What They Are Reading in the States: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $8 Billion for World-Class High Speed Rail and New Passenger Rail Corridors

Today, President Biden traveled to Las Vegas to announce $8.2 billion to deliver the first high-speed rail projects in American history.

President Biden's Investing in America agenda, a cornerstone of Bidenomics, has put America well on its way to creating world-class infrastructure that unlocks economic opportunity for all Americans.

These investments - in every corner of the country through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - will get people and goods where they need to go more quickly, reduce emissions by taking millions of cars off the roads, increase passenger safety, and create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs.

See what Americans across the country are reading below:

Los Angeles Times: Editorial: Funding for California's bullet trains puts the high-speed rail revolution back on track
[Editorial Board, 12/8/23]

Finally, the federal government is putting serious money behind a greener and faster transportation system. This week, the Biden administration announced $6 billion in funding for two high-speed rail projects that will eventually whisk passengers across California and Nevada on electrified trains that can travel 200 mph or faster. It's a landmark investment in technology that is common in Asian and European countries, but missing in the United States, where the nation's political leaders have prioritized funding for car and air travel.

Houston Chronicle: Federal officials commit $2.5M to Houston-area rail developments, including bullet train to Dallas
[Dug Begley, 12/8/23]

Federal officials have awarded up to $2.5 million to further develop passenger rail service in Texas with possible stops in Houston, including further study by Amtrak for high-speed service along a new corridor between Houston and Dallas identical to the current but unfulfilled private service. The funding, up to $500,000 for Amtrak, is for the first stages of development of high-speed rail service between the two metro areas, with a stop described as being in the "Brazos Valley." The money would be strictly for "preparing, completing, or documenting its service development plan," and does not commit any funding for what is likely to be a $25 billion-to-$35 billion project. "What we are doing is creating a pipeline for potential passenger rail projects," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in announcing 69 projects as part of the Corridor ID Program by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: A second daily Amtrak roundtrip between Pittsburgh and NYC is coming
[Jonathan Salant, 12/8/23]

Track improvements to allow a second daily roundtrip between Pittsburgh and New York City and a study looking at passenger trains heading west from the City of Bridges to Chicago are among the latest projects to receive funding under President Joe Biden's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law. Mr. Biden traveled to Nevada on Friday to announce $8.2 billion in funding for 10 major rail projects. The funds are part of the $66 billion earmarked for railroads in the infrastructure law, which Mitch Landrieu, senior adviser to the president and White House infrastructure coordinator, called "the largest investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak more than 50 years ago." The president, who used to commute daily via Amtrak to the U.S. Capitol from his home in Delaware, has championed the expansion of passenger rail since taking office. On a conference call with reporters Thursday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg named Pittsburgh as one of the cities that got its start as a railroad town… Mr. Buttigieg said that any such service would be years away, but the studies now would provide a road map for expanding passenger rail in the future should additional funding become available.
"There will be more and more of an appetite in America to make the investments," he said.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette: Wisconsin gets $2.5 million to study Amtrak expansion from Milwaukee to Green Bay, Madison
[Jeff Bollier, 12/8/23]

Rail advocates never gave up hope of restoring passenger train service to Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac. They got a glimmer of hope more than 50 years later when President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included $66 billion to extend passenger rail service to new cities and increase service on existing routes.

Los Angeles Daily News: Biden pledges billions for a pair of California high-speed electric rail routes
[Jordan Darling, 12/8/23]

The administration this week said it will give more than $6 billion to a pair of high-speed electric rail routes in California, injecting new life into long-stalled projects hailed by supporters as the future of public transportation but bemoaned by critics for their high price tags and lengthy construction times. Biden, an avowed rail aficionado who earned the nickname "Amtrak Joe" during his decades as a Delaware senator, will highlight funds for 10 passenger rail projects in all, including a high-speed rail line linking Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga that could be carrying passengers on electric-powered trains by the time Los Angeles hosts the Summer Olympics in 2028. White House officials this morning said the federal government will give $3 billion for the privately-owned route between Las Vegas and San Bernardino County plus another $3.1 billion for an initial segment of California's publicly-funded effort to eventually connect L.A. and San Francisco.

Richmond Times-Dispatch: US grants $1.7B toward rail service in VA, NC
[Michael Martz, Dave Ress, 12/8/23]

The U.S. Department of Transportation is granting more than $1.7 billion to speed and expand passenger rail service between Washington, Richmond and Raleigh, North Carolina, say senators and members of Congress from Virginia and North Carolina… Tom Perez, senior adviser to Biden and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, said the grants reflect Biden's vision of a "world class rail system" that improves people's lives, boosts the economy and reduces vehicle pollution linked to climate change. "Virginia is a big winner in these investments around that vision because the president recognizes there are major chokepoints in Virginia," Perez said in an interview on Thursday… Perez, at the White House, said, "Once it's done, that route will save passengers around 90 minutes per trip" between Richmond and Raleigh.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Vegas-to-LA rail project lands $3B in federal funds
[Mick Akers, 12/5/23]

Brightline West has been awarded $3 billion in federal funds to go toward its planned $12 billion Las Vegas-to-Los Angeles high-speed rail system.

Colorado Public Radio: Feds accept Colorado's Front Range rail project into key grant program
[Nathaniel Minor, 12/6/23]

The rail office within the U.S. Department of Transportation will give the Front Range Passenger Rail District $500,000 for planning studies. That district is planning a passenger rail line that would link Fort Collins, Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and points in between.

Spectrum New York: 'Amtrak Joe's' White House announces $8.2B passenger rail in­vestment
[David Mendez, 12/8/23]

The Biden administration announced Friday that it will invest more than $8.2 billion in new funding for 10 rail projects across the country, including two "world class" high-speed rail projects planned to run to and from Southern California. The announcement also introduced a new planning framework to identify new rail improvement projects across the country. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talked up the projects as having economic and environmental benefits, but also offered an emotional appeal — a desire to bring American rail up to and beyond the standards of countries across the world.

Spectrum North Carolina: $1B grant will help make high speed rail a reality from Raleigh to Richmond
[Charles Duncan, 12/6/23]

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed in 2021, is one of the Biden administration's early major achievements. The 162-mile route from Raleigh to Richmond is intended to cut down on the travel time for existing service and connect North Carolina to Washington, D.C., and the Northeast Corridor. State and federal officials have been working on the new route for more than 20 years.

Spectrum Los Angeles: High-speed train between LA, Las Vegas gets $3B federal grant
[Susan Carpenter, 12/5/23]

The funding is provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will cover about a quarter of the cost of the $12 billion project. Brightline West has already received $1 billion in private activity bonds from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

WKMG (CBS Orlando, FL): Biden heads to Las Vegas to showcase $8.2B for 10 major rail projects around the country
[Staff, 12/8/23]

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.

WFMZ (Allentown, PA): Biden administration announces $143.6 million investment in Pa. rail network
[Staff, 12/8/23]

President Joe Biden's administration has announced more than $143.6 million in new funding for the national rail network in Pennsylvania…"With this [$8.2 billion] funding, we'll deliver America's first high-speed rail on a route between Southern California and Las Vegas, complete major upgrades for riders in Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maine, Montana, and Alaska, and announce a comprehensive plan that makes it easier to expand passenger rail lines in 44 states," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

WHYY (NPR Philadelphia): Pennsylvania receiving $143M+ for Keystone Corridor upgrades, Buttigieg says 'it benefits the whole state'
[Cory Sharber, 12/8/23]

PennDOT is getting more than $143 million to improve freight rail and Amtrak service along the Keystone Corridor… The work will primarily focus on track and signal-related improvements along Norfolk Southern Railway's main line between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. The project will also help increase safety and improve reliability of all train operators. The project will also focus on improving system and service performance along freight train routes, and the Amtrak Pennsylvanian service will receive additional capacity upgrades, which will allow for a second daily round trip of Amtrak's service. In an interview with WHYY News Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said fewer disruptions on the tracks will mean trains can "operate the way they're supposed to." "It benefits the whole state through the economic link between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, and of course anywhere upstream or downstream of that connection, including eastern Pennsylvania, can benefit from the reliability there," Buttigieg said. He said Eastern Pennsylvania will also be aided by other projects in the Corridor Identification Program. "One is a proposed corridor to connect Scranton and New York," Buttigieg said. "And another is the Reading-Philadelphia-New York Corridor to add intermediate stops and make a connection there. They would then link things into the Northeast Corridor."