Brightline high-speed train (then still known as Virgin Trains USA) traveling south towards Miami, as seen on March 14, 2020, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. Photo and Caption: Jillian Cain Photography/Shutterstock.com
Brightline began operating from Orlando on Friday. The success of a privately operated high-speed passenger rail service in the US will be put to the test in this, first major test.
Trains operated by Brightline between Miami and Orlando will have a top speed of 125 mph.
Brightline’s high-speed rail history in Florida is one of aspiration, invention, and difficulties. This timeline details the successes and failures that influenced the construction of a rail network connecting significant Florida communities.
- 2007: The parent business of Florida East Coast Railway, Florida East Coast Industries, is sold to Fortress Investment Group for $3.5 billion in cash.
- 2014: West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale stations’ construction is set to start in 2014.
- 2018: Brightline launches its Miami to West Palm Beach service.
- 2019: Construction on the project’s connection to Central Florida began.
- 2020: For 17 months, COVID-19 forced the closure of the Miami-West Palm Beach line.
- 2020: An agreement to rename Brightline as Virgin Trains USA through Richard Branson’s Virgin Group fell through. In 2020, Brightline ended its collaboration, and Virgin filed a lawsuit in London. Brightline claims in the complaint that Virgin “ceased to constitute a brand of international high repute, largely because of matters related to the pandemic.” That case is still open.
- March 2021: Work on the Brevard County rail line was initiated. Soon after, Brightline began doing train trials in Brevard County.
Additionally, Brightline is constructing a line that will run from Southern California to Las Vegas, and it expects it to be operational in 2027 with 190 mph trains.
Amtrak’s Acela service between Boston and Washington, D.C., which started running in 2000, is the only other high-speed line in the United States. The federal government owns Amtrak.
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Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
