News - June 23, 2025 - by Ray Hagar

Nevada's 1st U.S. House District Rep. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, holds an influential position on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, especially when it comes to trains, planes, automobiles and tourism.

Titus, whose district includes the Las Vegas Strip, said on Nevada Newsmakers that she sees a clear path and bright future for the Brightline West project, the 218-mile high-speed rail venture between Las Vegas and Southern California.

Titus did not, however, share the same enthusiasm for the proposed Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport in the Ivanpah Valley, more than 20 miles south of Las Vegas.

Titus noted that estimates for the build-out for the proposed airport are now about $20 billion -- making it the most expensive project in the history of Clark County. Also, the Trump Administration has become very stingy when it comes to federal funding for such projects, Titus added.

"You've got to get all the permitting, get all the environmental things in place," Titus told host Sam Shad. "And getting the money, right now ... how do you get some federal funding at a time when the federal government is cutting back on lots of grants? So, you know, there's just going to be a challenge. It's not going to be easy."

Titus' comments are a far cry from the past optimism of Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick, who in 2019 said on Nevada Newsmakers that the supplemental airport in the Ivanpah Valley could be ready within 10 years.

Las Vegas officials see a supplemental airport as a necessity because Harry Reid International Airport is expected to reach its full capacity of 63 million to 65 million passengers a year in just five years, according to the Clark County Department of Aviation.

However, work to make the airport a reality remains in its infancy, Titus said.

"They're moving forward a little bit with some of the environmental studies, but it is very expensive to build a new airport, and it is going to take some time," Titus said, noting there's another bid for the supplemental airport.

"You've seen the airport down at Laughlin saying, 'Look, we've already got the basics. Why don't you build it here instead of Ivanpah?' "

The Laughlin-Bullhead International Airport site, more than 95 miles from Las Vegas, has already been studied as a site for the supplemental airport. However, it did not make the cut for the top five sites to be considered by the the Clark County Department of Aviation, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"So yeah, a new airport would be great, but $20 billion? That's what you've got to come up with," Titus said. "In the meantime, you've got to bring McCarran (Harry Reid International Airport) up to speed. You can't just let it fall by the wayside while you look at something at Ivanpah."

Plans for the Ivanpah Valley airport also include a rail system tied into the Brightline high-speed rail project. Yet again, money is the issue, Titus said.

"That goes back to my point about cutting federal dollars," Titus said. "They've talked about light rail in Southern Nevada before -- out to Henderson and Boulder City. And it just didn't really go anywhere."

If and when the Ivanpah airport is built, some kind of transportation system would also be necessary to move people and products into Las Vegas, Titus said.

"You're going to have to find some kind of transportation to get people from that airport into town," she said. "So you're talking about a long range, very expensive project. Doesn't mean we shouldn't do it. But, you just have to be smart about it. "

Titus warned airline passengers may not enjoy the extra the 23-to-30-mile trip needed to get into Las Vegas after landing in the Ivanpah Valley.

"People are pretty spoiled here in Las Vegas," Titus said. "This airport (Harry Reid International) is just right in town. You land, you're on The Strip practically. Now you're going to have to figure out transportation out to Ivanpah. So it's not just when you land that vacation starts. You've still got to get here to Las Vegas."

Brightline West

Meanwhile, Brightline West has completed field investigation work for its 218-mile high-speed rail project, according to Railway Supply, an industry publication for railway transportation.

Full-scale construction is expected to begin soon, according to various reports. Government agencies in California and Nevada have already issued private activity bonds, considered a key element in the funding of the $12.4 billion project.

The high-speed rail line is expected to have 5.8 million passengers in its first year of operation and 8.6 million annually by 2031, according to Brightline statistics.

The projected opening date, however, has been moved to December of 2028. Brightline had initially hoped to open in time for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, which begin July 14, according to the LA28 website.

"We've already put together the labor agreements, already done the environmental studies and have contracts in place and ready to actually break ground," said Titus, who sees an expansion of rail transportation in Nevada's future.

"In fact, if we can do this in Nevada and I believe we can, we've got federal money and it'll go now from Southern California to Las Vegas," she said. "But it could go to Phoenix, could go to Reno, and from Reno, up to the northwest."

Titus noted she's on a good perch to make sure the high-speed rail project is not overlooked in Congress.

"You know, I'm the ranking member on the subcommittee that deals with railroads, so we're going to keep an eye on things and on Brightline through that subcommittee," she said. "But we're fixing to do the surface transportation bill now, and that mostly focuses on highways. But we want to be sure that rail doesn't become a stepchild of highways as we move forward."

The railway will have almost 35 miles of track in Nevada. The Las Vegas train station is expected to be build on Las Vegas Boulevard, between Blue Diamond and Warm Springs Road, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"You'll have 100 acres there to do repairs and for the station," Titus said. "And at the point stations where Brightline exists in Florida, you've seen a lot of commercial development around the stations, and so it (Las Vegas station) will foster that."

All's well that ends well

Titus said she and Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, are back on good terms in a friendship that goes back more than 20 years when Titus was the Democratic minority leader of the Nevada State Senate and Amodei was a Republican state senator.

Titus and some of the other Democrats in Nevada's congressional delegation became angry recently with Amodei, after he included federal land in Clark County -- not in his district -- to be sold to raise money for the U.S. Treasury as part of the Republicans' "One Big, Beautiful Bill."

The proposal was later deleted but not before it sparked a Congressional kerfuffle inside Nevada's delegation.

"We've been friends for a long time, going back to the days in the state Legislature," Titus said. "And I tend to defer to him on northern issues.

"That's why it was such a surprise when he came with an amendment to sell off land in Clark County without having talked to me about it," Titus said. "But we've talked since, and joked about some of the things. And, we will continue to work together and still be friends."