An Entrepreneur's $9 Billion Bet On High-Speed Passenger Rail In America | Forbes
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- Entrepreneur Wes Eden has a vision: tax-exempt bonds to create high-speed train lines linking Orlando to Miami and Las Vegas to Southern California. He sees a service modeled on the Paris-to-London Eurostar and is so confident the plan will work that he’s put more than $100 million of his own money into it. If things go right, his trains could haul nearly 20 million passengers in 2026, generate annual revenue of $1.6 billion and operating profit of almost $1 billion a year.
In a post-Covid world, as people settle in for a period of minimal travel, especially if it involves being squeezed among others, a bet on train service sounds downright crazy, especially since it comes with a $9 billion price tag.
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Why don’t we stop funding stadiums and start funding infrastructure we ACTUALLY want, like trains, rural and urban high-speed internet, affordable housing, automated vehicles...
But sports - we need billion dollar stadiums b/c.. sports
Stop funding Tesla, fund public transporation
get the bullet train
I understand your frustration. However, the only reasons people build new stadiums is because they expect that they will earn the money back in ticket sales. As it turns out, they're correct. We have only ourselves to thank for the construction of enormous leisure centers rather than more efficient infrastructure.
If people didn't want sports stadium then the stadiums would be empty... But they are not...
I am totally down with this. We needed this like yesterday.
You would of had it already in a Socialist society, but in a capitalist society they do not do things to benefit you the people, they only budge when it means feeding off of their people to fill their pockets like a fat tick.
@8r04lif3 lol triggered? because it is the truth?
TBH
@8r04lif3 It depends on the level of socialism. If we are talking about Venezuela then yes. If we are talking about Norway, Germany or Singapore than I am not sure. Even UK (and the whole EU) is quite socialist. Although I have a feeling that UK combines the worst from both systems - high taxes but you don't get back anything - about 600 pounds monthly state pensions is just ridiculous when you are in a 40% tax band, expensive university education, about 50k pounds total just in uni fees (not counting living cost), NHS is not that good as in European countries, etc.
8r04lif3 socialism is not a philosophy...Marxism is.. just as Capitalism is not a philosophy ..but neoliberalism is...you need to hit the books
The airlines people has gotten so nasty and the seats so uncomfortable and small that I promised myself that I will never set foot on one of those airplanes again. I would love to take the train places.
Trains can be alot better way to travel. The few problems come from the fact that railroads must own the land they need to build and must e sure the track is clear for trains to run. Airlines dont need to "own" the air, cause air is free. Plus we get the idea if the air isnt safe to travel by weather report instead of hiring security forces to ensure the line is safe.
Think of all the money people will save if they can take the train. If you don't have to own a car, you save so much money. Also, senior citizens can take the train and have more freedom to travel.
YES!!!!
The legspace on high-speed rail is amazing and the seats are much wider too!
SAME - I commute to san francisco on the train and its by far the best form of travel.
This makes me so optimistic for the future of public transportation in the US.
And the US is "only" half a century behind almost all of the world on this no brainer. Seattle? Vancouver, BC went to train rail type transport in 86, for EXpo. Don't know how they ever lived without it? Seattle? Oh, 2010 or 15. And the successful example, along with the local billionaires, is RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE. Good going. Never too late.
public??? please for the love of god let these be private, nothing good comes out of a public service actually public
I don’t see Americans adjusting well to using public transport outside of LA and New York .
@@AnyOneButTrump-yw7ij you're right, americans like their individualality too much, and they love their cars...
Aaron Seal yeah and after a train ride would involve walking to where ever your going. I don’t see that going great in a over weight America.
I just hope he succeeds it will help so many people..
sister shame that they won't because Elon musk will have the market cornered because who needs to have a high-speed rail system that you can only ride on in one section and then have to get out and find other transportation when the entire system can be done underground with self-driving Tesla's going the same speed... No need to ever leave your car maybe this will be good for a cross-country style trip but beyond that Tesla in the boring company already has everyone beat as far as the most logical idea goes...
@@AquarianSoulTimeTraveler Trains will outdo cars. The problem is that it won't be done correctly in America to reap the benefits like in Japan. You have companies that will fight against it. You will also have americans who will call it a "communist" or "lefty" idea. It's for these reasons that trains will not take off in America, not because of technicalities of public transport
@@verygoodbrother high speed trains just make no sense because you have to get into it and leave your form of transportation to ride in it.. Elon musk realized this created the boring company to move people around in a Tesla that will be a robot taxi in the future and it will be all underground and unimpeded by anyone. problem with trains there above the surface and people in America own their land it isn't as much like China. America can still claim eminent domain but it's harder and more expensive. going underground is only way to do it in America Elon musk as figured this out and it's made the best possible solution. The idea of the train is outdated and a dinosaur. Elon musk has already figured this out no longer pursues his 1200 mile-an-hour bullet train... This would really only be good for Coast-to-Coast travel. This company will go bankrupt because of outdated technology and mindsets only a matter of time.
@@AquarianSoulTimeTraveler Thank God the facts do not line up with your BS
@@AquarianSoulTimeTraveler Trains can use tunnels too, that doesn't make them worse than cars. Also trains will always be more efficient than cars, because they have less rolling resistance. Tesla or not the car loses every time
Confused why this wasn’t built like 20 years ago. The tech has been around look at Japan
Or anywhere in Europe
Because of the car.
airlines, airplane manufacturers, car makers, gas companies, all stand to lose something
car and airlines industry lobbying
I read a long time ago that investors in oil/gas have stopped this from gaining traction. Also, GM has a huge stronghold on the automobile industry taking control of our landscape in the US since the early days of the car.
Wishing him nothing but success. Let's hope our government gets out of the way so these projects don't take 25 years to complete.
JASON Don’t worry the Democrats will regulate and legislative this project into bankruptcy. EPA, Bureau of Indian Affairs, OSHA, Federal Transportation Board, TSA, etc will all get in the way and kill any prospect of creating a modern train transportation system.
@@GotoHere you hit the nail on the head with that one.
@@GotoHere like the GOP please try again
@@GotoHere While Republicans in Texas are trying to make it even harder to do the Houston - Dallas line
He will keep it for a while before dumping it on some company which will nosedive the place. Just like he did to CMQ, which is where I worked. He fed us to the wolves (CP) knowing that they would eliminate any non engineer and conductors positions, but never told any of us that we wouldn't have jobs until the last day of his ownership. Real nice guy...
New York to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. to Raleigh.
Raleigh to Atlanta.
Atlanta to Orlando
Atlanta to New Orleans.
I could go on and on. JUST BUILD IT!
...all of which already exist except for the Atlanta to Orlando route.
@@jonathanstensberg Well, there's no Atlanta to Raleigh direct route, if that's what you mean. It takes 14.5 hours on Amtrak. There are no high speed options for any of the options mentioned in this comment.
There is work being done by state governments to build what is being called the Southeast Corridor which would run from Washington, DC, to Atlanta, GA, through Richmond, VA, Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte, NC. Not sure of the exact routing for it past Charlotte though.
There is already the Amtrak
Love Animals-01 is there enough people that need to go from Atl to NC? Train usage has to be daily or else pointless
This is amazing! Great job Wes Eden!
Instead of spending 4.2 trillion dollars on wars for OIL we should have spent it on TRAINS.
Wars are more profitable
@@NikolaStamenkovic6 Maybe, maybe not, the value an extensive train system would bring is almost incalculable.
Improving the lives of US citizens should be 1st priority of the US government.
It has been proven that people who live next to good public transportation tend to live more wealthy lives.
The reason why he is spending 4 billion is because they went to war and made trillions
@@Victor-tl4dk I think you misunderstood Nikola, wars are more profitable for the elite. 'Improving the lives of US citizens should be 1st priority of the US government' I laughed out loud when I read this. What drugs are you smoking and where can I get them?
Yeah, are you kidding me, that's what the oil companies love.
Smart bet. The EU trains work well, because they are faster and cheaper than the total car trip cost for one person.
epSos.de Yes, so the US government needs to tax cars and petrol like in the EU. LOL.
@@RealConstructor wouldn't be the worst idea, considering the Air in the US gets worse every year. Seeing smog clouds in China over cities is enough, no need to have them here..
Car is a very expensive mode of transport in the EU but very cheap in the US in comparison. Cars are cheaper and gas is 1/2 to 1/3 the price and taxes are cheaper too in the US.
@@RealConstructor Maybe it will mean america will stop going to war for petrolium.
@@trebuh where's all the oil from the "oil wars"? The reason it's cheap in the US is because the US is the top producer of oil.
I support this 110% !
More High Speed Rail!
Living in Germany for almost 10 years now, major cities connected with high speed lines - Berlin to Munich (~360 miles) in 4 hours with beer in 1st class ~€100... result? I never want to sit behind the wheel of a car on long journeys again!
Germany’s railway network sucks... China and Japan are way better in every way
But don’t you need car once at destination? Distances in Germany are short. You may as well drive if you need a car eventually
Generally too expensive we are looking at $116 by train and you still need to get to the train and from the train and you don't know who you're traveling with as opposed to your own car it might take you another hour and a half at 70 miles an hour and you don't have to wait on the train and you don't have to find your way from the destination to your actual location fuel is a lot less in US but overall I would not likely do it even if covid-19 was not a factor.
If you can guarantee me 6 feet radius and uninterrupted sleep for the travel time I would consider it but not as a commuter I have to get at least another 50% off as a commuter
Alcohol is a known carcinogen. I’ve never understood why drinking it is considered a perk.
@@MbisonBalrog The German Inter City Trains always stop in big union stations with a lot of commuter and light rail (we kinda invented that type of train) lines that will bring you to your final destination. It is harder to get HSR working without an excellent commuter network.
Truly inspiring and innovative. Providing jobs, reducing emissions from cars and planes , Insane profits. If this is a success it has to be one of the greatest businesses.
@@lingostarr6635 for the US it is
Alberto Mouliaá yeh we know but cant really use the word innovative because so many other countries have had this in place for years
@@lingostarr6635 we are talking about a country we’re trains going 50mph is considered a high speed train
Why doesn't the US government put money in this, instead of defence funding?
We don't want this to be government-funded. Anything the government touches it cost s10x as much and takes 10x as long. I mean just look at any government-funded metro systems the US has, they're horrible compared to other countries.
Another example is the highspeed rail system linking LA to SF, it's government-funded but it's set to years a decade or more to complete.
Because car lobbyists
@@Hunters61 Most other countries fund their metro systems through the government as well. Everything's contracted out to a private company, whether it's defense spending or infrastructure, whether it's the US, China, or France. There's nothing inherently wrong with the government funding an infrastructure project. The problem here in America is a lack of transparency in the bidding process and a woefully cozy relationship between the contractors and the politicians. These are things that can be fixed with policy changes.
Because the U.S. is about individualism and not socialism. Providing public transportation is a socialist idea. People are brainwashed to own their own cars. The U.S. spends a lot of money on the military for protection because once you let your guard down, the other countries will attack you. We learned that from the previous world wars. The U.S. does everything opposite of the rest of the world because that is what the founders wanted. If you want socialism, you go to the East.
FINALLY if I had the money I would invest in this! Passengers will come, they are doing it EVERYWHERE else in the world and with less and less people having cars its a no brainer because flying is expensive and a bigger pain the but
You can help by joining the High Speed Rail Alliance( www.hsrail.org) and the Railroad Passengers Association(www.railpassengers.org). They both advocate for more trains and more high speed trains.
What are the ticket price points that you would envision for this project
Take the specific route that was mentioned in the video from LA to Las Vegas how much should that cost during rush hour, how much should it cost on the weekends, how much should it cost during holidays, and how much should it cost off-peak say 8 p.m.?
You wouldn't be happy to know that the most successful HSR systems, from China and Japan, are gov owned and loss-making, this is because HSR's secondary effect of facilitating economic activity is the main intention of developing it in the first place, profit is never in consideration.
@@TruckTaxiMoveIt Should cost the same for the passenger every day of the year, let the company balance it out.
@@hullopillow4853 And take only one private company in Europe for exaple... RegioJet is a company operating in central Europe with affordable pricing and high quality services, not always high speed but a train (and bus) transportation company nonetheless... they are very much profitable and I very much enjoy traveling with them. China's a Japan's super high speed trains are mostly a show of power and technology than anything else. It is the showroom and the pride of their governments designed to amaze and serve citizens and tourists, not to make profit. It all depends on what the intent is, as long as it's a private company they should manage just fine.
Unfortunately, this is being conceived during a time when public transportation is at an all-time low. I hope they get the construction started now, so it will be ready after the economic depression is over.
They already started before covid, and tested it. I don’t think it’s finished yet though. 🤔 I’d love to ride it though.
If he's read the market correctly he's in for a massive boost. The economic slump won't matter if travelling is cheap enough.
And more people are working from home... less travel after the pandemic hence cities are seeing a decline in rental occupancy
high-speed trains are around Europe for years.
decades literally...France started in 1980
Really?
Randy Gravel u rly ask? Never heard of TGV? They are legendary beasts. Even in Poland we have faster trains now
PRIVATE
States are way behind in railway but it’s difficult to build them there. Hurricanes and flooding in eastern part, earthquakes in the west, cities spread much farther apart than European cities are.
This is so refreshing and encouraging to watch. I really believe in high speed trains. It’s the future.
Had a chance to be one of the first passengers on Brightline and service was superb
lingo starr is this a joke?
@@lingostarr6635 kinda wish I a Hawaiian snack bar nearby
@@cvhashim maybe they're just hungry 😂
When estimating rail projects costs, you should take the original estimate and multiply it by π.
That's you final price.
At $9B perhaps that's what they did
Let's call that *America effect*
Doubt the costs are going to be going too high since this guy is investing his own money to build this system
This project won’t get done because 9 billion wouldn’t get you a 1/3 of the way across the country...and there’ll be hardly anyone that would afford to ride it
if you multiply the amont by π, it will actually be less than 4 times of the original estimated price. The value of π= 3. 14. ... So it will always be less than 4 times. I know what you are taking about btw.
I’ve been supporting this concept for decades. Make Rail Travel Beautiful Again.
I’d hardly call that a bet. More like an inevitability and he’ll cash in on it.
Railways are a money pit if not managed right. His venture is bearing all the CAPEX (of which there are very few rail projects that run on time and at cost) and OPEX (most cases, there is private public partnership of sorts involved). Plus train ownership (leasing is the preferred model especially in Europe). That's usually unheard of for passenger rail.
However, America has been ripe for highspeed passenger rail for decades. Will be interesting to see how successful the venture is.
@@leedza The route from victorville to Las Vegas will be a complete flop for reasons I detail above. I would love high speed rail, but I think Elon Musk's hyperloop is probably our best chance for high speed land transportation.
It's only a bet if the government doesn't allow it for some weird government reason
@@kenstravels981 Hyperloop should be called "Hypeloop". It's a completely unproven technology, and would be far more expensive to build, operate, and maintain... assuming it's even possible. Railroads are a mature technology, and many of these projects use existing tracks for at least part of their routes (the BrightLine in Florida uses Fla. East Coast Railroad tracks that were built over a century ago).
Not really, rails have to go through private property (you know, being on the ground and all?). In China the government just repo the land since it's technically 'publicly owned', in the US he'll have to fight huge legal battles...
Beware of Oil & Airline mafia!
imagine how many tanks we could have built for this money!!!
Trains need energy too.
@@DartLuke
But they consume ⅓rd of other mode of transportation. Why do u think street cars (tram) vanished in cities!
Seems like a great idea. Also, an unmentioned positive side effect will be that taking the train emits way less greenhouse gasses than driving or flying does.
It's a zero emissions train
Very smart .. look at nyc we need a sophisticated system
Only good for Manhattan. I live in NYC and drive most places.
NYC has multiple systems they have so many systems it is pathetic.
NYC has multiple train systems, multiple bus systems, multiple cab systems, multiple air systems, multiple water systems, you even have a horse system and a tram system.
@@TruckTaxiMoveIt and they all suck and are antiquated
@@marcozolo3536 most subways in the EU are not even decades old, they're more than a century old, and still work well
Truck Taxi Yeah but NYC has options, dont want to drive, take an Uber, dont want an Uber, take the train, dont wanna take the train, rent a Citibike etc. Continental USA has two options, plane or car.
I rode this from Ft Lauderdale to Miami. It was amazing. The terminal, the train, the service... wow
This is how mega cities get built
So Los Angeles and Las Vegas are not mega cities?
@@yurlim Are they??? Are they Tokyo-level mega??
Mwaniki Mwaniki what makes Tokyo mega city?
Mwaniki Mwaniki what makes a mega city?
@@yurlim A city whose metro area has a population of more than 10 million people... Tokyo has one of over 34 million people. China is connecting its bay area to have a 70 million population area.
High speed rail is one of the most enjoyable ways to travel. We're pretty used to it in Europe. Watch a film, get some work done, go have a drink at the bar, no waiting in lines to collect your baggage. Pure bliss.
A while back it took me almost 8 Hrs to drive from LA to Vegas. Traffic can be brutal! The train really makes sense if the price of the fare is reasonable.
I've seen some comments saying "why wasn't this done years ago."
In my opinion, the key reasons we haven't seen any real progression in private passenger rail in the US are right there in the title of the video:
"$9 Billion" and "Bet"
This is a huge investment that does have quite a bit of risk. Just because high speed rail has been wildly successful elsewhere doesn't automatically mean it will work in other markets. *I really want this to succeed,* but I understand why most businessmen aren't jumping on the opportunity to build ground up private passenger rail infrastructure in this country.
As long as ticket fare costs less than a flight, it will succeed.
That will be difficult when the competition is Southwest Airlines. High speed trains main priority should be speed.
Justus not really trains shouldn’t compete with the airlines yet it. They focus on mid to short range locations for Middle to working level people. This is the best way to break into the market and establish trains into the public mind. P.s the private sector must allowed to do this without government regulations getting in the way like in California
IDK why people in the comments are comparing trains to Airplanes when their purposes are completely different. Trains aren't meant for efficient long distance travel across 2k miles.
Because domestic flights within a state are very common, at least compared to other countries, though states are as big as countries, maybe that's a reason why
Planes are like sardine cans, if a high speed rail were available passengers could be spaced out comfortably an safely. Nobody wants to fly now too many germs, too little space.
Trains also tend to have better air circulation since they don't need to worry about cabin pressurization. I've never been on a train that felt the least bit stuffy, even when jam packed with commuters.
I'd go so far to say taking the train is perhaps the least stressful trip I've made short of walking to the mailbox.
@@Vespuchian you obviously haven't been on a subway in new york city
@@gavnonadoroge3092 Subways aren't the same as the trains I'm talking about, certainly not like the high-speed trains Kidd Dee or this video was talking about.
@@Vespuchian so how do you envision paying for the costs of running high speed trains? because even stuffed subway trains are not profitable, and if we build trains that are nice and airy inside, there will be much fewer paying passengers in them.
@@gavnonadoroge3092 People far more knowledgeable than myself will have that figured out. After all, Wes Eden wouldn't be investing in such a project to expand his business if he wasn't confident in profits. Again, this isn't about subways.
In my opinion the only way we will get a highspeed rail connecting the country as a whole, is if the national and state governments over see the construction.
The Americans need to start playing catch up with the Europeans and the Chinese for a developing to developed public train infrastructure system.
Not even just European or Chinese. Most countries have far better public train transportation systems, we are decades behind them. And we need to start now.
We currently have the most advance and extensive flight system in the world.
Sun and D-970 The thing is we have the money to make our infrastructure #1 in the world, but the government doesn’t want to do it for some reason.
Highways and planes though
Our government is hella stupid tbh I don't even know how we even got to this mess
I have ridden the Brightline many times and I am a native Floridian. On the plus side, we have needed something like this for many years. The ride is a "boutique" experience. It is spotlessly clean, and has all the amenities. It is a great option for getting to the airport (with an added Uber or Lift connection) or maybe a shopping or dinner excursion with friends or family. The major downside is that it doesn't actually solve any of Florida's many transportation problems. It is much too expensive to use for commuting to work on a regular basis. It won't take traffic off the roads. Florida doesn't need more boutique experiences that benefit a select few.
Well, trains surely could add to the transport and logistics capabilities of the US economy. The same could be true for local public transportation.
"Interesting" and "audacious" for the US is common practice for the EU
It isn't, actually. While high-speed rail connections are common in europe, an entirely private company doing it is pretty much unheard of - governments are usually the only ones with the sort of capital necessary for any infrastructure project of this scale.
@@caekilian1444 There are actually many private train operators in Europe now that compete openly with the state-owned enterprises. The difference is that the railways are usually maintained by a government-owned enterprise. This makes total sense -- it's how roads and air traffic are handled in the U.S.. The government handles the infrastructure (roads/airports/air traffic control), and the private companies can compete by using it.
The U.K. *sort of* tried this, but they did it by establishing regional monopolies, so there was never any real competition except over some short overlapping routes.
Last-mile service still needs to be handled by government services though. No company is going to run scheduled service direct to every person's house or even neighborhood. With roads it's semi-feasible to use individual private vehicles, but not really on railroads. The private last-mile does work with trains with electric bicycles, and in rare case automobiles (autotrain) but automobiles are too big and expensive to ship for general use.
The real solution is driverless cars/PRT/bicycles/walking for neighborhood-scale transportation, goverment-run non-profit city-level rail, and privatized regional and intercity rail.
@@NozomuYume Caekilian is still right. Putting a train on a government owned track is much lower risk then building the entire infrastructure yourself. Also this private business are often subsidized by tax money.
and china, japan,... You will have a hard time finding a developed country with a worse railroad system for passengers than the US.
And yes, governments usually support that stuff. Because infrastructure is important for a country to strive.
@@NozomuYume Thing is pretty much all of those private companies are subsidised by the government to operate particular routes, which I tend to agree with. Intercity rail is only occasionally profitable, and regional rail or anything below that essentially never is. Some select routes may be able to be run profitably, which I have no issue with at all, but I doubt it could ever work on a larger scale in most countries - Japan being the obvious exception, though they also have a geographical advantage.
If a high speed rail line was in the north east I would be in Boston Philly AC and DC all the time
The Acela is up there? Just as high speed as Brightline.
@@mrmaggydo Tickets for the Acela go for around $150. Tickets for Brightline that's already in service in Florida only cost $20.
A little arithmetic (1.6/0.02=80) indicates that the average fare is expected to be $80. This seems far too high for a trip of 200 miles. A family of three would have to pay $480 for a round trip.
This number appears to have come from the Department of Transportation's web-site. In 2018 Amtrak's average revenue per passenger mile was $0.40. Using that number, Brightline is proposing to charge exactly what Amtrak charges today. The problem is, that is far too much. In the same year, airlines only managed $0.13 per passenger mile.
To have millions of riders each year, unless substantial environmental impacts drive-up airline costs in the near term, Brightline is expecting to charge three times what airlines charge.
High speed rail does attract passengers, when it is at comparable fares. British Rail's HST operated at 125 mph at the same fare as the trains they replaced.
www.bts.gov/content/average-passenger-revenue-passenger-mile
I would love this. Almost every college student knows the struggle of those "too far to drive, too short to fly" trips.
The world needs more people like Wes Eden who build infrastructure create jobs and flourish economy. But media gives more space to traders in wall street who actually create nothing in their entire life. I wish the very best to Wes.
Smart timing lol. Oil companies are weak now cause of green rise and oil price wars between Arabia and Russia. Airline companies are also in a weak state cause of COVID. I thought we would never have it and be left in the dust with Africa and Asia moving at lightning speeds to build high-speed train lines. I would also suggest connecting Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, and Idaho as these are some of the fastest growing states as well with a lot of open space.
I fully support this! More competition for Airlines, less emissions, shorter commute times, and cheaper prices for consumers. Our government is useless, only our private companies can do something like this.
I wonder how he secured the exclusive rights to routes?
Politicians are pretty cheap.
There was an existing rail right of way that they simply bought, I'm pretty sure
He build everything including the rail lanes. If you pay for it, it should be yours. Unfortunately it is a little pricey at the moment and the old tri-rail has more stops and convenient. But I had heard that bright line are very comfortable.
M O N E Y !
All replies are about rail lanes, not routes. In the video, they said he has the exclusive rights for the route, so there won't be any competition. How's that possible? What prevents other businesses from building their own lines for the route and cutting costs after the idea proves itself?
I pray this project is completed soon . I am from ft Lauderdale and currently live in orlando . I would literally be able to see my parents and friends whenever I wanted !
I can FEEL that guy invading my personal space through the screen.
Part of the problem is that there is no good public transportation system once you get to your destination.
I've travelled so many time from LA to LV i'm sick of the driving. I don't care about the price i would definitely use a train and have a nice nap en route to Vegas.
I took the Brightline from West Palm Beach to Ft. Lauderdale, it's perfect because most people fly over weekend or long weekend and trip is for 3-4 days. Car parking at airport is going to cost at least 15-20$ per day. Brightline was 10$ one way. There are people who want to stay in West Palm and work in Miami, it works in a niche market, time will tell if it succeeds.
Driving from 1 place to another means u don’t need to rent a car at the destination. If u take a train, u not only have to consider the train ticket price but also the car rental price at the destination or the Uber/Lyft costs at the destination if Uber/Lyft is available at the destination. Train ticket price is crucial, as well as how convenient it is for people to get to the train station.
Agreed. That's why trains work so well in Europe. You arrive at your destination city and you have a plethora of excellent public transportation to move you around the city. Not many US cities have that infrastructure.
That is an absolute way forward in the advancement of the nation's progress.
What is this company’s Ticker Symbol? I’ll invest in a couple hundred shares. 🤑
It's not a public company. It's owned by Fortress Investment Group which in turn is owned by Softbank.
Virgin Trains USA, operating as Brightline until mid-2020, is an express inter-city rail system in the United States. It is owned and operated by Fortress Investment Group, with Virgin Group providing branding rights and acting as a minority investor.
Don't do it. This project is a money pit. The florida lines are underutilized and highly publicized route from Las Vegas to "Los Angeles" only takes you half of the way there. No one will pay $80 round trip to be dumped in the middle of nowhere. Especially when I can fly from Los Angeles to Vegas for $100-200 round trip (or drive for 4 hours).
@@kenstravels981 How long does it take you when you leave to the home in LA to the moment you get to Vegas by air to the city. Slower than the train would be.
@@kenstravels981 Do you have a source on the track running only halfway between vegas and LA?
Perhaps it's best that we waited all this time to build passenger rail. Any system we would've built back then probably would've ended up like the UK's. Mismanaged and always late.
Oh look, the US discovering proper intercity train services. I really thought this day would never reach.
Las Vegas resident here, I 100,000% support this guy!! The drive to LA really does suck high speed rail is a no brainer!!
High-Speed Passenger Rail In America
China: first time?
First time for everything
Bruh USA was on moon in 70s whereas China was busy in their small rice Fields ,it's all about priority & profits.
The most profitable route is the northeast coast, Boston-NYC-Philly-DC-Richmond. The biggest difference between train and airline is train is a line but airline is point to point. You can have 30 train stations between Boston and Richmond, and all profitable. You cannot have direct flight between these 30 cities.
That he owns the tracks makes it a very attractive business. He controls who uses it.
As a citizen im my opinion the infrastructure should be built by the state and then made available to the rail companies, who pay a fee to use it. Or, privately built but with an agreement that sets the rules under which its available to other companies.
The government should never own railway infrastructure otherwise you'll end up like National Rail here in the UK where they get to screw over private railway companies with no accountability.
Muhammad Ahmed I wouldn’t say it’s the worst service in Europe and it’s not the private companies fault for running bad services anyways as it’s always the RMT union going on strike and Network Rail choosing to repair tracks at the worst of times
If you want to see a perfect implementation of this. Look at italy fast trains linking milano-rome-napoli. Its fantastic. 300kmph on a 780km line. Milan is business, rome is tourism and bit of business, napoli is tourism. Imagine moving more than a 1000 people in one go, at the same time the planes do (including check in).
I wish him the very best, high-speed would be great for the USA
I've been waiting for this my whole life.
I would pay almost anything to ride that thing TOMORROW.
So are they attempting to raise funding from the public??? I would love to invest my money! You could raise soooo much if this was open to you and i. How many robin hood investors from the younger generation would invest... a lot, I mean the money is no problem
High speed trains are a way of life in Europe and Asia and it's time that America gets on board.
exactly EUROPE and ASIA, NOT AMERICA.
I cannot believe the U.S. Govt. isn’t funding this.
So 9 billion dollars for two completed, profitable high speed lines, compared to 113 billion dollars for california high speed rail, which is not even the total price, and already 113 billion is outright disgusting...
Yes, please! I would love to work in LA without having to pay LA rent/mortgage.
By LA he means Victorville.
But then the places near both terminals will just become super expensive
👏Yesssss!! Finally!!! I've been saying the US needs this for a long time! Awesome! I can't wait to buy a ticket. This is Good News! We need Good News in this country right now.
I wish Nigerian Government, Business mogul, politicians can learn from this and invest in their country the way other countries are doing. GOD HELP NIGERIA 🇳🇬
Yes Nigeria needs High Speed rail like China and Japan.
Same thought my brother
YES, please!!! America desperately needs this.
We need high speed rail throughout America to thrive this century
Not anymore, people are deurbanizing now
@@chris0000924 incorrect. The current trend due to covid will reverse eventually
I'm with him 100%. This should have been done 30 years ago. In some cases we are so behind than most other countries in the world. It doesn't make any sense and it is shameful.
china high speed train ticket: 12$ ( approx)
usa: 200$... game over for the average ppl
1st class with free food and drinks on the current south florida brightline route (little over an hour ride time) is $32
LA to Vegas is a no brainer. I just drove there and back this past weekend and it is a brutal drive. A high speed railway there and back would change the game.
lol “bet” yeah it’s not a bet this dude knows why he put his money in this.
I think for rail to truly work you need to have costs similar to driving, time to travel door to door similar to planes, and mass transit in both cities to travel within the city once you get there
Five billion will go to lawyers and environmental studies.
As a train enthusiast and model railroader, I'm all for this especially in light of the fact that railways throughout Europe are successful with many high-speed lines (look at the British railway systems with their gorgeous trains), marvel at Japan that's 50 years ahead of us in not only technology in general but also in railway technology, service and particularly in high-speed trains, China is ahead of us in this arena as are others and what do we have to show the world, that lousy joke called AmCRASH??
As it stands:
America is 50 years behind Japan, 43 years behind Italy, 40 years behind France, 30 years behind Germany and Spain, 17 years behind China and South Korea, 13 behind Taiwan, 11 behind Russia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, 6 behind Poland, to name a few. We need this....
He said is 5 billion end of project is gonna be 50 bill
Railways are not only a great way to travel for both shorter distances in terms of convenience and economy, but also long distances for the experience. Add to that, trains no longer carry their own fuel and electricity is extremely cheap compared to airline fuel so customer prices will ultimately be much lower. It makes sense that commercial airplane travel took over after steam trains because of the advancement of technology but nowadays, when railway technology has caught up, it makes a lot of sense to bring back nation-wide commercial railway travel.
"We have the greatest rail transportation system in the world "
No you don't, not even close
Correction - "we have the greatest freight transportation system in the world"
Fregit, in which he's correct. Watch again.
He did say greatest freight, which is true. For some reason we don't have any private lines tho
@@Hunters61 Private freight lines or private passenger? Freight is private like with Union Pacific, CSX and such
My initial questions are 1).The political requirements for a private company to operate an inter-state high-speed train route. 2) The forecast passenger number and revenue base on what model? 3).Can his personal wealth sustain the future operation or does he need to raise money through public founding. The feasibility of the plan seems very remote to me.
Second one . But no one remembers second one😂
I took brightline daily from West Palm Beach to Miami and they laid off all 250 employees during covid with no date on restoring service. probably facing financial issues. As a monthly customer there was very little notice and ticket prices are $20 one way without a monthly pass which is a turn off to most commuters
Wow that's awesome!
I never understood why some cities had great mass transit systems with commuter trains, and others didn't. Even bigger cities than the ones with the trains. It all felt very efficient and convient. The option to have it was the best thing about them.
Boeing needs to get out the air and onto the rails
Don't want some sensor malfunctioning and causing the train to derail though lol
Boeing actually made light rail trains in the 1960s-70s.
It would be an opportunity. Lots of American cities need light rail & commuter rail.
Living in Miami but working in Orlando won’t be a farfetched idea
Great idea bad area to many cross streets and reckless people getting in the way of the trains path, im talking specifically miami to fort lauderdale
yeah the traffic in Miami isn't the best on occasion
As a developer and regional planning expert, I have been involved with all of the development with Brightline and their Las Vegas to Victorville train. You didn't mention that Sir. Richard Brandson bought Brightline last year and renamed the train Virgin Trains USA and while the first segments of this line are to begin construction by years end, the big hurdle will be getting people to only go as far as Victorville or having to catch the train in Victorville to go to Las Vegas. The long-range plans include building the second phase of the line from Victorville to Palmdale along the High Desert Corridor. The California High-Speed Rail Authority has already master-planned into their system the connections between the two trains. Virgin Trains USA will eventually complete its route to downtown Union Station as the third leg of its operation.
Hello Meister1551 Can you explain to me why you don't use electric trains?
If this goes public I would love to invest in this ! Who agrees ?
what company owns it?
I hope it spreads nationwide. The rest of the US, away from the Eastern Seaboard needs it bae. Trains are awesome and fun. It'll certainly be more dependable than the Greyhound Bus.
Just imagine how many palms he has to grease.
Sheit, I would definitely RIDE the LA to Vegas train! That ride across the Mojave SUCKS and I take it often!
Hyper loop is dumb. It would be wise to put in high speed rail before they try that crazy stuff.
Hyperloop can move at 760mph, something even planes don't do because of air resistance. Think before you speak
@@chashtag2336 yes.. making it dumb to think you could attach it to a structure, an send People in one. Most people cant handle G force like that. An if you're running it at lower speed, its completely pointless. An you need variable speed control on transit vehicles. Save that kind of thinking for space lanes. I'm not getting in one of those tubes! High speed rail is much more practical.
G force isn't based in speed. It's based on acceleration. You can accelerate to speed of light but if you do it slowly and feel under 0.1G.
This is what we needed. Private companies taking charge.
Meanwhile china’s 600kph Maglev train is conducting successful test runs!
Absolutely love trains. So much stress and discomfort with airplanes: you have to ride to the airport which is usually outside of town, which can take up to an hour, to arrive 2 hours before flight departure, queueing to go through humiliating security check where you can’t bring liquids, excessive luggage etc, another 2 hour flight in squashed seats with no views in the windows with horrible noise, restrictions to use toilets or walk or use restaurant at certain times, just to arrive to destination point, queueing again for passport control, luggage collection and figuring out how to get to city centre.
For trains you arrive to usually within city centre train station 10-15 min before departure, bring as much luggage as you want, big comfortable seats, you get great views in the windows of the country, you free to walk, use toilet or restaurant, it’s less noisy, you can actually talk, listen music or watch tv, no air pressure blocking your ears, having few stops along the way and arrive right in the heart of the destination city. I’d rather to spend 5 hours on comfortable train rather than 2 hours on the plane and another 4 on getting there. The price of course should be adequate and maybe it shouldn’t be more expensive than the airplane to make it work. And you can imagine what luxurious suites train can offer for first class passengers.
As long as it's like Japan's or Taiwan's railway systems, I'm all for it
@TheSushiraw Nobody really cares, also FYI there's an big chance the first hyperloop system will be installed in the United States idiot
The project about to break ground in Texas will use Japan's system (Texas Central Railway).
Vegas as a train destination ! I've been saying that for years! Yayyy!