Brightline, the only privately funded express inter-city passenger rail service in the United States, took delivery of two new trainsets that will provide service in South Florida later this year.
Brightline is scheduled to begin service between a new station in Downtown Miami and West Palm Beach with future service to the Orlando area.
Named BrightGreen and BrightOrange after the signature color schemes of the train cars, the sets were delivered simultaneously after a 3,052-mile journey across the country from Siemens Rolling Stock manufacturing hub in Sacramento, CA.
Their arrival was in celebration of National Train Day, taking place on Saturday, May 13. Combined, the two Brightline trains are approximately 1,000 feet long, each foot symbolizing the 1,000 Siemens employees who helped build them. They are 100 percent Buy America compliant, manufactured with components from more than 40 different U.S. suppliers across 20 states.
BrightGreen and BrightOrange now join BrightBlue and BrightPink at Workshop b, Brightline’s 12-acre railroad operations facility in West Palm Beach.
“Today marks another milestone as we welcome two additional trainsets to Workshop b,” said Dave Howard, Brightline’s CEO. “Brightline is a shining example of U.S. manufacturing and innovation while setting a world-wide standard of service in the hospitality and transportation industries.”
Workshop b is now home to four trains with BrightRed, the fifth trainset, arriving late-June. Workshop b provides over 120 jobs, serving as the on-duty location for train crews as well as the site where trains are maintained, cleaned and stored. There are four tracks within the facility, two of which are covered and one featuring a 500-foot long maintenance pit underneath for performing daily inspections and service.
Brightline is committed to leading private investment toward transportation infrastructure benefiting the public. Brightline will provide a much-needed, hospitality-driven alternative to South Florida’s congested roadways. Each train abounds with innovations and comfortable features including automatic level boarding, wide aisles exceeding ADA compliance, multiple outlets for devices and complimentary, robust Wi-Fi, powered by multiple antennas in every car. The company is anticipating a grand opening and official launch of its service this fall.
