By Lila Brown
California Black Media

The Biden administration has announced over $6 billion in funding for two separate high-speed rail projects that will whisk passengers from

Southern to Northern California – and from Los Angeles County to Las

Vegas – on electric trains traveling 200 mph or faster.

The funding is part of a broader $8.2 billion national investment in high-speed rail across the country.

The initiative, President Biden has called “the most ambitious rail project in the Western Hemisphere,” will bring the United States on par with similar rail investments in Asian and European countries.

“When I ran for president, I made a commitment to build a world-class, high-speed rail worthy of the United States of America. At long last, we’re building the first high-speed rail project in our nation’s history,” Pres. Biden said during a campaign stop in Las Vegas held on Dec. 9.

The federal government has authorized $3 billion in funding for the 218-mile project.

“Together, we’re finally going to make high-speed rail happen between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Some of you know what it’s like to sit in traffic on interstates trying to make that drive back and forth from L.A. to Las Vegas,” the President continued, noting that the L.A. to Las Vegas train line, called the Brightline, will have a significant impact on tourism during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The rail project reduces carbon emissions, the same as taking 3 million vehicles off the highway, he added.

On Dec. 5, U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi announced that another project, The California High-Speed Rail (CHSR) project, is set to receive $3.1 billion in federal funding to support construction of a two-track electrified high-speed passenger bullet train connecting the cities of Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield.

“An electrified high-speed rail network will dramatically improve the quality of life in the Central Valley and up and down California,” Pelosi said.

This funding was awarded to California from a competitive national grant program under the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure and Appropriations laws passed by Congress in 2022.

When complete, that rail line will take travelers from Los Angeles, through the Central Valley, all the way to San Francisco, in less than three hours. Today, the journey can take eight hours by bus or car.

“Think of how this train will transform California’s Central Valley with new businesses, new residents, visitors, economic opportunities, or what it will mean to folks who live in inland towns and commute to work in Californian coastal cities,” Biden said of that project.

The CHSR project is the first of its kind in America and plays a key role in the modernization of passenger rail. Once CHSR is fully operational, the projected ridership for the San Francisco to Los Angeles corridor would make it the most traveled intercity passenger rail service in America with 31.3 million riders a year.

This project has already provided over 11,000 union jobs – most of which have been filled by Central Valley residents and residents from disadvantaged Bay Area communities. It has generated more than $12 billion in economic activity, engaging hundreds of small businesses, including those led by veterans and people with disabilities, according to Newsom’s office.

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