High-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas, Southern California has been granted $3 billion

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: USA Today

Published 10:26 p.m. ET Dec. 5, 2023 | Updated 10:33 p.m. ET Dec. 5, 2023


Brightline West's high-speed rail project from Southern California to Las Vegas has scored $3 billion in federal funding. The funds will help pay for the $12 billion project, which includes main stations in Rancho Cucamonga, Apple Valley, and Las Vegas, as well as a passenger stop in Hesperia.

President Joe Biden is expected to officially announce the grant award Friday in Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Congress has been notified of the grant award, the source confirmed to the Review-Journal.

Brightline and the Nevada Department of Transportation applied for the funds from $3.75 billion available from the Federal-State Partnership Program, part of the U.S. infrastructure bill. Tax-exempt private activity bond allocations from both states and private capital would pay the remaining cost of the project.

Brightline West, which aims to be fully operational before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, has already secured much of the permitting and project-labor agreements.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/05/la-las-vegas-high-speed-rail-project-scores-3-billion-funding/71819342007/

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Confirmation by Jacky Rosen (D-NV) - https://www.rosen.senate.gov/2023/12/05/rosen-secures-3-billion-for-historic-high-speed-rail-in-las-vegas/

Link to tweet

Senator Jacky Rosen
@SenJackyRosen
·
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For decades, NV has heard about the benefits of high-speed rail.

Today, after months of pushing, I’ve secured critical funding to make this a REALITY.

@BrightlineWest will:
⬆️increase NV tourism
⬇️reduce I-15 traffic
🤝create good-paying jobs
🔋decrease carbon emissions
11:15 AM · Dec 5, 2023

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Brightline West
@BrightlineWest
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Las Vegas! Have you 👀 our new Brightline West signs on Las Vegas Boulevard? Let us know your favorite slogan! We’re looking forward to breaking ground soon and getting you So Fast to SoCal! #highspeedrail #brightline
8:59 AM · Dec 4, 2023

Brightline West and its rail connections. Brightline West

[IronLionZion]

1. Fully electric, zero emissions trains

it's very good to have alternatives to cars and planes.

The plans include 3 wildlife crossings to limit disruption of the desert ecosystem.

[Envirogal]

4. Only three wildlife crossings??

This does not seem like enough. I love this idea and the train project, but once again, the animals suffer from human “progress”.

[IronLionZion]

6. Compared to the traditional zero

how many is enough?

[Envirogal]

12. I am not a wildlife biologist but

I would say that there should be some type of standard set for x amount of square miles/wildlife population, etc, to give back what is taken away. In Los Angeles we have really decimated the genetic pool for many animals because they’ve been closed off from finding diverse breeding partners. It is difficult to go back and fix what is already built (with everything built around it) but for any new development there definitely needs to be more crossings than three between Los Angeles and Las Vegas for a high speed train that is already going to be disruptive. (And again, I support high speed rail).

[IronLionZion]

13. Here's more info on the wildlife crossing studies

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-16/wildlife-crossings-high-speed-l-a-vegas-rail-line

They looked at movements of bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, and mountain lions.

[Aristus]

2. Does this mean we might hear this again soon?:

“Train leaving on Track Five for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cu………camonga!…”

[Martin68]

3. Wouldn't it be better to build a line between L.A. and San Fransisco?

How many commuters would a line to Las Vegas serve? We need to get cars off the roads.

[IronLionZion]

8. They've been trying for years so they might end up with both eventually

LA to SF is government project, and entirely inside California.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail

LA to LV is a private effort with some government assistance. LV wants it really bad because it would bring in lots of visitors. I don't think California is quite as interested.

[Mysterian]

15. I have similar thoughts

Building the line to the middle of the desert is questionable.

[Martin68]

16. Except for gamblers...

[ripcord]

18. There are a huge number of people that travel from SoCal to Vegas

Sometimes there are huge backups on the 15 over the weekends. It will also serve as a commuter train connecting the High Desert with the Metrolink system. The Cajon Pass which they normally travel has horrible traffic during the morning and afternoon commutes.

[Yavin4]

5. Put gambling cars on the trains

And it will pay for itself.

[dalton99a]

7. Las Vegas casino owners are pleased

to have federal taxpayers address a critical need

Watch the cost overruns

[republianmushroom]

9. Sure hope their estimators are better than California's .

[ripcord]

17. Im sure they wil be

They already run HSR successfully in Florida.

[DavidDvorkin]

10. I assume this would eventually improve Democratic strength in Nevada

That's based on Californians moving to the Las Vegas area to live. Perhaps I'm assuming wrongly?

[pfitz59]

11. Should be a high-speed loop.

Vegas - LA - Phoenix.

[jgmiller]

14. They are doing it the smart way

Instead of trying to piggy back on the existing freight ROW they are using the middle of I15 for most of the route. If we could build an transcontinental railroad in 5 years across unsurveyed, ungraded land I have to believe almost 200 years later we should be capable of laying 250 miles of track in the middle of a major interstate where there are no grade crossings, virtually no homes, etc.

[Mr.Bill]

19. Might as well just load trucks with

Californian's money and drive them to Las Vegas.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

20. Doing nothing perpetuates car and plane traffic between the same two points.