Brightline: A break from American trains’ losing streak

What’s more American than the car? Not much else carries the American spirit and image better than the automobile. For decades, we have paved and plowed our way to being the country of vast concrete jungles connected by roads and highways. Independence, freedom, strength, progress, wealth. All words America’s cars have proudly showcased to the world. We have a vast interstate system connecting every town and city with such ease that you can drive from Maine to Miami, Washington to Boston, Utah to Baltimore, and so on, without even having to change roads. What else can show our American might other than that? Well, what if I were to tell you that just over a century ago, when the Rockefellers and oil tycoons roamed the land during America’s “Gilded Age”, we had a different interstate system: one with trains.

There was a time when rail was the best way to get around. Almost every town had a station where hundreds of trains departed every day, connecting the nation. However, during the very same time that the Interstate Highway System swept the country from coast to coast, the locomotives that built the industrial age began to suffer. In the 60’s, passenger rail providers started going bankrupt, likely due to interstates and jet planes. In a last-ditch effort to save the American rails, the federal government bought up all the rail lines and made Amtrak, which has been servicing us for the last 50 years. Since then, not a single private company has been successful in starting a new rail project in the US. Even the public efforts have been uncoordinated, delayed, and over-budget—just ask California. This remained the case until very recently with a project originally known as “All Aboard Florida”, or as we know it now, Brightline.

Brightline, while being highlighted as a private company, did receive much more federal aid than many believe, benefiting from a $1.6 billion Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan from the Federal Railroad Administration. Regardless, Brightline's success cannot be ignored, servicing the frequently travelled Miami-Orlando corridor with speeds up to 125 mph. Reaching over 2.7 million riders in 2024 with no months that year below 200,000 riders, it seems there might actually be an appetite for rail in America. Right now, Brightline is focusing on the leisure and tourist market, as can be seen in the advertising and by analyzing ridership data, separating itself greatly from traditional rail projects in the US, which focus on commuters.

In just two years, Brightline beat their pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers, while most train lines and public transit systems in the US still have yet to match 2019. Beyond planes and cars becoming less competitive, there is a growing appetite in the younger generation for environmentally friendly forms of travel, or at least they’d rather avoid the hassle of driving or flying. All these combined explain Brightline's impressive ridership.

MiamiCentral Station, Brightline's flagship location, was actually originally opened in 1896. However, it closed in 1963, as was the case with most rail stations around that time. That was until Brightline brought the station back in 2018, offering a modern aesthetic with impressive multi-modal transportation including buses, a trolley, commuter rail lines with a direct link to the airport, people movers, and, of course, the Brightline trains themselves. The reopening of MiamiCentral and the success of this private project symbolizes the possible beginning of a new age for American trains.

Brightline West plans to recreate the same magic for a Los Angeles to Las Vegas trip, running at speeds of up to 200 mph—making it America's first true high-speed rail. California's efforts are also continuing to progress, albeit very slowly, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021 promises $66 billion for Amtrak. Let's hope they can break America's government-run train losing streak. Though the future is still unclear for rail, I see great reason for optimism. Recently, the Trump administration has praised Brightline's efforts, and Trump has said it “doesn't make sense” why we don't have bullet trains in America. The support for rail from both major political parties and the general public is a very encouraging metric. We will have to wait and see for sure if this momentum will be maintained, but until then, I'll be voting with my wallet, my ballot, and my ridership for a more interconnected and transit-oriented future.