A group of bipartisan lawmakers from Nevada and California have requested that the Biden administration approve federal funding for a long-awaited bullet train project that would connect Las Vegas and southern California and ease traffic jams that sometimes stretch for miles or more.
In a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, all six federal officials from Nevada and four House representatives from California said that they are in favor of allocating $10 billion or more to help Florida-based Brightline West build the necessary infrastructure for the high-speed rail, which, if fully operational, could potentially cut the four-hour trip in half.
Brightline has said that it is only seeking $3.75 billion in federal funding, per the Associated Press. The company is the only privately owned passenger railroad operator in the U.S.
Senator Jacky Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada spearheading the group, said in the letter that the project “is a major priority because it will make southern Nevada more accessible to millions of visitors each year,” and noted that it would “boost (Nevada’s) economy and create more good-paying jobs.”
To be specific, the lawmakers posited that the project could create 35,000 construction jobs, 1,000 full-time positions and reduced gas emissions from the reduced car traffic.
Brightine CEO Mike Reininger said in the letter that the train line, if successful, could become “the blueprint for how we can connect major city pairs that are too short to fly and too far to drive.”
Preliminary environmental studies for the project have already begun and permits from the Federal Railroad Administration could come as soon as July. Brightline has vowed previously that nearly three-quarters of the funding will come from private sources.
While the optimism remains high, similar projects around the U.S. don’t offer much hope.
A recent report from the California High-Speed Rail Authority said that construction is underway for a 119-mile stretch in the state’s Central Valley, but estimates have ballooned to the $100 billion range—voters only approved $33 billion in 2008.
Texas has seen its own rail project be delayed massively by rising costs, lack of support from lawmakers and outrage from residents who opposed using their land for such purposes. The Texas Legislature has already passed legislation barring any state funds from being used.
