The LA To Las Vegas Bullet Train Might Cost As Much As A Plane Ticket And Doesn't Even Stop In LA

Although Americans seem to agree that trains are the best type of transportation to take, the country has been slow to adopt high-speed rail. Despite this, progress is being made, with a prime example being Brightline West's planned bullet train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. The company already operates a rail system in Florida, known simply as Brightline. The new project has been years in the making. Construction began in April 2024 and is expected to conclude in December 2028. However, riding Brightline West may cost as much as a plane ticket, and despite being commonly referred to as the L.A.-to-Las Vegas bullet train, the station will actually be based in Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County.

In January 2025, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the estimated cost of a one-way ticket on Brightline West would be $119 to $133. These prices are forecasted for 2031 but are not set in stone. For comparison, travelers can score a round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, where a second international airport could be coming sooner than you think, for around the same price — or significantly less – at the time of this writing. A flight lasts a little over an hour. From Rancho Cucamonga, Brightline West, which will travel at a maximum speed of 200 mph, is expected to take about two hours to reach Sin City.

Located in the Inland Empire, Rancho Cucamonga is about an hour away from downtown Los Angeles. Why did Brightline West choose this suburban city as its Southern California? According to NPR, it was a cost-effective option for a venture that is already expected to cost billions of dollars. Nevertheless, travelers will not necessarily have to drive all the way to Rancho Cucamonga to experience Brightline West.

For many locals and tourists, road-tripping from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is a rite of passage. The journey can take five hours or longer when you factor in bathroom breaks and traffic. With Brightline West, travelers from Los Angeles can expect to arrive in Las Vegas in about three hours. First, however, passengers will need to hop on a Metrolink train from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Rancho Cucamonga. From there, they'll transfer to the adjacent Brightline West station to board the train to Las Vegas.

The route will span 218 miles and include two additional stops in the Inland Empire in Apple Valley and Hesperia, before continuing on. Brightline West's Nevada station is being built only 10 minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip, meaning festivities can commence shortly after arrival. Per The Las Vegas Review-Journal, there will be 35 trips a day. Brightline West's trains, which will run in the median of I-15, will be electric and therefore more eco-friendly. Needless to say, passengers may find several advantages to traveling between Southern California and Las Vegas on Brightline West.

Still, there are mixed reactions about ticket prices. "This is going to fail at that price. Maybe half that price would be acceptable," penned a user on Reddit, while another wrote, "Looks like fairly reasonable prices that people will pay to whiz past traffic on a high speed train." Wes Edens, who founded Brightline in 2012, told The Los Angeles Times in 2024 that a round-trip ticket on Brightline West could cost $400 or more. That said, the future may hold other railway advancements in the U.S. In fact, traveling by train between Los Angeles and New York may be possible in 2026.