Los Angeles Rail Project Gets Almost $900 Million Boost

Los Angeles will receive a $893 million federal grant to fund a new light rail line after years of lobbying from officials.
At 6.7 miles, the rail line will run through Panorama City, Arleta, and Pacoima to connect a number of neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley. It is estimated to cost $3.6 billion, and the funding is the first grant under the Federal Transit Administration’s Expedited Project Delivery (EPD) Pilot Program
At a news conference on Friday, Metro Board second vice chair Jacqueline Dupont-Walker said that commuter services in the San Fernando Valley had been “missing for more than 70 years.” The board’s Facebook post referred to the project as “transformational.”
Veronica Vanterpool, acting administrator for the Federal Transit Administration, also spoke at the news conference. The Los Angeles Times reported that she said the line aims to help 19,000 riders who currently take the bus, and 35 percent don’t have access to or own a car, by reducing their commute by around 15 minutes, according to the local outlet Los Angeles Times.
Not only will the new line improve transit travel time, it will also lessen congestion and improve air quality, because 70 percent of the power used by the LA Metro system will be generated by solar energy, according to a press release from the FTA. This will lower operating costs as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Commenting on the new investment in the rail project, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, “Traffic and air quality are two longstanding challenges that Los Angeles has been working hard to fix – and today they’re getting a big hand from the Biden-Harris administration through our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
According to trains.com, the construction project is set to last until 2031, and the first phase will begin later this year to include 11 stations and 33 vehicles.
In the news conference, Congressman Tony Cardenas said, “This is the kind of project where it’s state dollars, local dollars, metro dollars, federal dollars, coming together from all parts of our nation to bring this project to the San Fernando hard-working, beautiful, amazing people who deserve everything that we’re bringing to them.”
The project has received grants previously, including one last year in February from the California State Transportation Agency, where it was given $600 million for the project, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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