Travelling between Southern California and Las Vegas is about to get a lot easier as plans to build a new high-speed train connection have been approved.

Brightline has confirmed that it has acquired the rights to the XpressWest project which will bridge the 185-mile gap between Las Vegas and Victorville in just two hours.

If your Californian road trip needs time for a break from the open road, the short trip into Vegas could reduce costs and save time for the weekend trip to Sin City. “Brightline is changing transportation in our country by connecting heavily trafficked corridors that are too long to drive and too short to fly,” Wes Edens, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Fortress Investment Group, said in a statement.

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“Our experience in Florida is proving that private-sector investment has a meaningful role to play in developing transportation infrastructure. We’re excited to bring Brightline’s world-class and convenient travel experience to Southern California and Las Vegas.”

The project is expected to start in 2019 with the first services being touted with a 2022 start.

Patrick Goddard, president of Brightline, branded the introduction of a high-speed connecting train as “an important milestone for our company as we reimagine transportation between these major metropolitan areas.”

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