Virgin Trains Announces Construction of New Section Orlando-West Palm Beach

Virgin Trains, the private high-speed rail company in Florida, announced Friday that it has secured funding to begin construction of the stretch connecting the cities of Orlando and West Palm Beach.

The firm, formerly known as Brightline, closed the sale of 1,750 million dollars in bonds with which it will be able to begin “immediately” the construction of a 170 miles stretch that will culminate in Orlando, theme parks capital of the Sunshine State, according to a statement.

The works of this new phase, financed 100% privately and involving a total investment of 4,000 million dollars, will generate more than 10,000 jobs in Florida and about 650 million dollars in federal, state and local tax revenues, according to Virgin Trains.

The sale of the bonds, acquired by 67 different investors, is one of the most important operations of its kind made in Florida, according to the statement.

“Our vision for a passenger railroad holds great promise and emphasizes the tremendous appetite that private markets have for large-scale infrastructure and transportation projects,” said Wes Edens, co-founder and co-director of Fortress Investment Group and chairman of the board of Virgin Trains USA, in statements made in the press release.

The announcement comes after the visit to Miami at the beginning of April of Virgin Group president, the British billionaire Richard Branson, for a ceremony in which officially the central station of the company Brightline was renamed “Virgin MiamiCentral“.

In November 2018, the British group reached a “strategic alliance” with Brightline, the company that after many delays and problems put in service the line between Miami and Palm Beach, cities of southeast Florida and separated by about 72 miles.