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German railway manufacturer to open $20M facility in North Las Vegas

Updated June 26, 2024 - 6:11 pm

A German railway manufacturer is set to open a $20 million production facility in North Las Vegas to help the buildout of the Brightline West high-speed rail project.

Saurav Mittal, CEO of North America operations for PCM Railone AG, said the company chose North Las Vegas for the facility so it can easily ship its concrete ties, which weigh about 600 pounds each, to Brightline West.

Railone has production facilities in 12 countries and builds track systems and concrete ties, the parts to which the rails themselves are attached. The company specializes in rail projects that go 186 mph or faster.

“Logistically transporting 600 pounds of concrete blocks … from one corner to another corner of the U.S. makes no sense,” Mittal said in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We are setting up in North Las Vegas since we will be right where the construction of (Brightline West) is going to start.”

Brightline West held a groundbreaking on the 218-mile passenger rail line project in April and aims to start running trains between Southern California and Southern Nevada in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Railone is expected to invest $20 million in its North Las Vegas facility and hire 60 employees, Mittal said. He also said his company is looking to start building its facility in October and start shipping concrete ties by December 2025.

Railone has plans to open a North American headquarters in North Las Vegas, Mittal said, because the city has good access to the entire Western U.S., which has a lot of potential high-speed rail projects.

“We want to be in this region for as long as possible,” he said.

California is looking to build a 500-mile rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco, according to the California High Speed Rail Authority’s website.

North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown said she’s excited for Railone to bring its operations to the city.

“Once again, North Las Vegas has demonstrated it is open for business and that our city is the ideal location for major companies looking to base their operations in Southern Nevada,” Goynes-Brown said in an emailed statement. “After working with Railone for the past two years, it is wonderful to welcome this company to North Las Vegas. We appreciate the skilled and good-paying jobs Railone will create in our city.”

Mittal said Railone didn’t pursue any tax abatements or economic incentives to bring their operations to North Las Vegas, as that can take a while to complete and the company needs to start producing soon to provide Brightline supplies needed for the 2028 opening. But he said that Nevada’s overall tax climate makes it a good place to do business.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow@seanhemmers34 on X.

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