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Brightline (reporting mark BLFX) is an inter-city rail route in the United States that runs between Miami and Orlando, Florida. Part of the route runs on track owned and shared by the Florida East Coast Railway.
Brightline is the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad in the United States. Its development started in March 2012 as All Aboard Florida by Florida East Coast Industries, a Floridian real estate developer owned by Fortress Investment Group. Construction began in November 2014 and the route began revenue service in January 2018, initially between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach; the Miami to Fort Lauderdale segment began revenue service in May of that year. at Aventura and Boca Raton opened in December 2022, and the West Palm Beach to Orlando segment began revenue service in September 2023. Additional stops are being planned for the route.
Brightline's maximum operating speed is . Trains cover the route in 3 hours and 25 minutes, with an average speed of .
The company received a Finding of No Significant Impact from the Federal Railroad Administration in January 2013, effectively clearing way for work to begin between Miami and West Palm Beach. The Final Environmental Impact Statement was released on August 4, 2015. By the beginning of 2015, the company had started site work at the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach stations, plus right-of-way improvements along stretches of the corridor. On November 10, 2015, All Aboard Florida announced that the service would operate under the name Brightline.
Construction began on the Miami–West Palm Beach section with the laying of new tracks and closure of the temporary parking lot in Government Center, Downtown Miami, in mid-2014. Preliminary work on the Miami station, such as site preparation and demolition, began later in the year. Suffolk Construction was the general contractor for the Miami station. Piles were being set on the four lots of MiamiCentral in early 2015.
On October 29, 2014, work on the Fort Lauderdale station began with the demolition of existing buildings on the site. A groundbreaking ceremony for the West Palm Beach station was held in November 2014. Moss & Associates, of Fort Lauderdale, was the general contractor for the West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale stations. in 2015]]In January 2015, crews started replacing tracks throughout the corridor. All Aboard Florida secured leasing of easement rights alongside the Beachline from the Central Florida Expressway Authority for $1.4 million in December 2015.
Revenue service between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach began on January 13, 2018. Service between Miami and West Palm Beach, and between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, began on May 19, 2018. In September 2018, Brightline acquired Brightline West, a private company that intends to connect Las Vegas, Nevada with Southern California via Victorville, California. Brightline announced the intent of purchasing 38 acres of land near the Las Vegas Strip for a station and following the Interstate 15 corridor from Las Vegas to Southern California.
Two key counties on the coastal route north of the West Palm Beach station have, for various reasons, been fighting the extension of the rail line through Martin and Indian River Counties in court. One of their objections is that Brightline is owned by a private corporation, so they should not be allowed to issue tax-exempt bonds as if they were a municipality. On December 24, 2018, after four years of legal battles, a Federal District Judge threw out a suit by Indian River County that claimed the U.S. Department of Transportation improperly approved the bond allocation, clearing the way for construction of the new rail corridor through the Treasure Coast and Space Coast. On October 5, 2020, the US Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of that decision, ending Indian River County's efforts to stymie development. The county's efforts at a Supreme Court hearing were financed with over $200,000 in private donations in addition to over $4 million in County funds.
In April 2019, the company secured $1.75 billion in funding for the Orlando extension and said construction would begin right away. , the contractors on the project were the Hubbard Construction Company, Wharton-Smith Inc., The Middlesex Corporation, Granite, and HSR Constructors. These five contractors are responsible for the development of of new track into the completed state-of-the-art intermodal facility located in the new South Terminal at the Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Construction work on Phase 2, between West Palm Beach and Orlando, officially began in June 2019, with a groundbreaking ceremony at Orlando International Airport. Preliminary work on the corridor began in September 2019, in the area of Jensen Beach and Sebastian, and began path clearing for construction of the Orlando–Cocoa portion in October of that year.
In 2019, Brightline operations sent a letter to the city of Boca Raton about the possibility of adding their city as an infill station along the Florida route. Brightline proposed constructing the station and rail infrastructure while the city would cover access and zoning requirements and costs.
In October 2019, Miami-Dade County allocated $76 million to build a Brightline Aventura station by the Aventura Mall in Ojus, Florida, between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. At the time of the announcement, the projected opening date was October 2020. Groundbreaking on the station occurred in September 2020. On June 21, 2023, it was announced that construction was completed. Brightline completes Miami-to-Orlando railway construction, By Steven Ryzewski and Ryan Lynch, June 21, 2023, Orlando Business Journal In December 2019, the former community garden next to the Boca Raton Public Library was officially chosen as the site for the station.
Brightline suspended operations on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All train services ceased, and the company cut 250 jobs. Construction north to Orlando continued, as well as plans for the stations in Aventura and Boca Raton.
In January 2021, the company stated that service would begin again in "late 2021," contrary to their earlier estimate of the calendar year of 2021. The company said that most station and operations staff would be brought back approximately 30–60 days before services resumed. Throughout January 2021 and May 2021, the trains ran occasionally with no passengers, in order to test an upgraded corridor between the West Palm Beach and Miami train stations. Services resumed on November 8, 2021, between West Palm Beach and Miami.
The station in Boca Raton began service on December 21, 2022, while the station in Aventura began service on December 24, 2022. Revenue service between West Palm Beach and Orlando's International Airport Intermodal Terminal began on September 22, 2023.
In April 2024, Brightline recapitalized with a $3.2 billion bond issuance as part of a debt restructuring. This came as Brightline's operations cost $23 million more than revenue with quarterly losses more than doubled with losses widening to $116 million including interest in Q1 of 2024. The bond issuance was recognized as The Bond Buyer's deal of the year.
The company posted a net loss of $549 million despite doubling revenue and booking 3 million trips in fiscal year 2024. Operational losses represented $153 million of those losses; Brightline has never turned an operational profit. However,the company had $5.8 billion in assets over more than $2 billion in debt.
In July 2025, due to continuing cash flow losses, Brightline's bond credit rating was cut to B from BB-plus by Fitch. Amidst financial challenges, it also deferred a July 15 interest payment on its 10% and 12% unrated tax-exempt bonds.
In June 2025, Brightline CFO Jeff Swiatek stated that the company was exploring selling naming rights or seeking a sponsorship deal to boost revenue.
| Orange | September 22, 2023 | 210 min | Orlando International Airport Lynx: Links 11, 42, 51, 111, 311, 407, 436S SunRail Train to Plane: Link 111 Nonstop Express | |
| Palm Beach | January 13, 2018 | 72–80 min | Palm Tran: 1, 40, 41, The Bolt 1 Palm Trolley: Yellow Line Tri-Rail Commuter Connector: WPB-1 | |
| December 21, 2022 | 51 min | Palm Tran: 1, 94 | ||
| Broward | January 13, 2018 | 30–33 min | Broward County Transit: 1, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 20, 22, 30, 31, 40, 50, 60, 81, 101 (at Central Terminal) Sun Trolley: Downtown Link, Neighborhood Link, NW Community Link Tri-Rail Commuter Connector: FL-1, FL-3 | |
| Miami-Dade | December 24, 2022 | 17 min | Metrobus Broward County Transit: 1, 28, 101 (at Aventura Mall) | |
| May 19, 2018 | – | Metrorail: Green Line, Orange Line (at ) Metromover: Omni Loop, Brickell Loop, Inner Loop (at ) Metrobus: 2, 3, 7, 9, 11, 21, 51, 77, 93, 95, S (119), 120, 207, 208, 246, 277, 500 Broward County Transit: 109, 110 Miami Trolley: Coral Way Tri-Rail |
By the end of 2018, almost 600,000 passengers had ridden the train, and the line welcomed its 1 millionth rider in August 2019.
Service was suspended from March 2020 until November 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In August 2022, Brightline transported over 100,000 passengers. This was the first time it crossed the 100,000 passengers per month mark. In December 2022, Brightline served over 183,000 riders.
In April 2024 Brightline Florida carried 223,117 riders, which was an increase of 48% year over year. In the first quarter of 2025, Brightline's ridership consisting exclusively of rides within South Florida were reported to be down 8% while long distance riders (between Orlando and South Florida) were up 26%.
In July 2025 Bloomberg News reported that ridership for the year was 53% below company projections, causing Brightline to delay debt interest payments for that month.
| 2019 | ||
| 2021 | ||
| 2022 | ||
| 2023 | ||
| 2024 | ||
| 2025 |
| January | 236,263 |
| February | 228,138 |
| March | 258,307 |
| April | 223,117 |
| May | 231,883 |
| June | 233,369 |
| July | 220,395 |
| August | 208,062 |
| September | 205,479 |
| October | 217,735 |
| November | 246,563 |
| December | 264,201 |
| Year to Date | 2,763,512 |
| January | 266,346 |
| February | 247,083 |
| March | 280,003 |
| April | 243,285 |
| May | 256,633 |
| June | 254,627 |
| July | 255,472 |
| August | 252,425 |
| September | |
| October | |
| November | |
| December | |
| Year to Date | 2,055,874 |
In November 2020, Brightline and Walt Disney World Resort announced an agreement to build a station in Disney Springs as a part of its Tampa extension. The high-speed rail corridor between Disney Springs and Orlando International Airport was projected to cost $1 billion and travel alongside Florida State Road 417. As of 2021 the project had yet to secure needed funding, but passenger service was planned to start by 2026. Then, on May 5, 2022, Universal Orlando offered 13 acres of land near the site where Universal Epic Universe is being built for a commuter station, as well as bond guarantees. This was claimed to promote construction of an extension of Brightline that would include a brief confluence with SunRail between SunRail's Meadow Woods and Pine Castle stations, and lead through Disney eventually to Tampa. They did not mention the existing proposal to run Brightline down SR 417 to Disney Springs, but it did suggest a future SunRail service to Epic Universe, the Orange County Convention Center, and Disney Springs. On June 27, 2022, Disney announced that Brightline would not run on their Walt Disney World park property; however Brightline said it would still build a station near Disney World to get riders as close as possible.
On July 11th, 2025, Spectrum News reported that Brightline is looking to raise $400 million in funding to pay for an expansion of its high-speed rail service into Tampa through the Florida Development Finance Corporation. If approved, the funds could be used to design, develop and build the new route from Orlando to Tampa.
On July 15th, 2025, WTSP reported that Tampa's city board has voted unanimously through the TEFRA (Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act) process to allow Brightline to continue negotiating with Florida Development Finance Corporation.
In 2021, the Florida Department of Transportation and Broward County executed a memorandum of understanding to implement a passenger transportation system along the FEC corridor. Plans call for a commuter rail route starting at Aventura station in the south and running as far north as Deerfield Beach. Service could start in 2028.
It has also been proposed that the commuter service could go through Palm Beach County if a deal is reached with the county, stopping at destinations such as Delray Beach and going as far north as Jupiter, the latter of which has no passenger rail service.
Despite funding difficulties, Brightline West has secured $3 billion dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $2.5 billion dollars of private activity bonds from the US Department of Transportation. Construction for the track started in April 22, 2024. They plan on carrying passengers between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga with speeds of up to for an 85-minute trip. Trains on this line will be fully electric and run mostly in the median of Interstate 15. Fortress's Wes Edens has stated that Brightline's service is modeled off of Eurostar's Paris-to-London commute. Its coach design includes white-and-blue interiors, roomy seating, and free Wi-Fi.
By 2025, estimated costs of the project had ballooned to $21.05 billion with the company seeking an additional government loan of $6 billion under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act to fund construction.
Brightline's travel time between Miami and Orlando is around hours. Driving (without traffic) between the two takes hours using the Florida's Turnpike, and hours using the I-95/SR 528 freeways along the planned train route via Cocoa. Although the flight time between Miami (MIA) and Orlando (MCO) is only 1 hour, the total travel time by air is around 3 hours — if one follows airlines' recommendations to arrive at the airport 2 hours prior to departure. For high-speed rail systems in Europe and East Asia, the travel time at which rail starts to attract a significant sector of the rail/air travel sector is usually given as around four hours, with rail becoming dominant over air at travel times below three hours.
For Brightline to meet that three-hour goal on its Miami–Orlando route, it would have to cut 30 minutes from the 3.5-hour travel time (as of 2024), raising its overall average speed from to , which is similar to the overall average speed of Amtrak's Acela operating on the Northeast Corridor between New York City and Washington, D.C.
Responding to citizen concerns about noise from increased use of horns, Brightline stated that it will work with local communities to implement quiet zones where possible. Federal law requires quiet-zone requests to originate from the local authority with jurisdiction over the roadway, not from the railroad company.
In August 2014, the company announced a partnership with the Broward and Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organizations to implement quiet zones between the city of Hallandale Beach and 15th Street in West Palm Beach. In December 2014, the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization approved funding to construct quiet zones between PortMiami and the northern Miami-Dade County line. The quiet zones were originally planned to be in place by the end of 2017, when Brightline was expected to become operational between Miami and West Palm Beach. Brightline started service on January 11, 2018, but various delays in constructing the quiet zones delayed their in-service date to sometime in March. Quiet zones went into effect in West Palm Beach on May 14, 2018, in Lake Worth on May 21, and in Boca Raton on May 30.
Prior to the opening of service to Orlando, Brightline began asking municipalities around the St. Lucie River to support a potential federal grant to fund the replacement of the single-track rail bridge over the river with a new, raised double-track span.
In January 2024, the Biden administration funded the construction of the bridge with a $130 million grant from the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) grant program.
CFX began negotiations with Deseret Ranches, which owns the land just south of the BeachLine, to purchase additional land in order to widen the right-of-way. According to a pact made on July 16, 2013, CFX tentatively agreed to pay $12 million for an extra along the BeachLine corridor between Cocoa and Orlando International Airport. In early October 2013, CFX and All Aboard Florida reached a formal purchase agreement for the land required for the right-of-way. Although construction of the segment was originally slated to begin in early 2015, it didn't start until May 22, 2019.
Also in October 2013, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) board approved development of a station and maintenance facility on Orlando International Airport property, as well as an easement to build track between the station and the mainline to the coast.
For the initial opening of the line, it is single-tracked for most of the route. However all its bridges and infrastructure are designed for two tracks, thus making future upgrading easier.
Brightline's secondary Running Repair Facility, workshop b, is located north of the West Palm Beach station, and designed for maintenance and minor repair work that does not require the train to be removed from service. The facility includes a maintenance pit for accessing the underside of the trains and can handle up to four 10-car train sets.
The trains offer two classes of service, with one "Premium" coach and three "Smart" coaches on each trainset. "Premium" offers 2x1 and four-to-a-table seating with 50 seats per car and complimentary snacks and beverages, while each of the slightly less-expensive "Smart" fare coaches has 66 narrower seats, with snacks and beverages available for purchase.
| Siemens Charger SCB-40 locomotives | 2017 | 10 units | 101-110 | n/a | ||||
| 2023 | 11 units | 111-121 | n/a | |||||
| Siemens Venture trainsets | 2017 | 40 units (+30 future units) | 5 four-car trainsets | 201-205 ( Premium), 401-405, 431-440 ( Smart) | unpowered | per coach | 248 (50 Premium, 198 Smart) per four-car trainset | |
| 2023 | 5 four-car trainsets | 206-210 ( Premium), 406-410, 441-450 ( Smart) | 248 (50 Premium, 198 Smart) per four-car trainset | |||||
| 2025 | 30 cars in production to lengthen existing trainsets | TBD | TBD | |||||
There are various reasons for Brightline's safety issues. As a joint WLRN-FM/Miami Herald investigative report published in 2025 stated, "The Florida Brightline train runs almost entirely at street level, traverses crossings at high speeds, doesn't sound its horn along much of the route and cuts repeatedly through high-volume intersections." More specifically, the report noted that:
The report indicates that pedestrians are significantly more at risk of being hit by a Brightline train than those in vehicles. And although many of the 182 deaths were ruled suicides, a majority were found to be accidents or of undetermined origin. Most of the deaths resulting from collisions with Brightline trains have occurred at locations other than rail crossings, reflecting the lack of fencing along much of the line.
A 27-year-old in Pompano Beach and a 56-year-old in Hollywood were killed in a two-day period in April 2022, a viral video from April 2023 showed a Brightline locomotive colliding with a trailer of luxury cars, and there was another fatality on September 28, 2023 just days after the line was extended to Orlando. Three people were killed in two separate accidents on January 10 and 12, 2024 at the same crossing in Melbourne. There have been no onboard fatalities as a consequence of accidents.
Law enforcement and federal reports found that the deaths were not caused by crew error or faulty equipment, but were all related to either suicides, or people trying to cross and beat the trains. Outside railroad experts add that the problem lies with Floridians, used to trying to beat slower freight trains on the line, and not the new higher speed passenger trains. In many other countries – for example, Germany – level crossings are not allowed to exist where trains faster than pass through, and in Japan – a nation very heavily reliant on rail transport – lines with grade crossings are restricted to maximum.
By August 2024, more than 30 pedestrians and driver deaths had occurred in Palm Beach County since service began.
On December 28, 2024, a Brightline train collided with a Delray Beach Fire Rescue fire truck at a grade crossing in downtown Delray Beach. Three firefighters and twelve passengers were injured.
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