President Joe Biden is heading to Las Vegas to showcase $8.2 billion in funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country, including to spur work on high-speed, electric train routes that could one day link Nevada and California, as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Quick Read
- Biden’s Las Vegas Visit: President Joe Biden is visiting Las Vegas to highlight $8.2 billion in funding for 10 major U.S. passenger rail projects.
- Focus on High-Speed Rail: The funding aims to advance high-speed, electric train routes, including one linking Nevada and California, and another between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
- Las Vegas-Rancho Cucamonga Route: The 218-mile train route from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, California, could serve over 11 million passengers annually.
- Investment Goals: The administration hopes this investment will revitalize travel in the American West, despite criticisms of high costs.
- Nation’s First High-Speed Route: Another funded project is a high-speed rail line in California’s Central Valley, planned to extend to San Francisco and Los Angeles, with speeds up to 220 mph.
- Partial Funding for Projects: The announced funding is not sufficient to cover the full costs but shows the administration’s commitment to train travel.
- Transportation Secretary’s Statement: Pete Buttigieg emphasized delivering world-class passenger rail service under Biden’s leadership.
- Other Funded Train Projects: Funding will also support rail upgrades in Virginia, North Carolina, a rail bridge over the Potomac River, corridor upgrades in Pennsylvania and Maine, and capacity expansion at Chicago’s Union Station.
- Addressing UNLV Shooting: Biden will address the recent shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, during his visit.
- Los Angeles Fundraiser: The president will conclude his day in Los Angeles at a fundraiser with entertainment industry figures.
- Biden’s Rail Advocacy: Known for his advocacy of passenger rail travel, Biden has supported several federal spending investments in rail.
- California High-Speed Rail Challenges: The California high-speed rail project faces challenges like extended deadlines and cost overruns, with estimated costs over $100 billion.
- Political Criticism and Funding Issues: The project, criticized by Republicans and some Democrats, is funded by federal grants, a 2008 bond fund, and the state’s cap-and-trade climate program.
- Central Valley Construction: Construction in the Central Valley is ongoing, with CEO Brian Kelly emphasizing the need for federal funding.
- Administration’s Support for the Project: The Biden administration restored nearly $1 billion in federal money that the Trump administration tried to revoke for the California high-speed rail project.
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden heads to Las Vegas to showcase $8.2B for 10 major rail projects across the US
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP)
President Joe Biden is heading to Las Vegas to showcase $8.2 billion in funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country, including to spur work on high-speed, electric train routes that could one day link Nevada and California, as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The administration says the 218-mile (350.8-kilometer) train route linking Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, California, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles, may one day serve more than 11 million passengers annually.
The administration hopes the investment through federal and state partnership programs will help to boost prospects for the long-discussed project, which supporters say could revitalize travel in the American West and critics argue is too costly.
Another electric rail line getting funding has been billed as the nation’s first high-speed route and is eventually planned to traverse California’s Central Valley and extend to San Francisco and on to Los Angeles, with trains reaching up to 220 mph (354 kph).
The funding the president will highlight won’t be nearly enough to cover the full costs of either project, but signals the Biden administration’s commitment to spurring train travel in a nation that has long celebrated the spirit of fast cars and open highways.
“The bottom line is that, under President Biden, we’re delivering world class passenger rail service that Americans ought to be able to expect,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a conference call with reporters.
Other train projects getting funding include upgrades to heavily traveled corridors in Virginia and North Carolina, with the eventual goal of linking Richmond and Raleigh by rail. Funding will also go to improvements to a rail bridge over the Potomac River to bolster passenger service in Washington and cover train corridor upgrades in western Pennsylvania and Maine, while expanding capacity at Chicago’s Union Station, one of the nation’s busiest rail hubs.
The announcement aside, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden also would use his visit to Las Vegas to address this week’s shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, that killed three people and wounded a fourth. He is to end the day in Los Angeles at a fundraiser featuring entertainment industry luminaries.
Friday’s trip was planned before the shooting and Biden’s focus on train service is little surprise for a president who is a big passenger rail advocate. Biden has championed several major federal spending investments in passenger rail travel, including last month when he announced $16 billion in federal investments for rail travel along the busy Northeast Corridor.
The plan has been funded by some prior federal grants, as well as a bond fund approved by voters in 2008, and revenue from the state’s cap-and-trade climate program. But that adds up to a total far below the project’s estimated costs, now at more than $100 billion.
California Republicans have long been critical of the project, but even some state Democrats have become more vocal in their skepticism.
Construction and land acquisition is underway in the Central Valley. But Brian Kelly, the project’s CEO, has long said a fresh infusion of federal cash is an important part of advancing the project. The Biden administration had previously signaled support for the project when it restored nearly $1 billion in federal money that the Trump administration tried to revoke.
Asked about rising costs and growing delays on the high-speed line, Buttigieg acknowledged, “They are facing a lot of the challenges that come with being the very first at anything.”
“For all of these projects, we would not be funding them if we did not believe they can deliver,” he said.
