Las Vegas-to-California high-speed electric rail project gets OK for $2.5B more in bonds

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Las Vegas-to-California high-speed electric rail project gets OK for $2.5B more in bonds

Updated 6:33 PM EST, January 23, 2024

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A proposed high-speed passenger train between Las Vegas and Southern California got another boost on Tuesday with Biden administration approval to issue $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds for the $12 billion project.

The announcement benefiting the Brightline West project followed a $3 billion U.S. Department of Transportation grant in December and government authorization in 2020 for the company to sell $1 billion in similar bonds.

“We appreciate the confidence placed in us by DOT and are ready to get to work,” Brightline founder and Chairman Wes Edens said in a statement. Florida-based Brightline Holdings LLC currently operates the only privately-owned intercity passenger railroad in the U.S., linking Miami and Orlando with trains reaching speeds up to 125 mph (200 kph).

The 218-mile (351-kilometer) Brightline West project aims to whisk passengers at 186 mph (300 kph) or more in electric trains on new tracks along the Interstate 15 corridor — cutting in half a four-hour freeway trip between Las Vegas and suburban San Bernardino County near Los Angeles.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/bullet-train-vegas-los-angeles-brightline-funding-f92313a58f6f12636f7801437df29fbe