by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 12:40 PM ET, Fri December 8, 2023
The Biden-Harris Administration announced $8.2 billion in new funding for ten major passenger rail projects across the nation as part of its Investing in America Agenda, including the nation’s first high-speed rail projects.
The projects have several goals: create new jobs, connect people across cities that have been historically separated and create more climate-friendly travel and transit opportunities.
The $8.2 billion investment is through the Federal Railroad Administration’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program. An additional $34.5 million was allocated to the Corridor Identification and Development program.
“Our nation’s leaders have a responsibility to help travelers get from Point A to Point B—and rail has an important role to play in this effort,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman. “We applaud the Biden administration for its efforts to improve passenger rail connectivity and make travel within the U.S. more modern, seamless and efficient.”
The New Rail Developments
The chosen Federal-State National Project selections include the Brightlight West High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail System Project, which will receive up to $3 billion for a 218-mile intercity passenger rail system connecting Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga, California. It’s expected to serve over 11 million passengers a year and encourage less car use, saving an estimated 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year. It will also create 35,000 jobs in construction and 1,000 permanent jobs, the majority of which will be unionized.
The California Inaugural High-Speed Rail Service Project will receive up to $3.07 billion to offer high-speed rail service in the state’s Central Valley and extend the line between Bakersfield and Merced. The 171-mile corridor will offer more frequent passenger rail service from the Central Valley to northern and southern California. All-electric trainsets will be powered by renewable energy.
Along the East Coast, the Raleigh to Richmond (R2R) Innovating Rail Program Phases IA and II will receive up to $1.1 billion to build parts of the Southeast Corridor from Raleigh to Wake Forest.
The Long Bridge project, part of the Transforming Rail in Virginia, will receive $729 million to construct a new two-track rail bridge over the Potomac River to expand passenger rail capacity between Washington, D.C. and Richmond.
Other projects receiving grants include upgrades to Chicago Union Station, upgrades to the Pennsylvania Keystone Corridor, extending the service west of Philadelphia-Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, rail infrastructure improvement in Montana and more.
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