What happened
Treasury Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined state and federal officials Monday to break ground on a $12 billion high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles suburb Rancho Cucamonga. Brightline, the company building the railway, said the electric-powered trains will travel at more than 186 mph and shuttle passengers through the Mojave Desert in 2 hours 10 minutes, about half the time of driving on frequently gridlocked I-15.
Who said what
“People have been dreaming of high-speed rail in America for decades,” Buttigieg said. “It’s really happening this time.”
The commentary
Brightline, which already operates a 125-mph line from Miami to Orlando, “aims to link U.S. cities that are too near each other for air travel to make sense and too far for people to drive,” The Associated Press said. Tickets will be comparable to airfare, the company said.
What next?
Brightline aims to have the trains running by the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. There are also plans to connect the Rancho Cucamonga terminal to Los Angeles Union Station through a stalled California High-Speed Rail line between L.A. and San Francisco.