Victor Valley
Brightline West station
General information
LocationApple Valley, California
Coordinates34°38′15″N 117°13′07″W / 34.63750°N 117.21861°W / 34.63750; -117.21861
Owned byDesertXpress Enterprises, LLC[1][2]
Operated byBrightline
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeTrain station, Retail, Parking
History
Opening2026
Future Service
Preceding station Brightline Following station
Las Vegas
Terminus
 Brightline West
Cajon Pass Route
 Hesperia
toward Los Angeles
Brightline West
High Desert Corridor
 Palmdale
toward Los Angeles

Victor Valley is the southern portion of the phase 1 Brightline West rail line running to Las Vegas Boulevard in the Las Vegas Valley and future extensions continuing west to Palmdale and south to Rancho Cucamonga.[2]

The station will be at the north end of the town of Apple Valley adjacent to Interstate 15 at Dale Evans Parkway.[3] Passenger platforms will be in the median of I-15 and accessed via walkway under the northbound lanes of the highway.[4] Construction permits were acquired in March 2020 by Brightline, construction was expected to begin in the second half of 2021, and the station is expected to open in the second half of 2024.[3][5] The area will include a maintenance facility. Victor Valley is the planned terminus of the initial phase 1 route with planned extensions to Rancho Cucamonga[1] and a proposed extension to Los Angeles Union Station.[6] The site also sits near existing freight rail tracks with existing Amtrak Southwest Chief services to Chicago and Los Angeles and future connections are possible with the location of both sites.[7]

History

Then developer DesertXpress signed a document with Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials in June 2012 to explore the plan to build a 50-mile (80 km) high-speed rail link between Victor Valley and Palmdale. The link would initially connect to the Metrolink commuter rail system in Palmdale. This would allow passengers to complete a train ride between Los Angeles and Las Vegas with one transfer by using Metrolink in the Los Angeles area and a transfer to the high-speed train at Palmdale station with Victor Valley serving as a through station for the line.[8] The original plan was that the train would travel at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) averaging 130 miles per hour (210 km/h) and making the 186-mile (299 km) trip from Victor Valley to Las Vegas Valley in about 1 hour 24 minutes.[9][10] That was subject to funding that never was allocated for the project. In 2018, Brightline West bought the projects plans and made a newer plan with 200-mile-per-hour (320 km/h) trains making the journey from Victor Valley much faster and slightly changing the station design.[11]

In 2023, the station was reconfigured to have passenger platforms in the highway median. The vehicle maintenance facility was moved from the Victor Valley site to a 5-acre parcel (2.0 ha) west of I-15 in Sloan, Nevada and will connect to the Union Pacific mainline at this location.[4]


References

  1. 1 2 "Rail News - Brightline on track to begin Las Vegas high-speed rail project". Progressive Railroading. April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Varghese, Romy (August 26, 2020). "Fortress Wins California Approval for Vegas Rail Reimbursement". Bloomberg.
  3. 1 2 De La Cruz, Rene Ray (January 19, 2021). "With revised plan, Brightline eyes 2021 groundbreaking of Apple Valley rail project". Victor Valley Daily Press. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Brightline West's Modified Alignment Approval Brings High-Speed Rail Project Closer to Reality". Victor Valley News Group. November 21, 2023.
  5. ↑ Akers, Mick (January 14, 2021). "Vegas-to-SoCal rail line could get spring construction start". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  6. ↑ "LA to Vegas fact sheet" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "Amtrak Victorville station location".
  8. ↑ Richard N. Velotta (June 7, 2012). "DesertXpress inks deal to add train link from Victorville to Palmdale, making travel to L.A. possible". Vegas Inc. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  9. ↑ Gloria Hillard (April 30, 2012). "Towns Debate Impact of Calif.-Las Vegas Bullet Train". NPR. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  10. ↑ Spillman, Benjamin (June 29, 2009). "DesertXpress on right track?". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Brightline West". Brightline.

Brightline West, Town of Apple Valley: Economic Development

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