Brightline trains begin trial runs
The high-speed trains could be coming to Orlando in a few years
The Brightline higher-speed passenger trains had actual passengers during the weekend — but the rides were by invitation only.
Friends and family of some railroad employees were getting a taste of what it’s like to zip between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. In a couple of years, plans call for All Aboard Florida to run its high-speed trains from Jupiter to Cocoa and then at 125 mph to Orlando.
“My GPS showed we were going 79 mph for quite a long ways,” said Mark Kovalsky, of Port St. Lucie, whose brother works with Florida East Coast Railways.
“It was a great ride. It was fast, it was smooth, all the people were very nice, very enjoyable,” he said. “It took about 35 minutes.”
Food and drinks were being served on the trains.
Brightline officials said test runs with passengers are part of the service simulation process that the trains have been running for weeks.
In the early stages of testing the coach seats were filled with sandbags to simulate the weight of passengers.
Each color-themed train has two engines and four coaches designed to carry up to 240 passengers.
The green, pink and orange trains were run between the new Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach stations Saturday. The red and blue trains are also being tested.
The public will be able to ride the trains when introductory
service is scheduled to begin later this week but ticket prices have yet to be announced. Brightline officials said its website will have ticket information this week.
The introductory service will offer cheaper ticket prices, officials said. When regular service begins, tickets will cost more but there will be different pricing options for daily, weekly, monthly, annual and other packages that could also include parking and food.
The route is expected to be extended to Miami as early as the spring once construction on the MiamiCentral station is completed. Brightline estimates its express trains could be running to Orlando by 2021.