Here’s what cabin seats will look like on Brightline’s Vegas-to-LA trains

New renderings released Monday provided the first look at the interior of the train sets that will run on Brightline West’s Las Vegas to Southern California high-speed rail line to be built in upstate New York.

The American Pioneer 220 train sets will be built by Siemens Mobility at a planned $60 million, 300,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Horseheads, New York, Brightline announced Monday. Production at the facility is expected to start in 2026.

“Siemens’ investment in upstate New York will lay the foundation for the next chapter of our nation’s transportation future, making high-speed rail, what only a few years ago seemed like a dream, but because of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Law is becoming a reality,” Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, said in a statement.

The seven-car AP220 train sets can fit 450 people each and can reach speeds of up to 220 mph, allowing for a roughly two-hour trip between Las Vegas and the Rancho Cucamonga, California, station. From Rancho Cucamonga, travelers can continue to Los Angeles, via Southern California’s Metrolink rail line.

“For the first time ever in the U.S., we will be manufacturing trains that will compete with the best in the world. Reaching speeds of over 200 mph, these trains will be marked by the latest innovations designed for the modern traveler and establishing a new benchmark in transportation,” Brightline CEO Michael Reininger, said in a statement.

The facility is expected to employee 300 people. A memorandum of understanding by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has been reached with Siemens, to have the employees represented by the union.

Brightline and the Nevada Department of Transportation are finalizing grant recipient agreements with the Federal Railroad Administration tied to the $3 billion grant funding earmarked for the project from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The agreements are slated to be completed this month.

“FRA is proud of our investments in the Brightline West project and high-speed rail. Millions of annual riders between Las Vegas and Southern California stand to benefit from the train sets to be built in Upstate New York, and I know the local community will benefit as well,” Federal Rail Administration Administrator Amit Bose, said in a statement.

NDOT Director Tracy Larkin Thomason said in July that once the railroad agreements are in place that construction on the rail line is expected to begin later this year.

The $12 billion project was also approved for $3.5 billion in private activity. Brightline plans to use debt and private capital to pay for the remaining costs of constructing the rail project.

Brightline is aiming to have construction wrapped up and train service operating ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.