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In March, the Nevada Rail Coalition sent a letter of support to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in support of the Nevada Department of Transportation and Brightline West’s grant application for Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail funds.
As we explain in our letter, Las Vegas currently has no passenger rail service. Brightline West would connect southern California and Las Vegas, providing key access to a growing, diverse population now critically unserved by passenger rail. This multi-generational infrastructure investment would also serve as a powerful example of what high-speed rail could do for other areas, as well as improving equity and climate change resiliency.
The project will bolster additional economic activity for the region by creating over 35,000 construction jobs (10,000+ of which will be union) and approximately 1,000 permanent jobs (900 of which will be union). Brightline West is asking for $3.75 billion in federal funding, and the other 70% of the $10 billion will come from private sources.
The Nevada Rail Coalition shares the Biden administration’s climate goals, which this system would align with. It would divert millions of car rides totaling over 700 million fewer vehicle miles traveled per year to a faster, more efficient, zero-emission transportation option. This is equivalent to removing an estimated 400,000 tons of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere.
Read our letter below.
In April, a bipartisan group of congressional representatives from Nevada and California also submitted a letter in support of the grant. The Federal Railroad Administration is expected to finalize permits in July. Read more here.
