US President Biden unveils $3 billion investment for LA-Las Vegas high-speed rail project

United States President Joe Biden on Friday (Dec 8) unveiled a $3 billion investment for a high-speed rail project to connect Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Addressing an event at the Las Vegas Carpenters International Training Center, President Biden said, "You have no idea how much this pleases me. A long last, we're building the first high-speed rail project in our nation's history, and it's starting here. It's part of the $ 8.2 billion investment we're making in ten major rail projects across America, reaching tens of millions of people. We're putting high-speed rail on the fast track."

"Some of you know what it's like to sit in traffic on the interstate, not the one between here and LA, which is real, but all interstates. And guess what? Trying to make that drive from LA to Las Vegas, from Las Vegas to LA or anywhere in between is a paint on your neck," he added.

A reduction in trip time

He pointed out that the new rail project will reduce the trip (from LA to Las Vegas and Las Vegas to LA) time from seven hours to just three hours.

"And it won't just get there faster, the rail project reduces carbon emissions by three... Is the same as taking three million vehicles off the highway. Three million. And all the studies show, by the way, people get from point A to point B faster on a train than their car. They take the train. They take the train. Think of what that's going to mean to the environment," Biden further said during the event.

The new project would transport 11 million passengers a year and would also create ample employment opportunities, the president added.

"Ultimately, it's going to take folks in Los Angeles through the Central Valley all the way to San Francisco for less than 3 hours. But today, the journey can take 8 hours by bus or car. Think of how this train will transform California's Central Valley with new businesses, new residents, visitors, and economic opportunities," he said.

"This project is California's most ambitious rail project in the entire Western Hemisphere. It expects to carry 31 million passengers a year, will be 100% powered by renewable energy, and once again, this project is about jobs."

Upcoming rail projects

Biden also said during Friday's event that his administration was supporting 69 rail projects still in the early stages across 44 states. "On top of that, we're investing $9 billion to replace over 1000 Amtrak engines and cars across the country with scale-of-the-art equipment made in America by American workers. Made in America by American workers," said the president.