LAS VEGAS A top executive behind a high-speed rail project that would lay tracks between Las Vegas and Southern California contends construction is on schedule to start in the second quarter of this year.
However, Brightline West CEO Mike Reininger did not give the Reno Gazette Journal a definitive date on when shovels would strike dirt to commence the 170-mile Vegas-to-Victorville, California route.
“The world changed as a result of the pandemic, but we continued to work wherever we possibly could towards advancing the ball,” Reininger said. The project remains a very high priority for us.
Brightline, the country’s only privately owned passenger railroad, sent a letter to the Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority in January and revealed the pandemic year created significant hurdles to fund the train expected to reach top speeds of 200 mph.
Brightline CEO: Vegas-to-LA high-speed rail line on track for 2021 rgj.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rgj.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
March 05, 2021
People News: New CEO for Brightline Holdings; Directors for FMW Solutions Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Brightline has tapped its former President and Chief Development Officer to lead the newly formed Brightline Holdings; railroad contracting, consulting and engineering firm FMW Solutions LLC has hired Directors of Special Projects and Safety and Compliance.
Mike Reininger is CEO of Brightline Holdings, which will “oversee strategy for the company across various geographies and advance plans for expansion into new markets with new systems and a fully integrated mobility offering,” announced Brightline, the private-sector passenger railroad in South Florida. Patrick Goddard will continue to lead Brightline’s Florida business as President, and Sarah Watterson will remain as Brightline’s Chief Development Officer and President of Brightline West.
Dive Brief:
Despite a financing hiccup and rising costs, construction on Brightline West s high-speed train between Southern California and Las Vegas is set to break ground in the second quarter of this year, according to a letter from the rail company to the Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority. Previous estimates had the cost of the rail at almost $5 billion, but the most recent estimates have jumped to $8 billion.
After owner Fortress Investment Group failed to sell enough bonds by a Dec. 1, 2020 deadline, Sarah Watterson, president of Brightline West affiliate DesertXpress Enterprises, said the rail company will initiate another bond sale this year and provide more equity for the project as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
After being paused in late 2020, Brightline West project ready to break ground in second quarter Written by Bill Wilson, Editor-in-Chief
Construction of a high-speed rail line connecting southern California to Las Vegas could break ground in a few months.
Brightline
Brightline West is back on the drawing board. The high-speed rail line project between Apple Valley, Calif., and Las Vegas, which was paused late last year, is expected to break ground in a few months.
Due to incomplete financing, Brightline and Fortress Investment Group announced the $8 billion Xpress West line would not launch as scheduled. However, Brightline is now preparing a revised financial plan that could put the construction wheels in motion in the second quarter of this year. Changes in the financial plan will most likely include more equity and a bond sale re-launch in 2021. An improving economy and a more stable financial market is assisting in the project comeback.