A high-speed passenger train plan connecting Las Vegas and Southern California came one step closer to reality with support from the Biden administration on Tuesday.
The Department of Transportation approved $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds for Brightline West to build the $12 billion Brightline West Passenger Rail project.
The DOT allowed Brightline West to receive $1 billion in 2020, and in December, the department awarded a $3 billion grant from President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law to the Nevada Department of Transportation for the project.
The 218-mile rail line from outside Los Angeles to Las Vegas is designed to accommodate 186 mph speeds, reducing the four-hour commute in half on Interstate 15.
Brightline Holdings LLC’s current high-speed rail links Miami to Orlando at 125 mph.
On Tuesday, the DOT outlined its aim for the rail to function as a “fully electric, zero-emission system.” It will also create 35,000 jobs, ease traffic, and “cut more than 400,000 tons of carbon pollution each year.”
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Funding from the DOT for the project is part of Biden’s infrastructure bill.
The Biden administration has invested close to $30 billion in the U.S. rail system.
