The planned high-speed train system set to run between Las Vegas and Southern California will no longer bear the name Virgin Trains USA.
Instead, the Las Vegas to Victorville line will continue under the name Xpresswest.
Shortly after acquiring the Xpresswest project in late 2018, Brightline entered into a partnership with Virgin Trains to run the passenger rail line under the Virgin name. However, Brightline announced Friday in a report submitted to the Florida Department of Finance that the deal was terminated.
“We will no longer use the Virgin brand after terminating our parent (company)’s license agreement with Virgin Enterprises Limited,” the submission reads. “We will change our name into Brightline Trains LLC after the expiration of the proper notice period for name changes under the loan agreement.”
The submission states that Virgin is disputing the validity of the termination of the contract, which was delivered to Virgin on July 29.
Virgin representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Representatives of Brightline confirmed the termination of the contract, but declined to comment further.
Virgin has seen some of the problems in the transportation industry over the last year.
In December 2019, Virgin’s long – running countermeasure in the UK came to an end, after it was replaced by another operator. Then this week, Virgin Atlantic filed for bankruptcy protection amid the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the travel sector.
Meanwhile, the project continues at high speed.
Last month, Nevada approved $ 200 million in private equity bonds to go after the $ 4.8 billion construction project. Virgin can market these bonds up to four times their amount for a total of $ 800 million, per guidelines for Internal Revenue Service.
In April, California approved the $ 600 million allocation in VAT-exempt bonds for the project, which could be marked for a total of $ 2.4 billion in tax-free, private equity bonds, per IRS regulation.
The U.S. Department of Transportation in March approved $ 1 billion in tax-free private bonds for the project.
The band’s approvals are subject to all Virgin bonds being issued by Sept. 30.
Contact Mick Akers at [email protected] or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.
