Link not working.
Maybe they deleted the article?
Thank you for the new link. 
2 Likes
1 Like
I was on a bus the other day and experienced the same problem.
4 Likes
Looks like Siemens is going to be potentially the rolling stock supplier for Brightline West which makes sense given they already work with Siemens for their Florida fleet. There have been images circulating online that show renderings of a Velaro Novo variant for the American market called the “American Pioneer 220” and it’s a part of Siemens’ portfolio. The trains will be 7 cars in length (as mentioned in the FRA document below) and wider than regular Velaro Novo sets to be fully ADA-compliant while also potentially featuring a bar car as an amenity feature.
A trademark application was also filed for the “American Pioneer 220” name was also filed in August 2023.
Siemens also published a graphic listing some of the features, putting attention on speed and the fact it can handle the terrain between California and Las Vegas which further highlights Brightline West being a first customer.
The mention of the Siemens train and Brightline can be found in an FRA document from early 2023. Specifically, this document is regarding an “Emergency Window Egress and Rescue Access Plan” and an emergency communications system which requires FRA approval before a trainset can enter service.
Here are some official(?) renderings showing the train in Brightline livery.
Stills from the Bar Car promo video on the Siemens website upon close scrutiny show Brightline motifs as well.
5 Likes
https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/ca-explainer-brightline-high-speed-train-la-vegas-18527703.php
3 Likes
Brightline announced Monday that it has increased the number of trains serving the Miami to Orlando corridor to 32 trains.
The company said there are 16 daily departures from Miami to Orlando, and the updated hourly schedule adds a 5:50 p.m. Orlando departure arriving in Miami at 9:15 p.m. and a 1:45 p.m. Miami departure arriving in Orlando at 5:15 p.m.
2 Likes
Brightline West received $3B in funding.
3 Likes
The second golden age (or silver age? ) of railroads in the US?
1 Like
I wish Brightline well, but I hope they don’t make the president make a fool of himself.
The people who run Brightline’s PR are very savvy and smart, but we all know they should be deeply ashamed of themselves for misleading everyone in their press releases. This train will not run to Los Angeles, no matter how many times they insist it will.
It will run to Rancho Cucamonga, which is actually in San Bernardino County - forcing folks to travel along very congested highways to reach the station, or alternatively to take an infrequent local commuter train from Union Station (which really only makes sense if their journey begins in downtown Los Angeles or somewhere close to a Metro line). I am not overly optimistic that the connection between Metrolink and Brightline in Rancho Cucamonga will be user-friendly or seamless.
What’s absurd is that the most obnoxious part of the highway journey between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is traveling between LA and the junctions with I-15 in the Ontario/Rancho Cucamonga area. But Brightline will only serve the less-congested I-15 corridor through the desert.
Maybe there’s a market for this, but certainly not for folks traveling from Los Angeles.
3 Likes
All great points. “LV to LA” is absolutely PR spin. I’m a little more optimistic about the travel demand from the Inland Empire, but there’s no denying the Rancho Cucamonga terminal will effectively be a gigantic suburban park-and-ride for the foreseeable future.
Someday the Rancho Cucamonga spur could connect to the LA-San Bernardino-San Diego segment of CAHSR Phase 2 — something like this:
But we’re talking decades unless there’s a sudden influx of federal cash and local political willpower to slash red tape. In the near term, the priority should really be to cross the Antelope Valley to Palmdale to connect to CAHSR Phase 1
2 Likes