A new brand has been added to the Virgin Group family with the launch of Virgin Trains USA.
Last year Richard Branson visited Brightline, the USA’s first privately-owned passenger train service since the 1980s, and following discussions, is set to make a minority investment in the company.
As a result, Brightline will transition to Virgin Trains USA branding in 2019.
Richard Branson said: “We transformed domestic air travel with Virgin America and have spent more than a decade looking for a similar opportunity to change the face of American railways. We believe Brightline is at the forefront of this innovation and the ideal partner to work with to alter perceptions and traveling habits across the United States.
“On the potential of rail travel, [Brightline chair Wes Edens] and I are kindred spirits. Rail is a sector close to my heart after 21 years of running Virgin Trains in the UK, creating breakthroughs from tilting Pendolino trains to the automated delay repay scheme. Virgin Trains continues to go from strength to strength, transporting more than 38 million passengers on the UK’s West Coast main line last year. We’re looking forward to working alongside Wes and Brightline to rejuvenate the US trains market too.”
Brightline launched services between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in May 2018 and currently has plans to expand to Orlando and Tampa.
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