L.A.-Vegas high-speed rail line obtains additional funding

(Source: Progressive Railroading 08/05/2020)

XpressWest, a proposed project to construct a high-speed rail line that would operate between Southern California and Las Vegas, has been awarded $200 million in private activity bonds from the Nevada State Board of Finance, a business newsletter reported yesterday.

The Nevada award comes after a California committee, overseen by California Treasurer Fiona Ma, awarded the project $600 million of private activity bonds in April. To raise additional funds for the project, both state allocations allow the company to sell up to four times the value of the awards as tax-exempt bonds to private investors, according to the Southern California Partnership for Jobs newsletter, which cited a report in Forbes.

The project now has the ability to raise an additional $800 million from the Nevada award and as much as $2.4 billion from the California award, the newsletter reported.

The project is being built by Brightline/Virgin Trains USA, which operates a privately owned express passenger-rail line connecting West Palm Beach to Miami, Florida. The project is on track to break ground by the end of 2020 and is expected to take three years to build.

XpressWest’s first phase route would connect the 170 miles between Las Vegas and Southern California’s Victor Valley.