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“We are building the first high-speed train route in the history of our country. And it starts here,” US President Joe Biden (81) said on Friday during a visit to Las Vegas. The US should have the “fastest, safest, greenest rail transportation in the world.”
Brightline West’s express trains are expected to cover the 220 miles between Las Vegas, Nevada, and the greater Los Angeles, California area in two hours and 10 minutes – about twice as fast as cars. The line will be operated by the private railway company Brightline, which already offers a new rail link between Miami and Orlando in the state of Florida on the east coast of the US.
Train fanatic Biden
The government of rail fanatic Biden wants to donate up to three billion dollars for the Brightline West project. The route is scheduled to be completed in 2028, in time for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles that same year.
Eleven million passengers are expected every year. Biden said Friday that the express trains would take three million vehicles off the often busy highway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
An express train route is also planned between Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, the project has been repeatedly postponed and costs have exploded – and now also needs to be advanced with $3 billion in federal money.
Public transport on the sidelines
In total, Biden presented funds totaling $8.2 billion for ten major rail projects in the country on Friday. The money comes from an infrastructure package passed by Congress in 2021 that will provide a total of $66 billion for rail transportation.
Passenger trains in the US currently run slowly and very irregularly; For decades, priority was given to cars and planes. In the fight against climate change, the US government wants to change that and double the number of passengers by 2040.
Biden himself was an avid train traveler during his 36 years as a U.S. senator, commuting by train between Washington and his home in the state of Delaware. That is why the 81-year-old American Democrat is nicknamed ‘Amtrak Joe’ – based on the name of the Amtrak railway company. (SDA)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
