Board Leader
Posted 18 September 2018 - 11:56 AM
Las Vegas, NV Review-Journal, 9/18/18:
Florida firm acquires company planning Las Vegas to LA rail line
XpressWest, the high-speed rail proposal to link Las Vegas with Los Angeles via Victorville, California, has been acquired by a company that provides rail service in Florida.
Story is here.
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ
Administrator
Posted 11 October 2018 - 05:54 AM
The Manual, 10/9/18:
New Brightline Train Will Connect Vegas to Southern California in Just 2 Hours
Vegas, baby! The route between Southern California and Sin City is one of the most frequently traveled in the United States. Problem is: it’s at least a four-hour trip one-way by car. That’s more than eight hours round-trip — eight hours of driving that could be better spent smoking cigars, feeding your face at the casino’s questionable seafood buffet, and pretending you can actually fake a half-way decent poker face. Thankfully, a huge investment in near-high-speed rail travel along this corridor could cut that travel time in half.
SNIP
Late last month, Brightline announced their acquisition of the long-defunct XpressWest project — a high-speed intercity passenger rail line slated to run between Victorville, California, and Las Vegas. Construction will begin in 2019 with a planned completion date of sometime in 2022. Brightline further plans to expand the new Vegas terminal with 38 acres of land just off the Vegas Strip, where the terminus will serve as a major travel hub for buses, shuttles, and taxis.
Administrator
Posted 31 August 2019 - 07:47 AM
KTNV Las Vegas, 8/27/19
High-speed train to California back on track, construction set for 2020
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas is one step closer to having a high-speed train between the Las Vegas Strip and California.
On Tuesday, city and economic leaders at the Nevada Economic Development Conference talked about the railroad service that would connect more than 22 million people.
Talks of a rail service date back to the late 90s, but Virgin Trains USA says it's now ready to move forward because their current routes in Florida have been a success and they have a model to follow.
"We're looking to start construction in 2020," says Bob O’Malley the vice president for Virgin Trains USA.
Administrator
Posted 19 September 2019 - 02:00 PM
AP via KTLA-TV Los Angeles, CA 9/18/19
California to Assist Financing of High-Speed Train Between Victorville and Las Vegas
California officials on Wednesday could put a private company’s plan to build a high-speed train connecting Las Vegas and Southern California one step closer to reality by helping it access billions of dollars in private financing.
A committee chaired by state Treasurer Fiona Ma is likely to approve $300 million in tax-exempt private activity bonds for Virgin Trains USA this year, followed by the same amount again next year. That will allow the company to issue about $2.4 billion in debt, roughly half of what it needs to build the first private, high-speed train in the U.S. West.
Administrator
Posted 24 September 2019 - 07:58 AM
Bloomberg 9/18/19
California Backs Big Bond Deal for Virgin Trains' Las Vegas Line
A California agency on Wednesday approved the first step in the plans of Virgin Trains USA to sell $4.2 billion in tax-exempt debt to build a high-speed train to Las Vegas from a desert town in southern California.
The state’s Debt Limit Allocation Committee staff recommended that the company, backed by Fortress Investment Group’s private equity funds, receive half of its request for now, contingent on it submitting an economic development plan. Combined with an expected allocation from the federal government, a California agency would issue up to $3.2 billion of tax-exempt debt on the train’s behalf.
The company in November will also ask Nevada to issue up to $800 million for the railroad, plus part of the federal allocation, so the company’s tax-exempt financing plans total $4.2 billion for the $4.8 billion project. . . .
Administrator
Posted 16 November 2019 - 08:46 PM
Bond approval puts Las Vegas high-speed link one step closer to constructionNovember 07, 2019Virgin Trains USA made serious progress towards beginning construction of its Las Vegas high-speed line recently when it won approval from California’s Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank to issue a record-breaking amount of tax-exempt bonds.
Virgin has moved quickly since September of 2018, when it acquired the rights to Xpress West, including its right-of-way, station sites, and environmental clearance. Virgin plans electric trains traveling on a new, high-speed line at more than 150 mph that will make the 170-mile trip from Las Vegas to Victorville, CA in about 90 minutes. A future link from Victorville to Palmdale would give trains a path to downtown Los Angeles—and a connection to the rest of California’s extensive planned rail network.
The deal authorizes Virgin to issue $3.25 billion in tax-exempt private activity bonds, which allow a private developer like Virgin access to the same low-cost financing available to governments for infrastructure projects with public benefit.
The bonds authorized by California cover the majority of the $4.2 billion Virgin needs to begin construction. It expects the rest to be covered by bonds that will be authorized by Nevada soon.
Administrator
Posted 19 December 2019 - 03:50 PM
RT&S 12/16/19
Virgin Trains USA could start construction of high-speed line in Calif., Nev., in late 2020
Virgin Trains USA now believes it can start construction of a 170-mile, $4.8 billion high-speed train line from Victorville, Calif., to Las Vegas as early as third quarter 2020.
The Federal Railroad Administration still needs to hand out a record of decision for the project, but Virgin Trains USA has enough material and equipment to start construction immediately. The state of California issued $3.2 billion worth of bonds for construction in November, and now Virgin Trains USA is waiting to hear from the state of Nevada for approval of a $950 million bond program.
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