WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — President Joe Biden will showcase $8.2 billion in funding for passenger rail projects across the country in a visit to Las Vegas Friday.
One of the proposed rail projects is intended to link Nevada and California.
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 is intended to route around California's Central Valley and extend to San Francisco and on to Los Angeles, with trains reaching up to 220 mph.
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.
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.
In the meantime, 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.
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