LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — $3 billion in funding has been secured to bring a "historic" high-speed rail to Las Vegas on Tuesday morning.
The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and aims to connect Las Vegas and Southern California. This will be the newest rail service from Brightline West and aims to "reduce congestion and carbon emissions on the Interstate 15 corridor."
The project estimates that it will remove 3 million cars from the I-15 annually, reducing more than 400,000 tons of carbon emissions every year and creating 35,000 union jobs.
Sen. Rosen told Channel 13 that the project would be formally announced on Friday but did not clarify if that meeting was related to President Biden's visit to Las Vegas. This meeting will reveal the plans and timeline for the upcoming rail line construction.
"We are shovel-ready, and this money will allow us to start the project," she said. “For the nearly 50 years that I’ve been living in Las Vegas, Nevadans have heard about the prospect of building a high-speed rail system between Las Vegas and Southern California."
She says the money will allow construction to begin.
Sen. Rosen also says the initial goal of opening by 2028 — just in time for the U.S. Summer Olympics in Los Angeles — is still on track.
Following the announcement, Brightline West released a statement about the historic project, saying. “We’re honored and humbled in the confidence President Biden, Secretary Buttigieg, Senator Rosen, and so many others have placed in Brightline’s vision to bring true high-speed rail to America. 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.”
96 percent of the railway will go down the median of I-15. Brightline West says you can get from Las Vegas to Los Angeles in about 3 hours using this system. Brightline West has a partnership with the San Bernardino Metrolink line allowing people to travel from Los Angeles to Rancho Cucamonga and back while using a Brightline West ticket to connect the two railways.
The 218-mile train ride from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga will take about 2 hours and 10 minutes, according to Brightline West, since the train can travel up to 185 miles per hour.
Once construction starts, it is expected to last about 4 years, but Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick doesn’t believe the construction impacts travel down the I-15.
“I mean, that’s one of the beauties of being able to go into the median area is because they have the right-of-way already, it’s been through the EIS studies, it’s the quickest way to construct it,” said Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick.
The new train station will be built on a 110-acre plot of land north of Blue Diamond Road Between I-15 and Las Vegas Boulevard, about 5 miles southwest of the Harry Reid International Airport entrance.
Brightline West also claims this will create more than 10,000 union jobs and around 35,000 overall construction jobs, plus more than 1,000 permanent jobs. They also claim this will help the environment by taking around 3 million cars off I-15 annually.
“Reducing carbon emissions by 400,000 tons each year,” said Senator Rosen.
“The High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition is proud to be in partnership with Brightline West in this historic project. Americans want high-speed rail, and Brightline West and the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition will deliver. Brightline West will be the most elegant travel-by-rail experience you can have in America, and it will be the catalyst for America’s renaissance of travel by high-speed rail. The High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition is ready to bring this transformative transportation project to Americans. Let’s get to work,” shared the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition in a statement.
“As far back as 2001, I’ve been advocating to bring a true high-speed rail system to Southern Nevada, and I am thrilled that this funding will allow Brightline West and the Nevada Department of Transportation to do just that,” said Rep. Titus. “This project will help bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue and create thousands of good-paying, union jobs. We’ll be creating jobs, reducing emissions, alleviating traffic, and setting an unprecedented example for the possibilities of high-speed rail in our country.”
“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 Senator Cortez Masto. “Bringing high-speed rail to Southern Nevada just makes sense, given the tens of millions of visitors we have each year. I will keep working to ensure Nevada is getting the resources we need to make transportation easier and cleaner for Nevada families.”
“This is a huge win for Las Vegas, our economy, and the travel and tourism industry. High-speed rail between Southern California and Las Vegas will play an important role in overall efforts to improve travel along the resort corridor,” said MGM Resorts International CEO & President Bill Hornbuckle. “This project will not only help alleviate bottlenecks and delays along I-15 but also open Las Vegas to an even wider group of visitors looking to enjoy all we have to offer.”
“This announcement jump-starts this project in a big way and really is cause for celebration,” said Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft. “It’s exciting because it demonstrates a commitment to finally making this efficient transportation alternative a reality. And it comes at a time when the trajectory for Las Vegas tourism really demands additional modes of transportation here.”
This will be the second high-speed rail system Brightline has created in the U.S. The other one connects Orlando to Miami in Florida.
