Posted on: October 3, 2025, 05:52h.
Last updated on: October 3, 2025, 06:00h.
The estimated cost of Brightline West’s high-speed rail line connecting Southern California to Las Vegas has surged to $21.5 billion, nearly doubling from its last publicly confirmed estimate of $12.4 billion in January 2025. The updated figure was disclosed in a US Department of Transportation (DOT) report released this week.
According to Bloomberg, the increase is primarily driven by rising labor and material costs. In response, Brightline West is seeking a $6 billion federal loan from the Trump administration to replace a previously planned $6 billion bank facility.
The company also intends to raise additional equity to cover the remaining cost escalation.
“We have had very productive conversations with USDOT and the Federal Railroad Administration over the last few months to continue to move Brightline West forward,” said Brightline CEO Mike Reininger, speaking to Bloomberg in September.
Brightline West previously secured a $3 billion federal grant under the Biden administration, structured as a reimbursement contingent on meeting minimum spending thresholds.
Will Trump Derail It?
The future of federal funding for Brightline West has come under scrutiny amid broader cuts to high-speed rail initiatives.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration canceled a $64 million planning grant for a proposed Dallas–Houston rail line. Then in August, it withdrew $4 billion in federal support for California’s Los Angeles–San Francisco high-speed rail project, whose cost has ballooned from $33 billion in 2008 to $128 billion.
Brightline West appears to remain on track, however, likely due to its mostly private financing model.
“We are excited to be the only high-speed rail project currently supported by the Trump administration,” Reininger told Bloomberg.
Slow Train Coming
In September 2018, Brightline announced it had acquired the old XpressWest high-speed rail project, which had previously received approval to build a Vegas-to-LA high speed rail.
Two years later, construction costs were projected to be $8 billion. That amount was updated to $10 billion in mid-2023. During a bond offering in January 2025, the cost was updated again to $12.4 billion.
The last estimate, which was never officially announced, was $16 billion, according to the DOT.
In April 2024, construction on the project began following a groundbreaking ceremony, though only field investigation work and utility installation have been completed so far.
The Las Vegas terminus will be constructed by McCarthy Building Co. on Las Vegas Boulevard near Blue Diamond Road. Although that’s 2.5 miles south of the Las Vegas Strip, ride-hailing services, resort shuttles, and car rentals will be accessible at the station.
The Southern California terminus will drop passengers in Rancho Cucamonga, where light rail connections can carry them the 37 additional miles southwest to downtown LA, which for most people will take about an hour.
Brightline West has abandoned its initial hope of opening in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in LA, admitting that service won’t be possible until at least December 2028.
The Florida-based company previously promised to charge $119 for a one-way coach trip and $133 for VIP service. It has not said if that estimate will rise in step with the project’s construction cost.
