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BRIGHTLINE News
GRANT FOR NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR BRIGHTLINE WEST
AMERICA’S FIRST HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROJECT WILL CONNECT LAS VEGAS AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
President Joe Biden joined elected officials from Nevada and California to formally announce that the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) has received $3 billion in funding from the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program for Brightline West. Brightline West will connect Las Vegas and Southern California and will be the nation’s first true high-speed rail system. The project will also be the first to be built with American union labor. The fully-electric, zero-emission system will become one of the greenest forms of transportation in the U.S.
President Biden was joined by Nevada officials including Governor Joe Lombardo, Senators Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, Representatives Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford. Also in attendance were representatives from the High Speed Rail Labor Coalition and the Nevada Building Trades.
Brightline West’s modern, eco-friendly system will redefine train travel in America and connect two of the most iconic destinations: Las Vegas and Southern California. This 218-mile passenger rail service will reach speeds up to 200 mph with no grade crossings and the alignment is within the median of the I-15 highway. The system will feature three full-service stations in Las Vegas, Victor Valley and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
The Las Vegas station will include mobility connections and easy access to the Las Vegas Strip, the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium and the Las Vegas Convention Center. The flagship Las Vegas station will be on 110 acres at the south end of Las Vegas Blvd. Brightline West’s California stations will include Victor Valley and Rancho Cucamonga, with direct connectivity via California Metrolink to key points in Los Angeles, such as Union Station.
Brightline West’s $12 billion project will bring widespread benefits including more than $10 billion in economic impact to Nevada and California. Economic studies show the project will create more than 35,000 (direct and indirect) jobs including 10,000 direct union construction jobs and nearly 1,000 permanent jobs for operations and maintenance. Brightline West’s investment also includes more than $800 million in roadway improvements to the I-15 corridor. Brightline West has agreements in place with several unions for the use of highly skilled union labor in critical jobs required to build, operate and maintain the project.
The project’s environmental benefits are equally impressive and designed to support Nevada and California’s climate strategies by promoting a no-emission mobility option that lowers greenhouse gasses by more than 400,000 tons of CO2 each year. The diversion of people from auto and air travel to Brightline West’s high-speed rail system reduces vehicle miles traveled by more than 700 million each year and 16,000 short haul flights annually.
The $3 billion grant award marks the largest in NDOT’s history and is the culmination of more than two decades of planning and coordination to build a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Southern California. NDOT, as the grant administrator, will continue to play an important oversight role as Brightline West constructs the rail system. Additionally, NDOT will be responsible for the design, construction, and oversight of any NDOT infrastructure that requires modification as a result of Brightline West’s work.
www.brightlinewest.com