This year, Brightline launched its first services in Florida between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Brightline, was announced by Florida East Coast Industries (FECI) in 2012, the idea behind the line was to build a passenger rail system in highly populated cities that are separated by distances that are too long to drive, but too short to fly. Brightline is one of the first privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail systems available in the U.S. in over 100-years.
Brightline currently operate between Miami and West Palm Beach, one of the most heavily traveled and congested regions in the U.S. Brightline has plans to expand to Orlando and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently announced they would enter into negotiations with Brightline to connect Orlando to Tampa. Brightline and its parent company FECI are also developing transit oriented development around the three south Florida stations.
On May 19, 2018 Brightline officially launched revenue service into MiamiCentral. The announcement drew crowds and trains were sold out.
Creating the optimal rail car
Siemens worked with Brightline to create the railcars for the line. Brightline ordered 5 trainsets, comprised of 4 passenger cars and 2 locomotives.
“These trainsets are comprised of Siemens high-speed intercity railcars, powered by Siemens diesel-electric Charger locomotive,” Ray Ginnell, head of Passenger Coaches for Siemens Mobility, and a lead manager on the Brightline project.
Siemens featured new technologies within the railcars, including important safety features.
“All carbodies incorporate Crash Energy Management (CEM) crumple zones to absorb energy at both ends of the railcar,” said Ginnell. “Our design also includes a controlled collapse feature to enhance safety in the event of impact and has been fully tested and is compliant with PRIIA 305-003 and FRA requirements.”
Siemens also included features to make boarding and off-boarding easy for riders. “The ‘gap-filler’ was something specially designed for this project, and something that provides true level-boarding at all stations,” explained Ginnell.
The trains have dual locomotives, a diesel-electric engine and the train is 100 percent Buy America-compliant.
Passenger amenities for a new style of train
As the project is one of the first of its kind in a century, Brightline faced unique hurdles to overcome. Brightline worked to enhance the experience for riders. The passenger rail line worked to cover every base from its online booking system, greeting riders at the station, on-board service and announcing a partnership with Lyft as Brightline's ride-share service.
“On this particular project, the customer was focused on design and passenger experience, and we had to work very closely with the design-group Rockwell on an extraordinary level of detail surrounding seat comfort, sightlines, materials, etc. – all the while ensuring compliance with the necessary safety and industry standards and regulations,” said Ginnell. “Few people will be able to notice that there is perfect alignment between seating and windows, delivering better views with larger windows and integrated window shades.”
As the first private passenger train in the United States, leading up to the launch, there was a great interest in to what amenities would be available.
“These Brightline trainsets represent the utmost in today’s passenger experience -- a high level of comfort, state-of-the-art lighting, low noise vestibules, large windows for greater visibility, and sophisticated roof-mounted HVAC for all seasons,” said Ginnell. “Specifically -- wide aisles that are fully accessible, wider, comfortable hand-stitched leather seats; in-seat reclining that is less intrusive to the person seated behind you, larger multi-task tray tables, enhanced WiFi for better connection reliability, and USB/power outlets at every seat.”
Along with the wide aisles, Siemens worked to make the rest of the train fully ADA-accessible.
“(Including) a specially-designed “gap-filler” which allows level boarding for wheelchairs, walkers, bicycles, strollers or rolling luggage,” Ginnell said. “There was also special attention paid to the bathrooms – not only very spacious and fully accessible, but a unique hands-free experience.”
Other amenities of the new train include:
- Extra space for luggage
- Multi-task table trays
- On-board Wi-Fi
- Pets are welcome
- Bike racks
Expanding partnership
Brightline announced in November 2018 that it had entered into a new strategic partnership and trademark licensing agreement with the Virgin Group which will establish Virgin Trains USA.
“Our private sector-led effort to reinvent passenger rail service in America is taking another leap forward with the addition of the Virgin team,” said Wes Edens, chairman of Brightline and cofounder of Fortress Investment Group. “Virgin has built a respected and trusted brand in travel and hospitality. With our shared focus on customer experience, powered by a culture of innovation and disruption, we are well positioned to build on our success.”
In a Virgin blog by founder Richard Branson, he stated “A little over a year ago, we visited Miami to see the new privately-funded passenger rail system that Brightline and Fortress Investment Group was building in Florida.”
Branson continued. “It was clear from that our first visit that Wes Edens, Brightline’s founder, and his team had an exciting vision and the skills for American rail travel that no other private American enterprise has been able to do for a century.”
“This partnership further validates the incredible accomplishments of our team as we challenge conventional wisdom to reinvent train travel in America,” said Patrick Goddard, president of Brightline. “Given our shared values and Virgin’s track record, this partnership will help amplify our efforts and growth potential as we seek to expand to new markets.”
Virgin Group has an impact in the UK rail sector. Virgin Trains, which operate as a high speed intercity passenger rail line, has been in operation for 21 years. The partnership between Brightline and Virgin Group opens the door for riders to expand to accessing other Virgin brands.
Branson finished in his blog, “We have a long history of creating innovative businesses that shake up markets and establish loyal followings. We transformed domestic air travel with Virgin America and have spent more than a decade looking for a similar opportunity to change the face of American railways. We believe Brightline is at the forefront of this innovation and the ideal partner to work with to alter perceptions and traveling habits across the United States.”
Brightline will rename itself Virgin Trains USA and the switch to Virgin Trains USA branding begins in 2019.
Looking towards the future of the rail line
Brightline has plans to further expand into Orlando and Tampa. It also recently revealed an exciting project to connect Las Vegas to Southern California.
Brightline announced in September 2018 the acquisition of XpressWest, which is a high-speed rail (HSR) project that has been federally approved to develop a corridor connecting Southern California and Las Vegas, NV. Brightline’s move to the west stems from the success that the company has seen from the current line connecting Florida. The rail line is set to connect 22 million people directly to Las Vegas; reaching those who make up the 50 million yearly trips from Southern California. Construction is expected to begin in 2019, with service offers beginning in 2022. The first phase will travel 185 miles with no at-grade or pedestrian crossings.
Siemens will continue to provide support for the rail line in a number of different areas.
“For Siemens, we will remain actively involved as a result of a unique 30-year maintenance contract we have for the Brightline trains and locomotives,” Ginnell said “Our digitalization platforms now allow us to take-on full maintenance of our assets thanks to modern diagnostics and real-time connectivity through ethernet-based communications.”
Continuing with the trend of digitalization Siemens has a wider reach for monitoring and increasing efficiency on the rail line. “Siemens can now monitor real-time status; temperature readings, scheduling and any need to replace parts,” explained Ginnell. “It is also able to monitor interior assets such as faulty reading lights or non-working power outlets or ports. In the end, this digitalized monitoring, data collection and analysis allows our customers to react proactively before anything breaks, essentially allowing spare parts to be ordered in advance and available for a quick and timely turnaround.”
