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Victor Valley station

Coordinates: 34°38′15″N 117°13′07″W / 34.63750°N 117.21861°W / 34.63750; -117.21861
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Victor Valley
Brightline West station
General information
StandortApple 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
Bauwesen
Structure typeTrain station, Retail, Parking
History
Opening2026
Future Service
Preceding station Brightline Following station
Hesperia
toward Las Vegas
Brightline West
Cajon Pass Route
Las Vegas
Palmdale
toward Las Vegas
Brightline West
High Desert Corridor

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 south to Palmdale, Rancho Cucamonga, and Los Angeles.[2]

The station will be at the north end of the town of Apple Valley near Interstate 15 and Dale Evans Parkway.[3] 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][4] The area will include a maintenance facility for all Brightline west equipment, with a train staging facility, as well as the Brightline West station. 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.[5] 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.[6]

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 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.[7] 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.[8][9] 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.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Rail News - Brightline on track to begin Las Vegas high-speed rail project". Progressive Railroading. April 14, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-10.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b Varghese, Romy (August 26, 2020). "Fortress Wins California Approval for Vegas Rail Reimbursement". Bloomberg.
  3. ^ a b 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 2021-01-21.
  4. ^ Akers, Mick (2021-01-14). "Vegas-to-SoCal rail line could get spring construction start". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2021-07-09.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "LA to Vegas fact sheet" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "Amtrak Victorville station location".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)[failed verification]
  7. ^ 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 2014-10-26. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  8. ^ Gloria Hillard (April 30, 2012). "Towns Debate Impact of Calif.-Las Vegas Bullet Train". NPR. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  9. ^ Spillman, Benjamin (2009-06-29). "DesertXpress on right track?". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  10. ^ "Brightline West". Brightline.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Brightline West, Town of Apple Valley: Economic Development