The Golden State has been trying unsuccessfully to build a bullet train since the turn of the century. So it may be ironic that the state is assisting a private company in issuing $300 million in activity bonds to build such a train between Las Vegas and Southern California.
The company is billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Trains USA (formerly known as Brightline.) The assist came from a bond committee chaired by California Treasurer Fiona Ma, who earlier in the year rode on one of Virgin’s high speed trains in Florida and pronounced it “. . . like moving people to the next level of train travel where train travel is going to be really hip and fun.”
This injection will enable Virgin to issue $2.4 billion in debt, or about half of what the train is expected to cost to build. Virgin is seeking similar financing from Nevada and the federal government. If successful, Virgin could start construction next year with an expected completion by 2024. That compares to the state of California, which, although voters approved of bonds for a bullet train several years ago, haven’t begun building one year.
The earlier the Golden State’s bullet train could possibly begin transporting passengers is estimated to be 2028, and only a link in the Central Valley, where a very small percentage of the population actually lives. The cost for a state bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco is estimated to be $77 billion; and it keeps rising. So far California only has about half that amount in hand, and the federal government has withdrawn its support.
Virgin’s plan is to build 185 miles of track between Las Vegas and Victorville that will whisk passengers to their destination in about 90 minutes. Virgin spokesman Ben Porritt called the approval “a major milestone.” Critics say it’s a train to nowhere since Victorville is still several hours from major population centers in California.
