Brightline Trains West!

[GDRRiley]

I was reading news articles and I found a illustration that has no date. It looks like a avelia liberty with a brightline livery.

We haven't seen any before with a Caltrans Or Nevada DOT that makes me think its not official

 

[Palmland]

According to the Trains Newswire the route has been extended:
“Originally slated to reach the Victorville area, plans are now to extend the route to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., where passengers could use Metrolink commuter trains to reach downtown Los Angeles”
I’m not very familiar with the area but does that mean they would follow the interstate through Cajon pass. I would think the grades would be substantial. I’m sure it wouldn’t be on existing rail route.

 

[GDRRiley]

I’m not very familiar with the area but does that mean they would follow the interstate through Cajon pass. I would think the grades would be substantial. I’m sure it wouldn’t be on existing rail route.

yes they'll be following the interstate , grades are expected to reach ~4% a it will also be the slowest segment with 140-150mhp curves in places
This change was made few years back

 

[JermyZP]

We haven't seen any before with a Caltrans Or Nevada DOT that makes me think its not official

I was reading a article and the news company said that they obtained the photo from brightline. Now I'm thinking that brightline is sending multiple concepts of American and European designs of rolling stock to congress to get support.
https://www.ktnv.com/news/lawmakers...ghtline-west-high-speed-rail-system?_amp=true

 

[Palmland]

grades are expected to reach ~4%

Interesting, but if they could handle it on Saluda a few generations ago, should not be a problem on Cajon with todays technology.

 

[GDRRiley]

Interesting, but if they could handle it on Saluda a few generations ago, should not be a problem on Cajon with todays technology.

Electric locos or trainsets with 6MW+ (now some are reaching 10MW) really don't care much about grades

 

[jiml]

Electric locos or trainsets with 6MW+ (now some are reaching 10MW) really don't care much about grades

Case in point:

 

[jis]

Interesting article in Forbes...

The Greenest Bullet Train in the World

 

[cirdan]

Case in point:

I love the front section on the ICE3 trains where you can sit in the front row and see over the engineer's shoulder as the train races along that section, overtaking everything on the parallel highway as if it were standing still.

I hope Brightline specify something similar. Those seats would be a treat and I would gladly pay extra to be able to sit there.

 

[jiml]

The engineer/driver has the ability to "frost" or opaque the glass panel as they wish. It was this way on both ICE3 derivatives we rode on our recent trip. I read this was particularly common for Belgium and the Netherlands.

With Brightline, wouldn't having this feature only work in one direction?

 

[jis]

The engineer/driver has the ability to "frost" or opaque the glass panel as they wish. It was this way on both ICE3 derivatives we rode on our recent trip. I read this was particularly common for Belgium and the Netherlands.

With Brightline, wouldn't having this feature only work in one direction?

That would depend on whether they go with passenger inaccessible power heads or not. There is currently insufficient information to determine an answer to that question.

 

[JermyZP]

New website for Brightline West
https://www.brightlinewest.com/

 

[JermyZP]

On the new website it states that the amenities are the same as brightline Florida. I was really wishing there would be a bar or a cafe

 

[Brian Battuello]

From the aforementioned new website FAQ:

Are there food and beverage options during the trip and at the stations?

Brightline West will offer premium food, beverages, and cocktail service in our stations, as well as onboard our trains.

 

[BlackDiamond]

I wonder why there will be stations in both Apple Valley and Hesperia. Those locations seem pretty close to each other.

 

[jis]

Electric locos or trainsets with 6MW+ (now some are reaching 10MW) really don't care much about grades

And if they have distributed power, then even less so. As an example, 16 car passenger trains even with 7,000HP electric loco required bankers on the ramp between Khandala and Lonavla on the Mumbai - Pune route to get enough traction on wet rail. Now comes the Vande Bharat articulated EMUs with 16 cars with 32 axles out of 64 powered, and it just breezes up the slope, no problem, even on the wettest of rails in Monsoon. It does have 2000 extra HP but the more critical factor is that each powered axle has to provide much less tractive effort at the rail thus making wheel slippage less likely.

 

[GDRRiley]

I wonder why there will be stations in both Apple Valley and Hesperia. Those locations seem pretty close to each other.

Hesperia is planned to be a park and ride commuter station only getting peak direction service. Classic Southern California move to make sprawl easier

 

[frequentflyer]

New website for Brightline West
https://www.brightlinewest.com/

Wonder why they are showing an Alstom train instead of the Siemens they ordered or looking to order? Did something change? Or is this a case of the webpage creator, "CRAP, need a highspeed train pic for the website, better go to Gettys images", and this popped up.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

Roaming Railfan did a review on Brightline West, showing locations, renders, etc.

 

[BlackDiamond]

Interesting video. I had forgotten how much hilly terrain there is on this route (I had driven it back in 1975). I hope that modern electric traction can handle the steep grades of the interstate alignment. Is there anything comparable on any of the high speed lines in Europe or Asia?

 

[Qapla]

It makes you wonder, when a Brightline train is sailing along in the median, how many car drivers will try to keep pace with the train

 

[joelkfla]

Interesting video. I had forgotten how much hilly terrain there is on this route (I had driven it back in 1975). I hope that modern electric traction can handle the steep grades of the interstate alignment. Is there anything comparable on any of the high speed lines in Europe or Asia?

See post #432 above.
https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/brightline-trains-west.73718/post-1004545

 

[Caesar La Rock]

Regardless of what trainsets are selected, whether the Siemens Velaro Novos or the TGV M (Avelia Horizon), both trainsets will have no problem climbing the steep grades that'll be present around Cajon Pass and the San Gabriel Mountains. The SNCF's LGV Sud-Est, which was France's first high speed rail line has grades of over 3.6%, while in Germany the Cologne to Frankfurt high speed rail line is at 4%.

 

[NES28]

Wonder why they are showing an Alstom train instead of the Siemens they ordered or looking to order? Did something change? Or is this a case of the webpage creator, "CRAP, need a highspeed train pic for the website, better go to Gettys images", and this popped up.

At the recent USHSRA conference High Speed Rail Conference the president of Brightline West clearly stated that they in negotiations with both Siemens and Alstom.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

So Brightline West received a $25 million grant.
https://www.ktnv.com/news/brightlin...roject-receives-25-million-in-federal-funding