Work on Brightline West LA-Vegas high-speed line expected in 2020
Private railway Brightline has released a construction schedule for its Las Vegas – southern California high-speed line, which will be called Brightline West. After the completion of a bond sale to help pay for the initial phase, construction is expected to begin later this year and will be completed in 2024. Work all hinges on the bond sale. If the $3.2 billion action does not happen by December 1, California will put the funding it has allocated to the project back into the state’s affordable housing fund. The overall project is expected to cost $8 billion. [railjournal.com]
Bonding bill snub holds up second Amtrak train between St. Paul and Chicago
A proposed second train between St. Paul and Chicago will be delayed after the Minnesota Legislature declined to provide $10 million in matching funds for the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago (TCMC) Second Train. Amtrak’s Empire Builder now makes a daily stop (one westbound and one eastbound) in St. Paul on its route between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. Transit advocates long have wanted a second train for the route. A $12.6 million federal grant for startup operations was awarded May 5. [twincities.com]
Europe’s fledgling night-train revival feels virus bite
Night train services across Europe will be put on hiatus in November, Austria’s railway company has announced, as soaring coronavirus case numbers make cross-border routes untenable for the time being. ÖBB – the main provider of sleeper trains in Europe – said that its services between Austria, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland would go on at least a month-long break between 8 November and 2 December. ÖBB added that service is expected to resume “in time for the holidays at the beginning of December.” [euractiv.com]
