D.C. Buyout Firm to Invest in Dulles Rail?

So, did you see today's Washington Post article about the Carlyle Group? According to the Post, the D.C. buyout firm has raised $1.15 billion for an infrastructure fund that it will use to partner with federal, state and local governments in running vital public projects in the United States, including water and sewer systems, bridges, tunnels, highways and airports.

And the article says that "Carlyle would even consider putting money into the controversial Dulles Rail project, which does not have money from private sources. 'If Governor Tim Kaine and state and local leaders decide to move ahead with private investment, as the hometown firm, Carlyle would be particularly interested in partnering with them and committed to the project's success,' Barry Gold, a Carlyle managing director, said yesterday."

"Some toll roads, such as the Dulles Greenway, are owned and managed by private companies. But the push by private equity is different because buyout firms prefer to partner with municipalities rather than run the projects on their own. This type of relationship is more appealing to state and local governments and is expected to spark the privatization of huge swaths of infrastructure," says the Post.