LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined President Joe Biden, Brightline West CEO Wes Edens, members of the Nevada congressional delegation, as well as state and local officials, and business and labor leaders to officially announce the $3 billion in funding she secured this week for high-speed rail in Las Vegas. In her remarks, Senator Rosen highlighted how the project will bring millions of new visitors to Nevada, remove 3 million cars from I-15 annually, reduce carbon emissions by more than 400,000 tons each year, and create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs.
“I helped write and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to bring critical investments like this one to support our state, our infrastructure, and our economy,” said Senator Rosen. “After months of working with the Administration to make sure this funding came to Nevada, I am proud to officially announce the $3 billion that we will receive to build a high-speed rail project. This project will supercharge tourism to our state, reduce traffic on the I-15, and support tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs.”
For months, Senator Rosen led the efforts in Congress to make this project a reality. Earlier this year, Senator Rosen sent a letter urging the U.S. Department of Transportation to stand ready to receive the Nevada Department of Transportation’s application for funding to build Brightline West. After this application was submitted, she led a bipartisan group of colleagues in voicing their strong support of the project. In August, she led a press conference in Las Vegas with Brightline CEO Michael Reininger, Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft, Nevada Department of Transportation Director Tracy Larkin Thomason, President and CEO of the Vegas Chamber Mary Beth Sewald, and President of the Transportation Trades Department for the AFL-CIO Greg Regan to call on DOT to approve the application to build Brightline West and provide the funding. In March, she applauded the news that the Southern Nevada Building Trades had reached an agreement with Brightline to ensure this high-speed rail system would be constructed with union labor. Throughout the process, Senator Rosen has been in regular contact with Administration officials and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, urging them to approve this funding for the Brightline West project.
Below is coverage from the announcement:
The Messenger: Nevada Sen. Rosen Announces $3 Billion in Light-Rail Funding Ahead of Biden Visit
By Alec Dent
Key Points:
- Democratic Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen on Tuesday announced she had secured $3 billion in funding for a high-speed rail system between Las Vegas and southern California from the Department of Transportation.
- “This historic high-speed rail project will be a game changer for Nevada’s tourism economy and transportation,” said Rosen in a statement. “It’ll bring more visitors to our state, reduce traffic on the I-15, create thousands of good paying jobs, and decrease carbon emissions, all while relying on local union labor.”
Nevada Independent: Vegas to L.A. high-speed rail line secures $3 billion in federal funding
By Gabby Birenbaum
Key Points:
- The long-awaited, long-delayed high-speed rail train from Las Vegas to Southern California is $3 billion closer to leaving the station.
- Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), who has led congressional efforts to fund the line through letters and press conferences, called the announcement a “game changer” for the state’s tourism economy.
- In a statement, Brightline CEO Wes Edens thanked Rosen and called the funding announcement a “historic moment that will serve as a foundation for a new industry.”
- Brightline West, which aims to open in advance of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, already has much of the requisite permitting and project-labor agreements in place. The funding announcement was also met with praise from the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition and the Southern Nevada Building Trades Union.
USA Today: High-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas, Southern California has been granted $3 billion
By Rene Ray De La Cruz
Key Points
- Brightline West’s high-speed rail project from Southern California to Las Vegas has scored $3 billion in federal funding.
- Brightline and the Nevada Department of Transportation applied for the funds from $3.75 billion available from the Federal-State Partnership Program, part of the U.S. infrastructure bill.
- The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorized spending more than $4.5 billion for intercity passenger rail funding for lines outside the rail-rich Northeast Corridor.
- Rosen, who led congressional efforts to fund the high-speed line through letters and press conferences, called the announcement a “game changer” for the state’s tourism economy.
Las Vegas Sun: Regulators OK $3 billion for Las Vegas-California high-speed rail project
By Casey Harrison
Key Points:
- The Brightline West high-speed rail project linking Las Vegas to Southern California along the Interstate 15 corridor is getting a $3 billion boost from the federal government.
- Nevada Democratic U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen… told reporters during a media call Tuesday that the project was “shovel ready,” station land had already been secured, design and engineering work had been prepared and union labor agreements were in place for construction.
- The funding was sourced from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Announcement of the grant award comes months after lawmakers from Nevada and California urged the U.S. Department of Transportation for final approval.
- MGM Resorts International, Nevada’s largest private employer, also praised Tuesday’s news, with CEO Bill Hornbuckle saying it will help Las Vegas appeal to even more tourists. “This is a huge win for Las Vegas, our economy and the travel and tourism industry,” Hornbuckle said in a statement in which he also thanked the Biden administration and Nevada’s congressional delegation.
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Vegas-to-LA rail project lands $3B in federal funds
By Mick Akers
Key Points:
- Brightline West has been awarded $3 billion in federal funds to go toward its planned $12 billion Las Vegas-to-Los Angeles high-speed rail system.
- Rosen confirmed the grant award in a news release Tuesday morning, noting that she had been heavily advocating for the funding. Her efforts included sending a letter in August to the U.S. Department of Transportation pushing for the awarding of the grant funds.
Nevada Current: High-speed rail project secures $3 billion in funds from bipartisan infrastructure law
By Michael Lyle
Key Points:
- After years of speculation, and promises, to bring a high-speed train to connect Southern Nevada to Southern California, the latest proposed rail system seems to be on track after receiving $3 billion in federal funding.
- “For the nearly 50 years I’ve lived in Las Vegas, Nevadans have heard about the prospect of building a high speed rail system between Las Vegas and Southern California,” U.S. Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen said in a press call Tuesday.
- Rosen said on Tuesday that the federal funding was “a game changer for Las Vegas” that will ensure a rail system project “wasn’t just decades of talk and promises.”
- “Think about what the future will look like once this project is complete,” she said. “Visitors to our state, millions of them, will visit each year and will have the ability to get on a train in Southern California, enjoy a cocktail or meal, all while traveling directly and quickly to Las Vegas. Doesn’t that sound a whole lot better than the current option of sitting in traffic for several hours on the I-15?”
KOLO Reno: $3 billion to be invested for rail system connecting Vegas and southern California
By Kevin Sheridan
Key Points:
- $3 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is headed to Las Vegas for the construction of a high-speed rail system connecting Las Vegas to southern California.
- “This historic high-speed rail project will be a game changer for Nevada’s tourism economy and transportation. It’ll bring more visitors to our state, reduce traffic on the I-15, create thousands of good paying jobs, and decrease carbon emissions, all while relying on local union labor,” said U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen. “For decades, Nevadans have heard about the benefits of high-speed rail, and I’m proud to have led the charge for months to push the U.S. Department of Transportation to secure critical funding to make this a reality. I’ll always fight to support Nevada’s tourism economy and create good-paying, union jobs.”
The Nevadan: Vegas- to-SoCal high-speed train project gets $3 billion from Biden administration
By Keya Vakil
Key Points:
- A planned high-speed rail system to connect Las Vegas and Southern California got a huge boost on Tuesday, when the Biden administration approved $3 billion in federal funding for the Brightline West high-speed rail system.
- The environmental impact is also expected to be substantial, as the fully-electric, emission-free line is estimated to lead to 700 million fewer vehicle miles traveled per year and the reduction of 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
- Rosen, who voted for the infrastructure law, has spent months advocating for the US Department of Transportation to approve Brightline’s funding request. On Tuesday, she celebrated the funding announcement.
- Brightline estimates that about 50 million trips occur each year between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, with more than 85% of them by car. The company expects to serve more than 11 million one-way passengers annually, once the route is completed.
- “This is a momentous day for the workers of Southern Nevada, specifically members of the Southern Nevada Building Trades Union, as we announce our partnership with Brightline West and the California Building Trades to create our country’s first true high-speed rail system,” said Vince Saavedra, executive secretary-treasurer of the Southern Nevada Building Trades Union.
Vegas Business Digest: Rosen Announces $3 Billion Federal Funding for High-Speed Rail in Las Vegas
Key Points:
- Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), chair of the Senate subcommittee overseeing tourism, announced that $3 billion in federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be used to begin construction of the Brightline West high-speed rail project in Las Vegas.
- Earlier this year, Senator Rosen sent a letter urging the U.S. Department of Transportation to stand ready to receive the Nevada Department of Transportation’s application for funding to build Brightline West.
- In April, Senator Rosen led a bipartisan group of colleagues to support this project.
KLAS Las Vegas: Rosen Secures $3 Billion for Historic High-Speed Rail in Las Vegas
Anchor: “Nevada Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen announcing she helped secure $3 billion to fund what is a 218-mile-long Brightline West project… Rosen says the train will reduce traffic on I-15 and that crews are ready to go.”
Rosen: “Every single thing they could possibly do, they’ve done that. They’ve made agreements with labor. They have made every agreement that they needed to. And so we are shovel ready.”
KSNV Las Vegas: Rosen Speaks on Securing $3 Billion for Historic High-Speed Rail in Las Vegas
Anchor: “After years of ongoing negotiations for a high-speed train from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, we are getting closer to reality, all thanks to a $3 billion federal grant to start construction for Brightline West. Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen making that announcement today that the U.S. Department of Transportation will provide the funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
Rosen: “It will boost our economy by bringing more visitors. This means more people spending their money at Nevada’s hotels, restaurants, casinos, small businesses and at events in our state, bringing in as much as $10 billion of economic impact.”
KVVU Las Vegas: Rosen Speaks on Securing $3 Billion for Historic High-Speed Rail in Las Vegas
Anchor: “Senator Jacky Rosen announced $3 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and that will go towards the Brightline West high-speed rail system. It is expected to help reduce vehicle traffic along the 15 by 3 million cars a year… Today Senator Jacky Rosen told us Brightline West is getting ready to start construction soon.”
Rosen: “They’ve already got all the environmental studies out of the way, all of the land, every single thing they could possibly do. They’ve done that. They’ve made agreements with labor. They have made every agreement that they needed to. And so we are shovel ready.”
Telemundo Las Vegas: Brightline West obtiene subvención de $3 mil millones
Reporter: “El proyecto ferroviario Brightline West, que conectará Las Vegas con el sur de California, obtuvo una subvención federal de 3 mil millones de dólares para iniciar la construcción. Así como lo escuchan Dina Titus, la congresista, y la senadora Catherine Cortez Masto y Jacky Rosen confirmaron la noticia a través de comunicados. El sistema de tren de alta velocidad de 12 mil millones de dólares se espera que genere empleos y conecte Las Vegas con varias estaciones en California y se calcula que pronto comiencen las obras.
KNPR Las Vegas: Rosen Secures $3 Billion for Historic High-Speed Rail in Las Vegas
Reporter: “A $3 billion grant from the federal government means construction can begin on a long-awaited high-speed railway between Las Vegas and Southern California… Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen is the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Tourism. She says this could be a game-changer for Nevada.”
Rosen: “It will boost our economy by bringing more visitors. This means more people spending their money at Nevada’s hotels, restaurants, casinos, small businesses and at events in our state, bringing in as much as $10 billion of economic impact.”
KOH-AM Reno: Rosen Secures $3 Billion for Historic High-Speed Rail in Las Vegas
Reporter: “The White House putting $3 billion towards the Brightline West rail project. That’s a quarter of the cost for the high-speed rail line that will run from Las Vegas to Los Angeles… Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen says the project will be a game changer for the state’s tourism economy and transportation.”
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