Brightline

Virgin Trains USA

Fort Lauderdale Train Tunnel Would Be Costly $3.3 Billion Solution to Free Up New River

A recommendation to move trains under the New River instead of over an existing drawbridge comes with a hefty price tag.

February 5, 2020 - South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Virgin Trains USA

Ridership Stagnant, Virgin Trains Prepares to Expand

Depending on your interest and perspective, the lede might be buried here.

August 6, 2019 - Treasure Coast Newspapers

West Palm Beach, Florida

A Big Week for Virgin Trains USA, Formerly Brightline, in Florida

Virgin Trains USA has the funding to start construction on a rail link between Orland and West Palm Beach, and the system has launched its official rebranding under its new ownership.

April 6, 2019 - CBS 12 News

West Palm Beach, Florida

Virgin Trains USA Won't Go Public After All

A planned IPO has been called off.

February 13, 2019 - Miami Herald

Brightline

Virgin Trains, Formerly Brightline, Planning Eight Expansion Corridors

November's bombshell news about the partnership between Virgin and Brightline has now yielded ambitious plans for private investment in intercity rail service.

December 6, 2018 - Atlanta Business Chronicle

Brightline

Brightline Partners With Virgin, Changes Name

The intercity passenger rail service previously known as Brightline is now Virgin Trains USA.

November 16, 2018 - Miami Herald

Las Vegas and Environs

Brightline, Florida's High-Speed Rail Company, Goes All in on Vegas

Shocking news from the high-speed rail industry, as Brightline announced its purchase of XpressWest, which is underway with plans to link Las Vegas to Victorville, California and eventually to Los Angeles.

September 19, 2018 - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Hillsborough River

Tampa to Orlando High Speed Rail Back on the Table

Brightline thinks it can build a high speed rail connection between Tampa and Orlando without public money, and Governor Rick Scott looks ready to let them.

June 25, 2018 - Tampa Bay Times

Brightline Partners With Lyft for First-Last Mile Fix

Florida's Brightline train system only has one station in each of the three cities it currently serves, so it has sought out a unique solution to the first-last mile challenge.

May 20, 2018 - The Palm Beach Post

Brightline

Brightline Ready to Run the Fast Trains in Florida

The privately funded Brightline "fast-travel" rail system announced an opening day of May 19 for service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.

May 14, 2018 - Miami Herald

Brightline

Fatalities Mount from Brightline, South Florida's New Higher-Speed Train Service

A 51-year-old bicyclist became the second fatality in the first week of revenue service. It was the fourth fatality since the summer for the diesel train, which operates from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale.

January 19, 2018 - Sun Sentinel

Brightline

Feds Approve Passenger Rail Expansion From West Palm Beach To Orlando

Brightline launching service to Miami and start construction on Phase 2 expansion to Orlando in early 2018.

December 22, 2017 - Modern Cities

Brightline

All Aboard Florida's Brightline Set to Launch this Month

The privately funded, diesel-powered trains will run at speeds up to 79 mph between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, with an extension to Miami opening early next year. Real estate development is key to profitability.

December 11, 2017 - WBUR

Freeway Construction

GOP Tax Plan Eliminates Critical Infrastructure-Funding Bond Program

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act would have a deleterious effect on major infrastructure proposed by the private sector. The loss of Private Activity Bonds would hike borrowing rates for road, transit, stadium, and even affordable housing projects.

November 9, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

Brightline

Florida's Brightline to Break Ground on Delayed Orlando Leg

The second phase of the highly anticipated Brightline express train service is finally moving forward after unanticipated delays.

October 20, 2017 - The Next Miami

Brightline

Nation's Only Privately Funded Express Rail Service to Launch in July

Good and bad news for followers of Brightline, a South Florida rail start-up. Service between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale begins in July, with Miami soon thereafter, but opponents may hamper extension to Orlando.

March 15, 2017 - Palm Beach Post

High-Speed Rail

High-Speed Rail: What's Good for Texas Is Good for California

It's becoming clear that Texas will beat California to having the first all high-speed train on the continent. Ethan Elkind suggests three ways that success for Texas Central's Dallas-to-Houston line will benefit the struggling California project.

September 12, 2016 - Ethan Elkind

Miami's Downtown Train Hub Begins to Take Shape

Construction of MiamiCentral, an 11-acre plot in downtown Miami that will house the city's station for Brightline higher-speed train service and related transit oriented development, is well underway. Train service begins next summer.

August 1, 2016 - The Real Deal

Texas Rail

Texans Against High-Speed Rail Begin to Flex Legal Muscle

Opposition to the Dallas-to-Houston private Texas Central high-speed rail line has gotten more serious with the creation of a defense fund to assist property owners in protecting their property rights. Texas Central plans to break ground next year.

July 8, 2016 - Your Houston News

Miami Brightline Construction

Meet the New Generation of Trains Built for Florida's Brightline

Wired takes a tour of a Siemens factory in California tasked with the task of building the rolling stock for the forthcoming, privately-funded Brightline train line in Florida.

June 27, 2016 - Wired

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

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