Biden to Showcase $8.2B Rail Projects 12/08 06:19

Biden to Showcase $8.2B Rail Projects  12/08 06:19

   President Joe Biden is heading to Las Vegas to showcase $8.2 billion in 
funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country, including to 
spur work on high-speed, electric train routes that could one day link Nevada 
and California, as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Joe Biden is heading to Las Vegas to showcase 
$8.2 billion in funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the 
country, including to spur work on high-speed, electric train routes that could 
one day link Nevada and California, as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

   The administration says the 218-mile (350.8-kilometer) train route linking 
Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, California, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east 
of downtown Los Angeles, may one day serve more than 11 million passengers 
annually.

   The administration hopes the investment through federal and state 
partnership programs will help to boost prospects for the long-discussed 
project, which supporters say could revitalize travel in the American West and 
critics argue is too costly.

   Another electric rail line getting funding has been billed as the nation's 
first high-speed route and is eventually planned to traverse California's 
Central Valley and extend to San Francisco and on to Los Angeles, with trains 
reaching up to 220 mph (354 kph).

   The funding the president will highlight won't be nearly enough to cover the 
full costs of either project, but signals the Biden administration's commitment 
to spurring train travel in a nation that has long celebrated the spirit of 
fast cars and open highways.

   "The bottom line is that, under President Biden, we're delivering world 
class passenger rail service that Americans ought to be able to expect," 
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a conference call with 
reporters.

   Other train projects getting funding include upgrades to heavily traveled 
corridors in Virginia and North Carolina, with the eventual goal of linking 
Richmond and Raleigh by rail. Funding will also go to improvements to a rail 
bridge over the Potomac River to bolster passenger service in Washington and 
cover train corridor upgrades in western Pennsylvania and Maine, while 
expanding capacity at Chicago's Union Station, one of the nation's busiest rail 
hubs.

   The announcement aside, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said 
Biden also would use his visit to Las Vegas to address this week's shooting at 
the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, that killed three people and wounded a 
fourth. He is to end the day in Los Angeles at a fundraiser featuring 
entertainment industry luminaries.

   Friday's trip was planned before the shooting and Biden's focus on train 
service is little surprise for a president who is a big passenger rail 
advocate. Biden has championed several major federal spending investments in 
passenger rail travel, including last month when he announced $16 billion in 
federal investments for rail travel along the busy Northeast Corridor.

   During his 36 years as a senator, Biden traveled back and forth from his 
home in Delaware to Washington daily and says he has logged more than 1 million 
miles on Amtrak.

   Making high speed rail a reality in California won't be easy, though, since 
its first-in-the-U.S. project has long been plagued by extended deadlines and 
cost overruns.

   The plan has been funded by some prior federal grants, as well as a bond 
fund approved by voters in 2008, and revenue from the state's cap-and-trade 
climate program. But that adds up to a total far below the project's estimated 
costs, now at more than $100 billion.

   California Republicans have long been critical of the project, but even some 
state Democrats have become more vocal in their skepticism.

   Construction and land acquisition is underway in the Central Valley. But 
Brian Kelly, the project's CEO, has long said a fresh infusion of federal cash 
is an important part of advancing the project. The Biden administration had 
previously signaled support for the project when it restored nearly $1 billion 
in federal money that the Trump administration tried to revoke.

   Asked about rising costs and growing delays on the high-speed line, 
Buttigieg acknowledged, "They are facing a lot of the challenges that come with 
being the very first at anything."

   "For all of these projects, we would not be funding them if we did not 
believe they can deliver," he said.