The construction of a much-anticipated high-speed railway system linking Las Vegas to southern California looks to be closer than ever now that developers Brightine West have been awarded $3 billion in federal funding.
President Joe Biden formally announced the grant award during a stop in Las Vegas December 8, but the funding was confirmed December 5, when Congress was first notified.
Overall, the project is estimated to cost $12 billion, and all of the environmental planning and permitting for the line has already been completed. Brightline took over the rights to the project in 2018, after it was first introduced all the way back in 2005.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the remaining $9 billion will be paid for through private capital as well as tax-exempt bond allocations from Nevada and California. Brightline has already signed contracts in both states to ensure that only union labor is used for construction.
The original concept for the project included a train line connecting Las Vegas to Victorville, California, and when Brighline acquired the rights it added plans for a station in Rancho Cucamonga, California. This then allowed for a connection to downtown Los Angeles through California’s Metrolink system.
According to Brightline, the trip between the Las Vegas and Los Angeles stations will take just over two and a half hours when fully complete, and there are additional plans to eventually add stations in Apple Valley and Hesperia, California.
“We’re honored and humbled in the confidence President Biden, Secretary (Pete) Buttigieg, Senator Rosen and so many others have placed in Brightline’s vision to bring true high-speed rail to America,” Brightline Chairman Wes Edens said in a statement. “This is a historic moment that will serve as a foundation for a new industry, and a remarkable project that will serve as the blueprint for how we can repeat this model throughout the country. We’re ready to get to work to bring our vision of American made, American built, world class, state-of-the-art high speed train travel to America.”
Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen, who had been pushing hard for the Biden administration to award the funding, said in a statement that the new railway “will be a game changer for Nevada’s tourism economy and transportation,” adding that the project will “bring more visitors to our state, reduce traffic on the I-15, create thousands of good paying jobs, and decrease carbon emissions, all while relying on local union labor.”
Now that the funding has been secured, Brighline plans to build the Las Vegas station on Las Vegas Boulevard in between Blue Diamond Road and Warm Springs Road. Plans call for a 273,000-square-foot, two-story station with an adjacent seven-story parking garage.
