Brightline Founder Eyes Private Rail Expansion to Texas, Seattle
ajot.com
A new era of fast passenger rail is poised to sweep across the US, according to Wes Edens, the billionaire founder of Brightline — the first private train operator in the country in more than a century.
After kicking off construction this week on Brightline’s latest venture, a $12 billion rail project spanning from Las Vegas to Southern California, Edens is already envisioning the next major hub.
The Texas triangle of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio is among the promising routes, as are Atlanta-Charlotte, Portland-Seattle and Chicago-St. Louis, the Fortress Investment Group co-chair and chief executive officer said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Wall Street Week with David Westin.
“When we think of places that are likely to be next on the list, it’s city pairs that have got the same characteristics as we see here — which are two big population centers separated by 200 to 300 miles and lots of traffic between them,” said Edens. Brightline already has a footprint in Florida connecting Miami, West Palm Beach and Orlando. So far, though, Florida ridership has lagged the firm’s own projections.
“A successful launch of this will be the beginning of not only the next rail system but of the rail industry,” Edens said of the Fortress-backed project. “In this country we have a big automotive industry, we have a big aeronautical industry, I think it is time to have a big passenger rail industry.”
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