USDOT OKs $2.5B in private activity bond allocation for Brightline West project

The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced the approval of $2.5 billion in private activity bonds (PAB) authority allocated for the Brightline West high-speed intercity passenger-rail project connecting Las Vegas and Southern California.

The proposed 218-mile, high-speed rail line would run along the Interstate 15 median with trains capable of reaching speeds of 186 mph or higher. The train trip would cut in half — to two hours — the time it would take to travel the route by car, USDOT officials said in a press release.

The $12 billion project will become a fully electric, zero-emission rail system that will bolster tourism, reduce congestion on I-15 and cut more than 400,000 tons of carbon pollution each year, the release states.

USDOT previously approved a PAB allocation of $1 billion for Brightline West in 2020, bringing the total allocation for this project to $3.5 billion. In December 2023, USDOT also awarded a $3 billion grant in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding to the Nevada Department of Transportation for the project.

And in June 2023, USDOT awarded a $25 million grant to San Bernardino County Transportation Authority through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program that will be used for the construction of Brightline West stations in Hesperia and Victor Valley, California.

"Building a high-speed rail corridor from Las Vegas to Southern California will drive economic investment and opportunity across the region," said U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg.

The secretary of transportation is authorized by Congress to allocate up to $30 billion in PAB authority through the Build America Bureau for qualified surface-transportation facilities. The allocations provide privately financed projects with access to tax-exempt bonds lowering their cost of capital and increasing private sector involvement in the delivery of transportation projects.