High Speed Rail Coalition Applauds High Desert Bullet Train’s Landmark

 High Speed Rail Coalition Applauds High Desert Bullet Train’s Landmark The U.S. High Speed Rail Coalition today praised the Southern California High Desert Corridor bullet train project for approving two landmark labor agreements that will create thousands of good union jobs and demonstrate the growing momentum to build high-speed rail across America.

The 54-mile High Desert Corridor from Palmdale to Victorville will connect two major bullet train projects currently underway: California High-Speed Rail in the Central Valley and Brightline West, which will run from Las Vegas to Southern California. These agreements will help establish the High Desert Corridor as a critical link in a nationwide high-speed rail network, essential for meeting 21st-century transportation challenges. High-speed rail projects are now underway or being planned in various regions, including California, Nevada, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and Southeast.

U.S. High Speed Rail collaborated with the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency (HDC JPA) to negotiate the agreements, which will create jobs to build, operate, and maintain the bullet train. These agreements will serve as a model for other high-speed rail projects as the nation moves towards an integrated national electric bullet train system.

The HDC Board of Directors unanimously approved a Community Workforce Agreement with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, the San Bernardino-Riverside Building and Construction Trades Council, and the Signatory Craft Councils and Unions. The Board also unanimously agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding with The High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition for the operations and maintenance of the project. Labor Coalition members include various unions such as the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and more.

About USHSR

The U.S. High Speed Rail Coalition mobilizes leading labor unions, companies, and public servants to advance investments and policies that are making high-speed rail a reality in America. The Coalition has aggressively advocated for funding for Brightline West, California High-Speed Rail, and other key projects in recent years.

The High Desert Corridor will create a vital link from the Antelope Valley in Los Angeles County to the Victor Valley in San Bernardino County. The first phase will connect these areas through a new high-speed, intercity rail system, providing access to housing, jobs, entertainment, and cultural opportunities across Southern California while reducing freeway congestion. Eventually, the corridor will connect Southern California to high-speed rail lines in California’s Central Valley and to Brightline West, which is scheduled to operate by 2028.