This article doesn’t have any specifics, and I haven’t had time to look up some of the projects.
The awarding of rail rights in the median of the Interstate was something I hadn’t heard. Does anyone know what this entails?
It looks like the original article is from CNN.
https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/07/09/america-high-speed-rail-2020-turning-point/
They have to prove the concept in the United States before I change over fully from skeptic to someone that says high speed rail has a future in the United States. Still I see a lot of hype and not a single system in operation that has proven to be financially sustainable.
High speed rail projects are being promoted like interurbans were in the pre-WW1 period. Most of the projects will never come to fruition.
Reads like a puff piece.
I continue to hold out hope for Texas Central. They’ve had staying power, and have the Japanese support.
Anyone know how much of the 4.2B in private bonds has actually been placed to date? And if Brightline is weathering its shutdown comfortably enough to take on the added construction?
The most intriguing part of this to me is the quiet little addition of the “extension” to Rancho Cucamonga … with electrically-powered equipment … privately financed … over Cajon Pass. If this does not suggest to you what it suggests to me…
I am not 100% sure but I thought the head of Fortress Investments is on record as saying he will be the lender of last resort if they have problems with funds until the “experiment” has had a decent chance to prove itself. Thought I heard that in one of his You Tube interviews. If that is the case, we don’t have to worry until 2024 or 2025, whatever they set as their date for proving the concept.
This months TRAINS article on Brightline looks like there is serious work going on the route to Orlando. I hope this will prove successful.
Brightline is owned by Fortress Investments, which in turn is a subsidiary of SoftBank. It bought Fortress Investments on February 14, 2017.
SoftBank is a Japanese multinational holding company headquartered in Tokyo. It is the 36th largest public company in the world with very deep pockets; it probably is well positioned to support the achievement of Brightline’s objectives as long as it believes the outcomes will be positive.
BTW, the Florida East Coast Railway is owned by Grupo Mexico Transportes.
Thanks for the important and relevant information.