With 182 fatalities since 2017, Brightline has garnered the undesirable moniker of America's deadliest train. The privately-owned South Florida passenger railroad's woes are only getting worse. Florida East Coast Railway (FECR) filed a lawsuit against Brightline for allegedly violating a contract agreement between the two companies. Brightline is currently negotiating a deal to let a commuter rail service run along its rail corridor between Miami and West Palm Beach. The only problem is that Brightline doesn't own the tracks, FECR does.
While FECR granted Brightline the exclusive right to run passenger trains on its track, it comes with some caveats. According to the Miami Herald, the freight railroad claims Brightline doesn't unilateral authority to negotiate passenger rail deals and requires its permission for major changes. FECR is also adamant that the corridor can't support any more passenger cars, which is always a dubious claim when considering the actions that other freight companies have taken against Amtrak expansion. FECR said in its complaint:
"The cooperation and transparency between FECR and Brightline that made Brightline's passenger service a reality has, unfortunately, long disappeared. Desperate to salvage some of its investors' funds, Brightline has covertly engaged in a years-long campaign to stave off its own financial problems by loading FECR's tracks with more passenger trains."
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Brightline Is Trying To Change Its Financial Fortunes
How significant are Brightline's financial problems? The railroad lost $500 million last year. According to WRLN, ridership isn't growing as quickly as expectedly and the company is spending money faster than it anticipated. To go a level deeper, demand for long-distance rides between Orlando and Miami is up over 26% percent. However, shorter commuter demand is down 8%. With this in mind, it's Brightline's best interest to either stoke demand or reduce the number of seats taken by short-haul passengers.
Enter Tri-Rail, the public commuter rail service operated by Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The service primarily operates alongside Amtrak on a different corridor to the west of I-95. Tri-Rail has been negotiating a deal with Brightline to run trains on its corridor to the east of I-95 since 2020. Just the Miami-Dade portion of the project is expected to cost $927 million, with government grants covering the bill. The only thing still in the way of this financial relief for Brightline is FECR, which claims they were left in the dark.
One valid criticism levied by FECR is that running more trains along the corridor could increase the risk of severe incidents. Despite the millions of dollars that Brightline has received for safety improvements, sections of the route where fatal incidents have happened are still unfenced. I'd hope that some of the commuter grant money is spent on removing as many grade crossings as possible.
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