It took the better part of a decade to make it happen, but high-speed Brightline trains are whisking passengers daily from Miami to Orlando, adding a travel option that vacationers and business commuters over the years rarely thought possible.
Now, the Miami-based company is turning its attention to a variety of next steps — ranging from helping Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties eventually install commuter service in their regions, and to expanding the regional rail line from Orlando to Tampa on the Gulf Coast.
In its latest monthly report to bondholders who support the multi-billion dollar passenger railroad, management sounded an upbeat chord with the initial public response to the Orlando extension, as well as the growing sustainability of the South Florida service, which started in 2018.
“The addition of long-distance service has fundamentally transformed our business, with average fares, ancillary revenue per passenger and ridership all increasing significantly,” the company said in its report for November. “Results to date are strong and accelerating, with 190,448 customers trying our long distance service in its first 70 days of operation through November 30.”
Customers, the report says, are buying into a Miami-Orlando fare structure of $79 one-way for its economy level SMART tickets ($199 for a family of four) and $149 for its upper level PREMIUM service. “The market has shown a willingness to pay these prices and we have been able to yield fares higher for peak trains,” the report says of a “highly diverse” customer base that includes Florida residents, domestic U.S. visitors, and international travelers from 92 countries.
The company has cut 349 “business-to-business” corporate deals “with some of the most notable employers in Florida” from industries that include “banking/finance, legal firms, restaurant/hospitality, tech, and real estate development.”
“We have also begun executing contracts with major airlines to support airline staff movement between their key locations in Florida and are evaluating passenger recovery agreement opportunities with certain airlines,” the report said.
Ambitious goals, wide acceptance
Those steady streams of business are important for a private enterprise that intends to refinance billions in debt that funded its startup phase, and envisions another major expansion project to Tampa while developing a separate commuter service with South Florida’s three major counties.
Nationally, Brightline is being held aloft by high-speed rail advocates as a template for regional projects elsewhere, including the company’s own Brightline West, which in early December received a $3 billion lift from Washington to help build a new line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Locally, the results have economic development promoters waxing positive about what Brightline has done for them thus far. And regions that have yet to obtain station stops for their localities are pining for a piece of the action.
In Palm Beach County, it has played a role in buttressing the area’s desire to be a magnet for corporate headquarters and new businesses in the fields of life sciences and finance.
“Florida’s enhanced connectivity through the Brightline has transformed the landscape, making it an enticing hub for statewide business endeavors,” Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board in Palm Beach County, said in a statement to the South Florida Sun Sentinel last week.
“Palm Beach County’s recognition as ‘Wall Street South’ coupled with multiple stations across key city centers, has drawn a surge of affluent individuals to the area, contributing significantly to Brightline’s use among executives seeking seamless travel or cross-county professional engagements.”
Shortly after the railroad’s 170-mile extension became active in September between West Palm Beach and Orlando, a delegation of rail-hungry political and business officials from the Tampa area visited South Florida to see what Brightline can offer.
“It’s just incredible what Brightline has done for South and Central Florida, and we can’t wait to get it into the Tampa Bay area,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told reporters.
According to the November financial report and other public statements, here is a look at long-term projects that Brightline intends to continue working on in the coming year:
South Florida Commuter Development
Comment: “Miami-Dade and Broward Counties continue to advance projects to provide commuter service on our corridor, improving mobility access for local neighborhoods and acting as a feeder system to our intercity service,” the report said. “These plans would include extending existing commuter service onto and along Brightline’s corridor.”
Status: Broward County has $173 million of the estimated $323 million project planned and-or committed, according to the report. The county has completed a package to seek money from the Federal Capital Investment Grant Small Starts program.
The Florida Department of Transportation has been driving a multi-year study process for a Broward Commuter South line south of the New River, as well as for points into northern Broward and Palm Beach counties.
But a heated battle between the county and the City of Fort Lauderdale over an improved New River crossing downtown has raised concerns among other cities over a potential delay in the commuter line’s northward development. Currently, an aging drawbridge serves as the only means for carrying daily passenger trains operated by Brightline and freight trains run by the Florida East Coast Railway. A new commuter service would add to the existing bridge’s burden.
County commissioners have opted for a new bridge. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and a cadre of local business leaders have been campaigning for a tunnel, arguing that another above-ground span would divide the city and disrupt further development in the area.
Cities including Oakland Park, Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach have all been designated by the DOT as potential stops for the service. .And local planners are including stations in their urban redevelopment programs. Palm Beach County is waiting in the wings, having penciled local commuter rail service into its transportation development plans.
Miami-Dade has $294 million of the estimated $578 million project committed from the county and state of Florida, according to the report. The final project funding component is expected to be provided by the Federal Capital Investment Grant New Starts program after Miami-Dade completes the engineering phase. The county obtained environmental permitting approval for the project in November.
Stations: In Broward, state DOT planners and the county have initially agreed on stations for Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport and a neighborhood near the Broward Health hospital south of the New River.
In Miami-Dade, five stations would be built between Aventura and the Brightline MiamiCentral station.
In Palm Beach County, three commuter stations between Boca Raton and West Palm Beach and three others would be built “between West Palm Beach and Jupiter,” according to the Brightline financial report.
Although Brightline is working with the counties to develop their commuter projects, all of which will yield millions in annual access fees to the railroad, it is likely that another yet-to-be-determined entity would be the operator.
Treasure, Space Coasts
Comment: “With the extension to Orlando now in operation and given the success of our Aventura and Boca Raton stations, we are reviewing and developing options for additional future in-line stations,” according to the November report..
“Likely stations include one expected to be located in Brevard County and another to be located along Florida’s Treasure Coast north of West Palm Beach.”
Stations: Along the Treasure Coast, Stuart and Fort Pierce are expressing strong interest. When the company’s inaugural train made its way to Orlando in late September, Stuart officials organized a trackside welcoming committee complete with banners and a salutary hosing of the passenger cars by a fire truck as the train passed through town.
Status: The selection process is in its early stages as Brightline recently issued a call for applications from public and private landowners. The deadline for submission was Dec. 22.
“We’ll start the process of evaluating those applications and be in a position to make a selection and work through agreements in the first quarter,” spokesman Ben Porritt said by email last week.
A Treasure Coast station could be open at some point in 2028.
But any station to the north in Brevard is not likely to come fruition for quite some time. Although Brightline’s report alludes to the potential for one in the county, there are no provisions mentioned for funding.
Orlando-Tampa
Comment: “Our planned Tampa extension is expected to include stops at the Orange County Convention Center and South International Drive and connect to an expanded SunRail commuter system,” according to Brightline’s November report. “These stops would provide convenient access to Central Florida business destinations and major theme parks and resorts including SeaWorld Orlando, Universal Orlando Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort, among others.”
Status: “It is complex to get to Tampa, but we’re up to the challenge,” Christine Kefauver, senior vice president of corporate development for Brightline, recently told the Florida House Transportation and Modals Subcommittee. According to the News Service of Florida, she said the company has been involved in the “Sunshine Corridor conversation for about two years, and we really do see us making tremendous strides on that coming up soon.”
Stations: In Tampa, to be determined.
“In connection with the planned overall refinancing of the company, we intend to sell or otherwise confer the assets, rights and obligations related to the Orlando-Tampa Project to an affiliate for future development of additional stations,” the Brightline report says.