Brightline's Major Infrastructure Investment Propels Florida to Center Stage
MIAMI – January 12, 2018 – Today Brightline, Florida's new hospitality-focused express intercity passenger rail service, welcomed U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, Ranking Member Peter DeFazio and fellow members of Congress and Florida dignitaries for the inaugural introductory ride between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Committee members were interested in seeing firsthand the nation's only privately funded, operated and maintained passenger rail system in the U.S. Brightline's introductory service for guests will begin tomorrow.
“I appreciate Brightline for inviting Members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to get a firsthand look at this innovative infrastructure project. Congress needs to be equally innovative as we work to provide a 21st century infrastructure for America. It will take federal, state, and local governments working together, along with private sector participation wherever feasible, to improve our infrastructure. I am hopeful this rail line can serve as a blueprint for other potential private sector efforts to help improve our nation's transportation networks,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Bill Shuster.
Participants from the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as community leaders, visited the site of MiamiCentral, the 9-acre intermodal transportation hub spanning six blocks in downtown, toured the West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale Brightline Stations, and rode the inaugural train trip connecting the two cities. Full service connecting Miami will begin in the coming months. The tour was led by Wes Edens, co-founder of Fortress Investment Group, Mike Reininger, Executive Director of Florida East Coast Industries and Patrick Goddard, Brightline President and COO.
"Today's launch is a successful step toward our ultimate goal of connecting Florida from Orlando to Miami and an innovative model for the rest of the country,” said Mr. Edens. “As the first privately-funded passenger train in over 100 years, many of our nation's corridors and communities can look to replicate Brightline as we transform the travel experience."
"Brightline's debut is a huge win for South Florida and one that will connect our cities and communities in new and amazing ways,” said Mr. Goddard. “Brightline offers passengers comfort and convenience while providing a solution to the daily frustrations of traffic."
Introductory service will feature 10 daily roundtrips during the weekdays and nine on the weekends to provide guests an opportunity to travel between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in about 35 minutes.
The trains are 100 percent Buy America compliant and were assembled by more than 1,000 employees at Siemens USA in Sacramento, California. More than 40 suppliers in over 20 states supplied the components for the state-of-the-art trainsets.
Construction on Phase 2, connecting to the Orlando International Airport, will begin in 2018.
Please see the link below for images from the Friday, January 12 event:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t7t1k9n2b2sib76/AAD6j_78hyGYlHGyboLhg6Oya?dl=0
About Brightline
Brightline is the new benchmark for travel by train in America with express inter-city passenger rail service connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, with future service to Orlando. Providing a travel option that lives at the intersection of transportation and hospitality, the service will ease the stress of traffic, provide a simple and intuitive experience from door to destination, and foster new opportunities to explore more of Southeast Florida. Brightline is the only privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail system in the United States. For more information, visit our website: www.gobrightline.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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CONTACT:
Brightline:
Ali Soule: 305-521-4853
Michael Hicks: 561-655-3836