Next stop, Hollywood? Virgin Trains plans new stations in South Florida
name its new city stops, Hollywood might be on the list.
A Hollywood official said the city recently met with Virgin Trains USA, formerly known as Brightline, about adding a stop. Hollywood communications manager Joann Hussey said in an interview that a meeting took place in June.
“We’ve identified an area in downtown ... that we’re calling University Station that we’re redeveloping, with the thought of having a stop for a commuter rail line,” she said. It is located east of I-95, at Dixie Highway just north of Hollywood Boulevard.
Hollywood — and 15 other communities — are already served by a commuter line: government-funded and run Tri-Rail. Tri-Rail trains run just to the west of I-95, stopping at Hollywood Boulevard.
Virgin is not providing further details on costs or time of travel for the proposed stops. But they would likely be faster, although more expensive, than TriRail.
Tri-Rail service from Hollywood to Miami takes 39 minutes — slower than Virgin’s 30-minute run to moredistant Fort Lauderdale. A round-trip Tri-Rail ticket between Miami and Hollywood currently costs $6.25; at peak hours, a Virgin ticket costs $34 roundtrip for the Fort Lauderdale journey.
In an email, Tri-Rail executive director Steven Abrams said, “We are aware that Virgin is approaching a limited number of cities along their corridor to explore the possibility of stations.”
Virgin representatives said the company expects the new stations “will significantly increase ridership once operational,” and that it would still consider itself an “intercity express train” with the new stops.
For the first quarter of 2019, Virgin announced ridership of 244,178 passengers with revenues of
$5.8 million. Virgin has set a goal of approximately 2.1 million passengers and between $50 million and $100 million in revenues in 2019.
Other potential Virgin stops remain unknown. But officials in Boca Raton confirmed in an email that the city was a candidate.
A representative for the city of Pompano Beach said in an email that while no meeting with Virgin had occurred, it believes it is “an ideal location” for the train, citing recent investments it had made in infrastructure.
The Hollywood and Pompano statements show the eagerness with which some municipalities are now greeting the prospect of a Virgin stop. Martin County, which is north of Palm Beach, had been strongly opposed to Virgin threading its Orlando extension through its backyard. But in November it agreed to a settlement that included a promise of at least one new Treasure
Coast stop.
Another Treasure Coast county, Indian River, is continuing litigation against Virgin. A safety group, the Florida Alliance for Safe Trains, was created this year to highlight fatalities that have occurred since Virgin began operating last year. It is calling for greater safety measures.
The Orlando extension is fully funded. The $4 billion project will run up Florida East Coast tracks in southeastern Florida before turning west along a new set of tracks that stretch across Orange County and into Orlando International Airport, reaching a top speed of 125 mph. It is projected to be completed in 2022.