BRIGHTLINE IS BEING SUED BY VIRGIN ENTERPRISES FOR OVER $251 MILLION BECAUSE BRIGHTLINE TERMINATED THEIR NAMING DEAL EARLY. Virgin is accusing Brightline of using the pandemic to get out of the 20-year deal.

According to the lawsuit, Brightline told Virgin that they were terminating the agreement because the "Virgin brand had ceased to constitute a brand of international high repute, largely because of matters to the pandemic."

HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER RAIL BRIGHTLINE IS IN EARLY NEGOTIATIONS WITH TAMPA DEVELOPER DARRYL SHAW TO BUILD A STATION IN THE YBOR CITY AREA. These discussions center around three separate pieces of property.

Shaw characterized the discussions as "super early" and declined to disclose the expiration date for the MOU.

Read more here.

USDOT AND BRIGHTLINE ARGUE THAT U.S. SUPREME COURT SHOULD DENY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY'S REQUEST FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI. The county has asked the court to review a federal appeals court's December 2019 determination that the USDOT determined that the high-speed rail passenger rail project qualified for $2.7 billion in PAB financing.

County Attorney Dylan Reingold said a reply to the USDOT and AAF Holding's briefs will be filed the week of September 7. Justices are expected to convene during their September 29 conference to consider the writ request.

THE ALLIANCE FOR SAFE TRAINS NONPROFIT GROUP HAS RAISED $200K IN PRIVATE MONEY. This money has been raised for Indian River County to pursue its case against the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration.

Indian River County had previously sued the U.S. DOT and FRA for wrongly issuing $2.7B in tax-exempt bonds, but both a federal court and a federal appeals court ruled the bonds were permissable. After $3M fighting the case, the Indian River County Commission voted in January to end further appeals.

THE FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINSTRATION RELEASED A FOURTH-QUARTER 2019 REPORT FEB 27, highlighting the status on railroads' progress in implementing positive train control (PTC) systems as required by Congress.

According to the report, eight host railroads, including Florida East Coast Railway—and their tenant railroad, Brightline/Virgin Trains USA— are at risk of not fully implementing a PTC systems by the Dec 31, 2020 deadline.

Read more here.

BRIGHTLINE/VIRGIN TRAINS USA REPORT FINDS THAT 2019 PASSENGER COUNT AND REVENUES WERE FAR BELOW ITS OWN FORECASTS. Passengers count barely broke one million, less than half the count originally projected, and revenue was $22 million, less than a fifth.

TRAIN WRECK TIMES

BY SUSAN MEHIEL

GOOD NEWS AND BAD

We are pleased to report our Guest Column in the TC Palm newspapers ran today. Read the article here.

STATE SENATOR DEBBIE MAYFIELD PLANS TO PUSH BILL FOR INCREASED SAFETY REGULATIONS FOR HIGHER-SPEED PASSENGER RAILROADS. Mayfield plans to submit her proposal later this month.

This bill follows the findings in the 2018 Office of Program Policy and Government Accountability report, which reported that more deaths and injuries occur along the Florida passenger-rails lines than the national average.

Read more here.

Train Wreck Times

By Susan Mehiel

Movement on LNG and a CALL TO ACTION!

THE INDIAN RIVER NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION FILED AN AMICUS BRIEF SUPPORTING INDIAN RIVER COUNTY'S APPEAL OF PABs for the privately-owned high-speed passenger rail project Virgin Trains USA, formerly Brightline.

The association argued that the U.S. Department of Transportation "misinterpreted laws in order to qualify Brightline/Virgin Trains USA for the bond financing."

Appellate Judges David S. Tatel, Patricia A. Millett and Neomi J. Rao accepted the association's brief on June 3.