas to a Rancho Cucamonga station in about two hours. Rancho Cucamonga, in San Bernardino County, is about 41 miles east of Los Angeles.
Brightline West, whose parent company currently operates trains connecting several cities in Florida, broke ground for the route to Las Vegas on April 22. Trains are to run in the middle of Interstate 15, delivering passengers in roughly half the time it would take to drive.
Brightline West chooses Siemens Mobility as its preferred bidder to build a fleet of high-speed rail trains that will reach speeds of 220 mph.
Brightline West’s effort is backed by $3 billion from the Biden administration with additional access to $3.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds. The rest of the cost, estimated at $12 billion in all, is to be raised to from private investors. Company officials have said the site in upstate New York will create about 300 jobs.
Between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, the system will have stations in Victor Valley and Hesperia, Calif. Plans call for the Rancho Cucamonga end of the route is to connect with existing public transit, including Metrolink, near Ontario International Airport.
Amtrak’s last passenger train service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas was scrapped in the 1990s amid budget cuts.
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