Picture this: It’s 5 o’clock. You’re beyond exhausted. Rush hour means you’re not getting home until at least 6:30 p.m. You keep wondering – isn’t there a better way to get home?
Yes, there is, and it’s traveling by high-speed train!
Right now Brightline trains can take you between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
Riders can select from three fleet options:
SMART – The business-class option with food and beverages available for purchase.
SmartPLUS – The benefits of SMART plus a complimentary snack or beverage.
SELECT – The first-class experience with all-inclusive amenities.
Whether you need to keep working or want to catch up on a Netflix show, all of Brightline’s trains are equipped with free onboard Wi-Fi and each seat has multiple USB and power outlets.
The company also offers business and commuter packages that can be bundled with a parking pass or LYFT credits for a full travel experience.
Back in January, Brightline was named “The Best Way to Navigate South Florida” by Porthole Cruise Magazine.
“This is, hands down, the best way to get around South Florida,” says Porthole Editor-In-Chief Bill Panoff. “In a choice between the traffic on I-95 and experiencing the real luxury of these trains, there’s no contest. It’s a must for anyone traveling around Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches.”
When the All Aboard Florida project was conceived, the group believed around 3 million vehicles would stop taking Florida’s highways.
According to the Real Deal, a real estate news website, South Florida real estate experts agree the high-speed rail system would help alleviate traffic congestion.
“We can’t keep adding lanes to I-95 and the turnpike,” real estate lawyer Harvey Oyer told the Real Deal. “We’re out of space to build more roads, and we need a more environmentally friendly way to transport people.”
Billionaire investor Jeff Greene believes Millennials could be the driving force behind taking vehicles off the road because “they’ve opted for a simpler life oriented toward mass transit.”
The local workforce isn’t the only one that benefits from taking a high-speed train.
Tourists going on a cruise ship vacation can hop on a Brightline train and head to one of the three South Florida stations that are a quick ride-share drive away from PortMiami, Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach.
Also in the works is an Orlando station that’s currently under construction and a proposal for an Orlando-Tampa connection has gained steam.
The Orlando connection would be a dream come true for visitors in Miami, as they would now have an affordable means of travel between the two vacation destinations. In an online survey conducted by marketing communications agency Percepture, 80 percent of respondents said “yes” to the idea of visiting more cities if they were connected via high-speed train.
William is the Managing Editor at FloridaInsider.com. His years of experience in journalism, broadcasting and multimedia include roles as a Writer and Web Producer. He graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Science and Communication.