“A big day for Florida,” Brightline chief executive Michael Reininger said at the Miami station before boarding the debut train to Orlando International Airport after 7 a.m. “It’s a moment that marks the beginning of a new industry and a blueprint for expanding rail in America.”
With the Orlando segment complete, Brightline says it will move to advance a $12 billion high-speed railway project from Las Vegas to Southern California, with a goal to put trains traveling at 186 mph on America’s tracks by 2028.
Mayors and other elected leaders from central and South Florida gathered at the Miami and Orlando terminals, boarding trains in each direction to celebrate the launch of passenger service. Some said the line will be a game changer for locals and visitors who travel between the two areas and a potential draw for more tourists. As many as 35 million trips are made annually between central and South Florida, and estimates show most are made by car.
The train ride time is competitive with driving in a traffic-choked area of Florida, where what is typically a 3.5-hour drive can turn into a five-hour nightmare. Brightline trains travel up to 79 mph in urban areas, then increase speeds to 110 mph in less populated areas from West Palm Beach to Cocoa, peaking at 125 mph on a newly built track through central Florida’s farmland between Cocoa and Orlando.
Brightline has been operating in South Florida since 2018 and has stations in Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach. The connection to Orlando International Airport serves as an important shift in Brightline operations — which has operated much like a commuter service through South Florida — to essentially an intercity service. The company has plans to extend the line to Tampa.
Brightline’s Miami-to-Orlando service is quicker than Amtrak’s, which takes five to seven hours via two long-distance routes.
With the expansion to Orlando, Brightline projects the line eventually will carry 8 million people annually. Trains in the 67-mile section of South Florida carried more than 1.2 million people in 2022, growing to nearly 1.3 million rides this year through the end of August.
Friday’s first Orlando-bound departure — scheduled for 6:45 a.m. with a 10:19 a.m. arrival — was slightly delayed at Miami amid the celebration and a track incident north of the Boca Raton station. Authorities early Friday were investigating a death involving a pedestrian who entered the tracks and was struck by a Brightline train.
Rail advocates have welcomed the service as a sign of a new era for rail in the United States. It is also viewed as renewed interest in the private sector to invest in passenger service, more than five decades after Congress created Amtrak to relieve private railroads from their obligation to provide intercity passenger rail service.
Sally Patrenos, president of advocacy group Floridians for Better Transportation, said the Miami-Orlando corridor is an ideal spot for the investment in a rail connection that she said has potential to reduce congestion and give locals and visitors the option to skip traffic.
“Brightline brought in private-sector dollars and private-sector goals and ambitions, serving a much, much needed window for mobility,” Patrenos said. “And they’re selling not only a passenger rail system, but also an experience. You have internet service, you have good food, you have comfortable seats. It’s a full-circle experience.”
Fares, which are comparable to Amtrak’s and competitive with airfare, vary depending on the time of travel and how early tickets are purchased. A ticket from Miami to West Palm Beach can cost between $15 and $52. Economy fares from Orlando to Miami start at $79 one-way. Brightline will offer 16 daily round trips with hourly departures between Miami and Orlando.
“Our train opens up a bunch of new possibilities,” Reininger said in an interview this summer.
