SoCal-to-Vegas bullet train receives $3B grant from feds

The planned high-speed rail project that will connect Las Vegas to Southern California has received a massive boost from the Biden Administration, securing $3 billion in grant funding from the federal government.

Brightline West plans to break ground in 2024, with hopes to have regular high-speed rail service by as early as 2027.

The estimated $12 billion project will connect Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, where a new transit center will offer California residents the ability to transfer onto Metrolink. Brightline previously agreed to put down $10 billion of its own cash for the project.

The federal grant application received bipartisan support earlier this year, and is one of the most significant pieces of funding for high-speed rail in the nation’s history.

The announcement was made by Nevada’s two U.S. Senators Tuesday, who have touted the project’s positive impacts on the state, including reduced traffic on Interstate 15, increased tourism revenue and decreased carbon emissions.

“For decades, NV has heard about the benefits of high-speed rail,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen on X, formerly Twitter. “Today, after months of pushing, I’ve secured critical funding to make this a REALITY.”

“Connecting Las Vegas and Southern California by high-speed rail will create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs, boost our Southern Nevada tourism economy, and finally help us cut down on I-15 traffic,” said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

Cortez Masto says the project could eliminate about 3 million cars from Interstate 15 every year, while creating about 35,000 “good-paying union jobs.”

The bullet train will operate primarily within the 15 Freeway right of way, taking off every hour at high speeds as it carries passengers along the 215-plus mile stretch. Trains will make stops along the way in Apple Valley, Hesperia and Victorville.

Brightline has already successfully launched high-speed rail service on the East Coast earlier this year, connecting Orlando to Miami, Florida.

Those trains, however, run on diesel and have a max speed of about 150 mph. The California-to-Nevada project will feature electric trains capable of traveling at higher speeds.

The massive endowment for the project was celebrated by transit activists who have long urged that the United States needs faster, more reliable travel options by train and alternatives to flying or driving.

The Brightline grant was announced during a jam-packed day of similar developments across the public transportation sector.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, announced that his state had been awarded a $1 billion grant to build passenger rail from Raleigh to Richmond.

And in Ohio, Sen. Sherrod Brown announced that the Federal Railroad Administration had identified four Ohio routes as priorities for Amtrak expansion.

Funding for those projects, as well as the Brightline West grant, were made possible thanks to the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Meanwhile, the California High-Speed Rail Authority awaits to hear back from the Biden Administration regarding its application for a massive federal funding grant that would award the project about $3 billion upfront, with the possibility of reaching around $8 billion through a multi-year funding agreement.

The High-Speed Rail Authority says the grant funding will allow for work to be completed along the “Initial Operating Segment,” which includes the Bakersfield-to-Merced portion of the project’s “Phase 1.” That portion of the system is tentatively planned to begin service around 2030.

Unlike the Brightline project, the CAHSR is publicly funded and the price tag is significantly higher for myriad reasons, including land and right-of-way acquisition, geotechnical work, environmental challenges and critical construction projects needed to separate the train tracks from pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have attempted to prevent the California High-Speed Rail Authority from receiving any federal funding, but President Joe Biden has repeatedly shown his support for this and other rail projects across the country.

President Biden is expected to officially announce the grant funding for the Vegas bullet train later this week during a visit to Nevada, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.