High-speed train connecting Las Vegas, Southern California gets new owner

Brightline

• A private, Florida-based transportation company said it plans
  to acquire a long-dormant high-speed rail project designed to
  connect Las Vegas to Southern California.
• Brightline Trains plans to take up the XpressWest project in
  hopes of bringing an electric-powered train to the West Coast.
• The company currently operates high-speed trains in Florida,
  connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

A private, Florida-based transportation company said it plans to
acquire a long-dormant high-speed rail project designed to
connect Las Vegas to Southern California.

Brightline Trains plans to take up the XpressWest project, in
hopes of developing an electric-powered train service for the
West Coast,
The Wall Street Journal reported. Brightline already operates
high-speed trains in Florida, connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale,
and West Palm Beach.

It was not immediately clear how much Brightline paid for the
rights to the XpressWest project. It had already received many of
the state and federal approvals it needed to get underway. The
project is expected to run 185 miles along Interstate 15, the
main artery between Southern California and Las Vegas.

Initially, the train will run from the Las Vegas Strip to the
California desert city of Victorville, which sits about 85 miles
northeast of Los Angeles.

XpressWest, which was originally conceived in 2005 by famed Las
Vegas Strip contractor Tony Marnell, stalled due to a lack of
funding. Brightline officials addressed that in a press release
on Tuesday:

“Estimates have shown the XpressWest project to cost $7 billion,
but Brightline officials believe they can cut that in half.” Ben
Porritt, a company spokesperson, told Business Insider on
Tuesday.

Experts have expressed doubt about whether the high-speed train
project is financially viable. Some pointed to
a bullet train project meant to connect Los Angeles and San
Francisco — the costs of which have ballooned to $60 billion,
according to the latest estimates.

But Brightline officials highlighted a study conducted by the
High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Authority, an agency that
supports the project. Its study claims as high-speed train could
generate about
$1 billion in annual revenue by 2035.

Brightline is expected to start building the rail line in 2019,
and power it up by 2022.