The first high-speed train line in the United States will be inaugurated in 2028 between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, shortly before the Olympic Games, US President Joe Biden announced, AFP reports, citing Agerpres. In the US, there has been talk of a high-speed rail line for decades, but few believe in its implementation.

“We will build the first high-speed train line in the history of our country. And it all starts here,” Joe Biden said during a visit to Las Vegas, Nevada.

America’s first “TGV” promises to connect Los Angeles with Las Vegas in just over two hours, double the time it takes a car, and is expected to carry 11 million passengers a year.

The project, called Brightline West, after the private company that will build and operate the trains, will receive $3 billion from President Biden’s 2021 big infrastructure investment plan.

The project also holds promise for environmental protection, as the future rail line will “take 3 million vehicles off the highway,” Joe Biden said.

He also mentioned “union” and “well-paying” jobs, a promise made less than a year before the upcoming US presidential election.

“We have been talking about this project for decades. Now we’re really going to do it,” added the US president, who is a big supporter of rail transport.

Joe Biden regularly recounts how he took the train every day during his 36 years as a senator between Washington and his home state of Delaware. This situation earned him the nickname “Amtrak Joe” after the name of the state railway company in the United States.

“Economic competition”

The route on which the first US “TGV” will run will not be part of the San Francisco – Los Angeles line that has been announced for several years, but whose delay has led to an explosive increase in costs.

And the route will benefit from $3 billion in investment to speed up its completion. Joe Biden welcomes the project, which provides “31 million passengers a year and will be 100% powered by renewable energy.”

The American president also talked about other modernization projects that will receive funding. Thus, 10 projects will receive a total of 8.2 billion dollars.

The new investment comes in addition to others announced in recent months.

“Railroads made America a powerhouse of commerce and innovation in the world, uniting the country and building the strongest economy in history. However, over time, we have accumulated delays because our infrastructure was the best in the world,” Joe Biden added, adding that the allocated funding now increases to $30 billion of the total package of $66 billion provided in the president’s investment plan.

“But now we are in a 21st century economic competition. In China, trains have been running at a speed of 350 km/h for some time,” said Joe Biden, referring to the big Asian competitor.

“How can we be the best economy if we don’t have the best infrastructure in the world? This is exactly what we are going to do,” the American president added.

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