Brightline West is making progress on the much anticipated Los Angles to Las Vegas high speed rail service. The private operator reached a significant milestone today, selecting Siemens Mobility as the ‘preferred bidder” to manufacturer ten electric high speed trainsets. The trains are expected to enter service around 2028.
USA Made American Pioneer 220 Trainsets
The selection for Siemens as the preferred manufacturer is subject to certain criteria and definitive agreements including price, manufacturing schedule, performance and passenger amenities such as ADA compliance. The trains will be “Buy America” compliant with an rail production center opening somewhere in the U.S once the contract is finalized. The American Pioneer 220 (AP220) will be based off the successful Valero platform which operates on many high speed rail lines in Europe. Top speeds will be up to 220 mph making the journey time from Los Angeles to Las Vegas less than two hours. Inside, the AP220 will carry between 430 to 450 passengers in a seven car trainset. “Just as we redefined train travel with our trainsets for Brightline Florida, we are excited to pioneer this new frontier of manufacturing and development for Brightline West,” said Michael Reininger, Brightline’s CEO. The high speed trainsets will be hitting the rails sometime in 2028, bringing true high speed train travel in the U.S one step closer to a reality.