LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — On Thursday, Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen announced she is supporting the Department of Transportation’s request for a grant to help build Brightline West’s high-speed rail system between Southern California and Las Vegas.
“It’s been years in the making,” Rosen said.
The grant is part of a Federal Railroad Administration program authorized in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law in 2021 and authored in part, by Rosen.
“The Federal Railroad Administration has grant streams for critical rail. We believe this is critical rail. It’s very important to connect southern Nevada to Southern California,” Rosen said.
Rosen has been a supporter of Brightline West’s proposal for years, emphasizing its potential to bring tourism and jobs to the Las Vegas area.
“This is going to have such an economic impact. It’s going to bring 10’s of thousands of jobs to the Las Vegas valley and it’s going to have billions of dollars of economic input over the years,” Rosen said.
Sheri Champine and her family were making the trip from Las Vegas to Southern California on Thursday. It’s a trip they make together a few times every year, but this time, they ran into car troubles.
“We were going south on I-15 and our tire light came on. We got off right away and found that we have a flat tire,” Champine said.
It's because of situations like those, that Champine feels having another travel option, like a high-speed train, would be a plus.
“We are stranded. We don’t have a car that’s working right now. I wish we had a way to get home,” Champine said.
Brightline West’s project plans include a 218-mile link between downtown Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The route would have stops in Victorville and Rancho Cucamonga.
“We don’t have time to waste,” Rosen said.
The company hopes to have trains running to Las Vegas by late 2027 or early 2028.
