On Monday, builders started work on a new railroad. It’s not just any railroad. People say that it is the first true high-speed rail line in the United States.

A bullet train will carry passengers from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Los Angeles, California. The project costs $12 billion. The U.S. government will help pay for it. The line should open in 2028. That’s in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Workers plan to lay 218 miles of track. Owners say the bullet trains will travel over 186 miles per hour!

Wes Edens founded Brightline Holdings. That’s the company building the railroad. He says, “I believe we’ll look back at today and say, ‘This was the birth of an industry of high-speed rail.’”

Bullet trains are already popular in countries such as Japan. Planes and most buses use fossil fuels. But most bullet trains run on electricity. If that electricity comes from a clean source, then the train will produce less air pollution than vehicles using fossil fuels.

How much will a Brightline bullet train ticket cost? Mr. Edens says it will be similar to the price of airplane travel. The trains will have restrooms, internet access, and food.

The railway might also relieve traffic. Highway traffic between Las Vegas and Los Angeles often slows to a crawl. Last year, about 44,000 vehicles took that road every day. Will a new travel option unclog the interstate?

Brightline debuted another superfast railway in 2018. That line connects several cities in Florida. Its trains reach speeds of 125 miles per hour. That’s not quite true bullet train speed.

Will high speed rails come to other states and cities too? California proposed a 500-mile track between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Voters approved the project in 2008. But rising costs and other problems caused delays.

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” — Isaiah 40:3