Projected Cost of Vegas High-Speed Train Nearly DOUBLES! 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. Brightline West will travel 218 miles on the median of Interstate 15 at speeds of up to 200 mph, making the trip in about two hours. The future of federal funding for Brightline West has come under scrutiny amid broader cuts to high-speed rail initiatives. “We are excited to be the only high-speed rail project currently supported by the Trump administration,” Reininger told Bloomberg.