WASHINGTON — For the second time in a month, Brightline West has filed “Expedited Action Requested” documents with the Surface Transportation Board, seeking approval of the company’s plans for building a 186-mph electrified rail line between Las Vegas, Nev., and Southern California.
On Tuesday, Aug. 15, Brightline West urged the STB to rule favorably on a “Petition to reopen” proceedings from 2019 that specified changes to the original Desert Xpress Enterprises construction plan for the Las Vegas-to-Victorville, Calif., route. Brightline Holdings LLC acquired Desert Xpress that year.
The petition explains that the Federal Railroad Administration and the Office of Environmental Analysis determined in a 2020 “Reevaluation Summary” that a 2011 Final Environmental Impact Statement was still valid under the new proposal, which calls for more single track with passing sidings and a slightly different alignment along Interstate 15 than the original all double-track route.
The 2020 document did require that a plan be developed to evaluate and assess potential impacts on historic or cultural resources during construction, but the FRA and California and Nevada preservation offices have agreed on procedures. The final signatures were obtained Tuesday.
The Victorville-to-Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., portion of the route was the subject of a similar request to the STB on July 21. The regulators were asked to sign off on a “Petition for Exemption” from the need for a separate environmental analysis because a Finding of No Significant Impact had been issued.
Construction of both segments can only move forward with Surface Transportation Board approval. Obtaining that green light now is especially important, because Brightline West has requested $3.75 billion from the Federal-State Partnership component of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That would finance about 25% of the total investment, with other funding coming from $1 billion in federal private activity bonds already allocated, another $1.5 billion private activity bond request, and private equity contributions and construction loans.
Tuesday’s filing states, “[Brightline West’s] objective is to commence construction before the end of the current year so it can initiate high-speed passenger rail service between Las Vegas and Southern California in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics hosted by the City of Los Angeles.”
Gaining quick “shovel-ready” approval is particularly important because proposals are being evaluated now by the FRA for $4.566 billion available for the upcoming fiscal year in competitive Federal-State Partnership grants for projects outside the Northeast Corridor. Many big-ticket rail initiatives are competing for that funding, including the Amtrak-led bid for major Chicago-area improvements [see “Chicago Hub projects vies for a big chunk …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 3, 2023].
This is a five-year investment program not subject to annual appropriations, so a full FRA commitment to Brightline West would mean the funds could be spread over multiple years.
“Allocations are currently under review,” FRA Administrator Amit Bose told the Midwest Rail Conference in Toledo, Ohio, on Tuesday. “And while I can’t talk about them specifically, I want to reiterate that FRA intends to invest strategically and to grow a safer, cleaner, and more equitable rail system.”
Conflating this with CHSR is disingenuous. The only thing they have in common is the designation “high speed rail.” If this was a horse race, I would bet on a private company with a history of completing projects vs. an ill-conceived, poorly-planned, poorly-executed government project that will never achieve what was originally promised.
Give it time Mr. Rice they’re not going to want that albatross around their neck for long as you say they are in it for the real estate venture they’re not in it for public transportation. It’s not going to serve the tourist & amusement parks most tourists rent cars when they go to FL & Floridians are very car oriented. Eventually I predict they will either offer it to be part of the SunRail commuter or just write it off as a big loss to offset the huge real estate $$$ they make.
Brightline chief Wes Edens was interviewed on CNBC radio this afternoon. He stated that Brightline ridership is near double what is was last year. They plan to start service soon to Orlando airport – some testing still underway. From Orlando airport, people flying in to Florida can use Brightline to reach the coast cities from Cocoa to Miami.
It is true that real estate is part of the equation. Rail passenger is near impossible to run at a profit overall (costs “below-the-rail” factored in).
The real estate and passenger services are “symbiotic” (they help each other). If Brightline is unloaded onto someone else, the service will suffer. This will hurt the real estate that depends on excellent train service.
Amtrak and the bureaucrats have been talking about Orlando to Miami fast train service for nearly all of Amtrak’s existence. Brightline is getting it done.
@ David Schwengel: Amtrak is seeing some of the “light” when it comes to developing all of the core downtown real estate they inherited from all of the Class 1’s.
While their plan to build a high rise out through the center of CUS failed miserably, you can tell that their recent emphasis in real estate improvements at the expense of their rail network is an attempt to generate non-rail revenue to improve their bottomless line.
Look for Amtrak to start pushing yet more projects in urban cores to exploit the air rights they own over several passenger rail yards.
Technically Amtrak is a rail service organization, but with the “make a profit” demand placed on them, they are taking advantage of the same thing Brightline does. Adjoining real estate.
Linking Brightline West to LA28 may be the biggest stretch I’ve ever seen reported on Trains News Wire.
Ambitious Brightline West is on the right track and it shows.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Brightline = House of Cards
Galen, I remember when AAF (All Aboard Florida) was first announced some 6 years ago and there were then a bunch of people saying it was a “house of cards” and a canard until the government takes them over or buys them out.
Not sure if you knew but those bonds they are selling are tied to collateral. If they do not survive (for whatever reason), those assets have been pledged to repay the bond holders.
The biz model for Brightline is not completely based on farebox, it is heavily dependent on real estate development and complimentary service assets as well as tourism. All of the studies I have read early on did the cost minus farebox equation and they touted their horn that it was a failure, without including the other income those assets were going to provide.
So what is it that makes you think that it is a public ponzi scheme?
Brightline avoided a large amount of politics in Florida by keeping it in state and using private bonds. But this gig is much different. Multi-state with state and federal assistance involved, which means a great amount of politics.
Where the government money flows, the amount of politics that follows is 300%.
California does not need this they have blundered their high speed rail project in the central valley so bad…they should not get this
o yea the olympics are coming to LA…lmao
This isn’t a project run by the state of California…it’s a for-profit company. I would be surprised if this comes in under budget and ahead of schedule.