The US Department of Transportation has awarded 3 billion USD in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to progress the Brightline West high-speed rail project.
The planned Brightline West high-speed rail system will connect Las Vegas, Nevada and Southern California along the Interstate 15 corridor.
“As far back as 2001, I’ve been advocating to bring a true high-speed rail system to Southern Nevada, and I am thrilled that this funding will allow Brightline West and the Nevada Department of Transportation to do just that.
“This project will help bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue and create thousands of good-paying, union jobs. We’ll be creating jobs, reducing emissions, alleviating traffic, and setting an unprecedented example for the possibilities of high-speed rail in our country.”
This project has an estimated total cost of 12 billion USD and is being delivered by a private-public partnership led by Brightline, which currently operates rail services between Miami and Orlando in Florida.
Once complete, Brightline West will span 218 miles, with trains travelling at speeds of 186 miles per hour. This service is expected to launch in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“Transportation is essential to the development of the Inland Empire, connecting our families to good jobs, affordable housing, and to each other. The Brightline West High-Speed Corridor promises to revolutionise our community’s transportation infrastructure, connecting the Inland Empire directly to Las Vegas via an approximate 2-hour high-speed rail trip and promoting further connectivity to Los Angeles via Amtrak with the new intermodal Cucamonga station.”
This funding has been announced at the same time as a 3 billion USD federal grant for the California High-Speed Rail Authority to advance construction on a high-speed line from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
