According to a Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) official, funding for the high-speed train between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles region is guaranteed.
A grant from the Biden administration and private bonds are two of the funding sources for the Brightline West project.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday directing federal agencies to examine money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. However, those Biden administration initiatives did not include Brightline funding.
“The $3 billion grant for the Brightline West project is secure, allowing this critical project to move forward,” NDOT spokesperson Kelsey McFarland stated.
“NDOT continues to closely monitor the Trump Administration’s executive orders to determine what, if any, impact there may be on our projects and program. We are awaiting clarity on the order affecting the IIJA and IRA to begin to assess any potential impact in the State of Nevada,” McFarland stated.
On Wednesday, Brightline West executives affirmed that the project is proceeding.
As part of the order, all expenditure under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act was suspended until the review was finished.
However, the Federal Railroad Administration approved the $3 billion grant for Brightline West in late September 2024.
More than $6 billion in funding, or half of the currently projected $12.6 billion cost, comes from these sources:
Private activity bonds of $2.5 billion were announced. The Nevada Department of Transportation announced a $3 billion grant for the project in December 2024, while a $1 billion private activity bond was granted in 2020.
In June, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority was granted $25 million.
In an effort to raise an extra $2.5 billion, Brightline West released a new bond offering on January 14. A $1.85 billion issue from California and a $625 million offering from Nevada comprised the two halves of the bond sale. The records can be viewed on Munios.com, which requires a free account to access.
The bonds mature in 40 years, and Morgan Stanley is the principal underwriter.
The bond sale paperwork states that the high-speed rail will not commence passenger service until December 2028, which is considerably after the 2028 Summer Olympics’ July start date. According to Brightline, they hope to be operational for that occasion.
Additionally, the paper states that it anticipates charging $119 for a one-way ticket and $133 for premium cabin service. In its first year of service, Brightline anticipates carrying 8.6 million passengers (one-way).
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NDOT and other federal and state agencies are still working to resolve issues about financing from the programs that were specifically targeted by New Administration’s executive order, which focused on renewable energy.
It announced its intention to “terminate the Green New Deal” and overturned twelve of Biden’s executive actions.
Reclamation is in charge of managing the Colorado River, while BLM is in charge of leasing solar and other renewable energy projects on federal land in Nevada.
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