STB Advances $12B Brightline West Project
Written by Marybeth Luczak
Railway Age
Nov. 20, 2023
"The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has authorized construction and operation of a modified alignment of the high-speed passenger rail project proposed by private-sector firm Brightline West, subject to environmental mitigation measures.
STB in its Nov. 15 decision explained that in 2019, DesertXpress Enterprises, LLC, (doing business as Brightline West) “filed a petition to reopen this proceeding, seeking modification of a 2011 condition concerning the construction of an approximately 190-mile rail line for high-speed passenger rail service between Victorville, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev. (the LV Line)” . That condition, STB said, authorized construction of a designated alignment, and DesertXpress sought authority for modifications to the previously approved alignment. Among the modifications: relocating the rail alignment on certain portions of the Line from the east side of the I-15 freeway to the median; revising the design of the Apple Valley station to include the passenger boarding and alighting platforms in the median of the I-15 freeway; and raising and moving east a portion of the existing I-15 northbound lanes to provide the necessary footprint and access for these passenger platforms.
“Environmental review of the modified route had been ongoing and was recently completed,” STB reported. “Specifically, the Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) has worked with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the lead agency on the environmental and historic review for this project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and related environmental laws, including Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). As part of this process, OEA has reviewed a 2020 reevaluation by FRA (FRA 2020 Reevaluation) of the modified alignment, as well as a subsequent reevaluation by FRA (FRA 2023 Reevaluation) considering further route modifications proposed by DesertXpress in 2022. OEA concludes that FRA adequately assessed the potential environmental and historic impacts associated with the project modifications and concurs with FRA’s determination that a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not necessary. OEA also recommends that the Board impose the revised mitigation measures in Appendix D of the FRA 2023 Reevaluation [see STB decision]. Historic review of the project modifications had also been ongoing and was completed this year. A Programmatic Agreement (PA) setting out the final terms for compliance with Section 106 was executed on August 15, 2023.”
https://www.railwayage.com/regulator...-west-project/
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