Category: Brightline

Can Brightline Survive?

Brightline may be a good railroad, a popular service and a terrible investment—all at the same time. — YNOT! Florida’s most impressive passenger train may be a transportation success trapped inside a financial disaster Brightline has accomplished something that many people said could not be done in America. It created a modern passenger rail service connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando. The trains are clean, comfortable and generally reliable. The stations feel more like airports than traditional American train depots. Passengers can travel between South Florida and Central Florida without driving for hours on Interstate 95 … Continue readingCan Brightline Survive?

The Anatomy of a Railroad Real Estate Scam – BRIGHTLINE

The easiest way to make money in real estate isn’t to buy land—it’s to convince the taxpayers to buy it for you, build on it for you, maintain it for you, and guarantee your profits while they assume the risk. When private profits ride on public money, the railroad may move people, but the financing moves wealth.— YNOT! There is an old trick in politics and business: privatize the profits and socialize the losses. It has survived every generation because it works so well on taxpayers, who are forever told they are “investing in the future.” The scheme is … Continue readingThe Anatomy of a Railroad Real Estate Scam – BRIGHTLINE