LETTER: Surprise! Brightline train cost estimates skyrocket
Oh, no, the Brightline Rail project is now going to cost $21 billion (Saturday Review-Journal). What a massive and unexpected development (not)!
I am not buying this latest estimate. The rail to nowhere, piles of money already gone, geotechnical work and some grading and sewer improvements? Wow. What is the required ridership to make the $21 billion train profitable? The fact that $21 billion is the latest estimate and the heavy work is yet to come does not bode well for this project.
Don’t worry, let’s get a year or two into construction. Then we’ll play the same numbers game again. My guess is the cost will be $60 billion or more. Imagine the beautiful four-lane Autobahn-type road that this money could have provided. What a shame. Sorry, I mean sham.