Yes, ground has been broken and new promises have been made, but the massive headwinds facing a rail project in the Mojave haven't disappeared. And that inconvenience of merely getting somewhere vaguely close to Los Angeles isn't a minor problem. For starters, Brightline West's financial woes are still nothing compared to the fiscal abyss of California's in-state rail project. And while the California High Speed Rail boondoggle is not an objectively high bar to clear, it nonetheless instills a bit of confidence that Brightline's current challenges are far more manageable. For Brightline, this is probably good news as its "mostly privately funded" rail project now hinges on receiving billions of dollars in federal financing.