Looking for a less expensive, less stressful way to get to Miami? Tri-Rail makes strides toward downtown service
Tri-Rail says the three-county commuter rail line is getting closer to the day when it will open service to the MiamiCentral station in downtown Miami. Here's a look at when Broward and Palm Beach county commuters can finally gain access to Miami at prices that are cheaper than Brightline's.
sun-sentinel.comBrightline modifies service, but most public transportation available
South Florida’s commuter rail services continued operating on Wednesday, although the Brightline high-speed train line cut four trains from its schedule. Commercial airlines were still flying in and out of the region’s three international airports.
sun-sentinel.comDon’t ‘beat the train’: Officers will patrol railroad crossings to curb deaths
South Florida law enforcement agencies, partnering with Brightline, will be stepping up their efforts to prevent drivers from recklessly trying to beat the high-speed trains — the latest effort to try to curb the mounting number of railroad accidents and deaths.
sun-sentinel.comDriver alert: Broward Boulevard rail crossing to shut for repairs
The rail crossing at Broward Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale will close between Aug. 27-31 as the Florida East Coast Railway repairs rails and road surfaces. The shutdown means motorists will need to take nearby streets to drive across the tracks.
sun-sentinel.comFeds awarding $25 million safety grant for Brightline corridor
A major segment of Brightline's rail corridor is receiving up to $25 million in federal money to buttress safety measures between Miami-Dade and Brevard counties. The U.S. Department of Transportation is funneling the money through the Florida Department of Transportation for the Florida East Coast Corridor Trespassing and Intrusion Mitigation Project. The campaign is designed upgrade crossing and pedestrian safety.
sun-sentinel.comAs deaths rise, Broward may lose ‘quiet zone’ that silenced train horns
Broward County could lose its federally mandated "quiet zone" along the Florida East Coast Railway line as industry and government officials seek ways to reduce deaths among trespassers on railroad property and motorists who try to beat trains across the tracks.
sun-sentinel.comBroward police agencies dole out 500+ citations in less than two weeks of railroad crossing enforcement
Broward County Sheriff's Office issued more than 500 traffic citations through Operation Crossing Guard. The operation ended on Friday and enforced traffic safety along railroad crossings in response to increasing motorist and pedestrian accidents with Brightline trains.
sun-sentinel.comPerson dead after crash involving Brightline train in Oakland Park, deputies say
Just days after the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Brightline announced ramped-up enforcement efforts to curb drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians from violating traffic laws at railroad crossings, one person in car has died after a crash involving a Brightline train.
sun-sentinel.comBrightline, Broward police agencies start safety crackdown to reduce rail crossing deaths
The Brightline rail system and Broward Sheriff's Office are teaming up on a crossing safety program designed to cut down on deaths and injuries where roadways and railroad tracks intersect in Broward County.
sun-sentinel.comOn the right track: Wrongfully convicted man is freed after 31 years in prison. Brightline grants his wish for a train ride, as honorary conductor
A South Florida man who was freed from prison last month after serving 31 years on a wrongful murder conviction wanted to ride a high-speed train. Brightline granted his wish by giving him a free ride from Miami to Fort Lauderdale and back.
sun-sentinel.comJeep driver is second man in two days to die in crash with Brightline train
A man who tried to beat a Brightline train across the tracks Tuesday in Hollywood died from his injuries. The accident was the second fatal crash in two days caused by someone trying to beat a Brightline train across the tracks.
sun-sentinel.comDriver of Jeep identified following deadly crash involving Brightline train in Hollywood
A second collision this week involving a Brightline train has turned deadly after authorities confirmed that the driver of a Jeep Wrangler who was struck by a train in Hollywood on Tuesday has died from his injuries.
Brightline, FEC, state seek millions in federal money help to cut down on rail deaths
Brightline is teaming with the Florida Department of Transportation to apply for federal help that would provide $45 million in joint funding for a rail crossing safety project along the Florida East Coast Railway line. The project is designed to cut down on the proliferation of train-vehicle collisions between Miami-Dade and Brevard counties. If approved, work could start by as early as August.
sun-sentinel.comFlorida higher-speed train strikes, kills man
Authorities say a Brightline train struck and killed a pedestrian, raising the death toll since the higher-speed train line resumed operations in South Florida. News outlets say police in Hollywood, Florida, are investigating the death. The collision late Saturday happened a short distance from a homeless shelter in Hollywood where there are no intersections for pedestrians for a half-mile, but there are small no trespassing signs by the tracks.
news.yahoo.comTri-Rail’s leaders must resign or be fired
The $70 million Tri-Rail station at Brightline’s Miami terminal was designed so badly that the trains don’t fit. The key agency players are Executive Director, Steven Abrams, Deputy Executive Director, Diane Hernandez Del Calvo and General Counsel, Teresa Moore. Just before Christmas, the agency’s executive team provided more detail to the SFRTA Board revealing the problem is probably worse than previously explained and that the executive team had known since at least 2018. There is a lot of mud in the water, and I hope the situation gets resolved quickly, but what is clear is that the entire current SFRTA Executive Team needs to be replaced. • Hernandez Del Calvo failed to manage the agency’s capital development project (the station), failed to manage the public’s funds responsibly and, failed to notify the Board of the failures.
communitynewspapers.comBrightline+: An integrated door-to-door booking service, branded mobility fleet
Brightline, the only provider of modern, eco-friendly, intercity rail in America, recently unveiled its new fully integrated, door-to-door booking service Brightline+ which will include a Brightline-branded mobility fleet. The fully electric mobility fleet is Brightline’s investment to provide travelers in South Florida a door-to-door solution to travel by train, powered by Brightline’s new app and supported by the fleet. All Brightline+ vehicles will be operated by private chauffeurs vetted and trained by Brightline and its mobility partner, Via, the global leader in TransitTech. Over the coming months Brightline will integrate CitiBikes, scooters and other modes of travel into the Brightline+ service. The Brightline+ fleet also will be fully electric by 2022.
communitynewspapers.comBrightline lines up Teslas, shuttles and buses to make your commute even easier
When Brightline fires up its dormant rail system on Nov. 8, passengers will have the option of booking local rides with electric vehicles to the downtown stations in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Miami. It’s a long-awaited “last mile” network devised by the railroad to move passengers between homes and offices and the trains. But will passengers buy into a system designed to steer them away from their beloved cars?
sun-sentinel.comMiami to Disney? Brightline announces station that would connect South Florida to Mickey Mouse
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – South Floridians may eventually have a quicker way to get to Walt Disney World. Brightline and Disney announced Monday an agreement for the higher-speed passenger train to build a station at Disney Springs, the shopping and entertainment complex at the Central Florida resort. A timeline for the station at Disney Springs was not immediately announced. “Brightline will offer a car-free connection to the millions of visitors from around the state and the world who plan to make Walt Disney World Resort part of their vacation plans,” Brightline’s president Patrick Goddard said in a statement. ALSO SEE: After setbacks, Brightline’s Aventura Mall station full steam ahead
Car clipped by Brightline train after driver stops on tracks in Pompano Beach
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – The front of a car was clipped by a Brightline train Wednesday morning after the driver stopped on the tracks in Pompano Beach, authorities said. Sky 10 over car that was struck by Brightline train in Pompano Beach. (WPLG)Authorities said signs were posted in the area, warning drivers not to stop on the railroad tracks, but the woman did. She then panicked and got out of the car as the train neared, along with the passenger. No injuries were reported, but the woman was cited by the Broward Sheriff’s Office for stopping her car on the tracks.
1 killed in collision involving vehicle, Brightline train in Pompano Beach
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – One person was killed Tuesday morning in a crash involving a vehicle and a Brightline train in Pompano Beach. According to a Brightline spokesman, witnesses said the vehicle went around the crossing gates that were already lowered and was struck by the oncoming train. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman Sandra King said the vehicle caught fire after the crash. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue was able to extinguish that fire,” King said. Firefighters help a passenger off a Brightline train after it crashed into a vehicle stopped on the railroad tracks.
Woman taken to hospital after pickup truck struck by Brightline train
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – A woman was taken to a hospital Tuesday afternoon after her pickup truck was struck by a Brightline train in Deerfield Beach, authorities said. According to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael B. Kane, the incident occurred just after 4:40 p.m. in the area of Southwest Fourth Street and South Dixie Highway. Kane said units arrived at the scene to find a Ford F-150 with front-end damage. He said the woman sustained back injuries and was taken to Broward Health North. No other injuries were reported.
Brightline adding late-night Saturday train, hourly departures in 2020
The high-speed rail system, which is being rebranded as Virgin Trains USA, is adding a new northbound train from Miami at 5:15 p.m. beginning Jan. 1. Northbound trains from Miami will now depart on the 50th minute of the hour. There will be hourly departures from West Palm Beach and Miami, except between noon and 1 p.m. There will also be hourly weekday departures from Fort Lauderdale except between 12:20 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.Southbound trains from West Palm Beach will now leave on the 10th and 40th minute of the hour. Weekend trains will now depart hourly beginning at 7 a.m.Brightline is also adding a late-night train on Saturdays from West Palm Beach and Miami.
Boca Raton approves construction of Brightline station
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Virgin Trains USA is pulling into Boca Raton. The City Council late Tuesday unanimously approved a proposal to allow for construction of a Brightline train station downtown. Brightline, which is being rebranded as Virgin Trains USA, wants to begin construction early next year. Miami-Dade County commissioners in October approved a plan for the construction of a Brightline station in Aventura. Brightline will pay to replace any library parking spaces lost in construction and make 64 spaces available to library patrons.
New higher-speed Florida train has highest US death rate
The first death involving a Brightline train, which officially launched in January 2018, happened in July 2017 during test runs. That’s the worst per-mile death rate of the nation’s 821 railroads. A full-speed Brightline train takes a quarter-mile to stop. The railroad shares tracks with Florida East Coast, a freight line that had one death for every 160,000 miles (258,000 kilometers) during the past two years, compared to Brightline’s one death per 29,000 miles (47,000 kilometers). The Tri-Rail commuter service that runs nearby had one death about every 110,000 miles (177,000 kilometers).
Officers warning drivers of danger following fatal Brightline crash
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. - An Aventura police traffic officer handed out safety flyers Monday at the scene of Friday's fatal crash. A female driver died on impact when her car, sitting on the train tracks, was hit by a Brightline train. The intersection at Ives Dairy Road and West Dixie Highway is an extremely busy artery to the area, and drivers stop on the train tracks often, despite the warning signs. Local police try to keep up a presence in the area but drivers will often stop on the tracks when no officers are around. But when there is imminent danger on the tracks, train engineers can sound an alarm.
1 dead after Brightline train slams into SUV in Aventura
AVENTURA, Fla. - A driver is dead after a Brightline train collided with an SUV in Aventura on Friday. The crash occurred at Dixie Highway and Ives Dairy Road, just across from the Aventura Mall. Police said the female driver of the Mercedes-Benz SUV died in the crash. It's not known exactly where the collision took place and how far the vehicle was pushed down the railroad tracks. A portion of Dixie Highway in the Aventura area was closed as authorities investigated the fatal crash.