A group of leading companies serving the rail transportation industry announced they have formed a partnership to compete for high-speed rail opportunities in Florida.

The companies in the partnership include: VINCI, OHL, Virgin and Alstom; and non-equity partners: Archer Western, AECOM and PBS&J. Each of the partners boasts strong ties to Florida and a long history of doing business in the state.

The group's proposal to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the system will include a private financing dimension that offers the best solution for Florida once the specific bidding rules are established.

Through the partnership, Virgin, VINCI and OHL will operate the full turnkey system of state-of-the-art very high-speed trains built and maintained by Alstom. Alstom, VINCI, OHL and Archer Western will lead the engineering, design, supply (consistent with Buy America) and construction aspects of the project with the support of engineering companies AECOM and PBS&J. Equity partners will include VINCI, OHL, Alstom and Virgin.

Officials of all the companies in the partnership reiterated the importance of the group's proven ability to bring forward public-private financing solutions and emphasized the potential of high-speed rail to create local jobs and sustainable economic growth.