Progressive Railroading, 8/5/19
Virgin Trains seeks financing for Las Vegas-to-California rail service
Virgin Trains USA, which has proposed building a high-speed passenger-rail line from Las Vegas to Southern California, is seeking financing for the project by selling tax-exempt bonds in Nevada and activity bonds in California, according to Las Vegas news media reports.
Formerly known as Brightline, Virgin Trains has applied to the Nevada Department of Business and Industry for the right to sell $200 million worth of private activity bonds, the Las Vegas Sun reported. The cost of building the rail line from Las Vegas to Victorville, California, is estimated to cost more than $4 billion.
If the request is approved, the rail company could leverage as much as $1.2 billion for the project, formerly known as XpressWest, the newspaper reported.
