The California Department of Transportation entered into a lease agreement allowing XpressWest to use existing state right-of-way along Interstate 15 for high-speed passenger rail service between Apple Valley and Las Vegas. The privately-financed project will construct a 170-mile long, electric high-speed passenger rail system that will run along I-15’s median protected by barriers. Approximately 135 miles of the system will be in California. An environmental study estimates the completed project will reduce carbon emissions by 300,000 metric tons a year – the equivalent of removing nearly 65,000 vehicles off the road. Additionally, XpressWest expects to create more than 10,000 jobs during the project’s construction with another 500 new jobs post-construction.
