Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read August 2023 — Brightline delayed its Orlando start date, offering customers refunds in advance of its original Labor Day launch.
In a statement, the company acknowledged that while it had originally offered tickets for rides beginning on the week of Sept. 1, it would not finish final certifications and testing in time.
“We’re working through the final stages of certification and crew testing but it’s apparent that we won’t hit our opening weekend as planned (Sept 1-6). Knowing it’s a holiday weekend, we want to give guests as much time as possible to adjust their travel plans,” the statement reads.
Brightline finished construction of its Orlando segment earlier this year in June after breaking ground in 2019. Since then, the private rail company has opened stations in Boca Raton and Aventura, and unexpectedly began generating a profit on its southern leg in April earlier this year.
“We never really intended to make money on that segment on a standalone basis,” explained Wes Edens, Brightline chairman in an interview with CNBC at the time. “A year ago we did about 70,000 rides in March. This year we did about 170,000,” Edens added.
While the Orlando delay presents one issue for Brightline, another seems to have been resolved. The St. Lucie river bascule railroad bridge schedule was updated from opening twice every hour for fifteen minutes to fifteen minutes each morning between 8:55 AM and 9:10 AM between Monday and Friday, and at four different intervals throughout Saturday and Sunday.
As Brightline continues testing and crew certifications, ticket sales are currently available for Friday, Sept. 15. Despite this, an official launch date for the new route has yet to be officially announced. The company statement reads, “We have already started engaging them and will refund their tickets and provide a premium credit “on us.” We hope they will rebook and enjoy the inaugural Brightline experience. We look forward to announcing an official date as soon as possible.”
In an earlier interview with Invest:, Patrick Goddard, president of Brightline, expected the route to be transformational for both the company and state, saying, “This has been a 10-year journey designing and building this transformative project and once complete it will deliver the country’s first privately funded intercity passenger rail system, impacting the way people will travel throughout Florida…When we open in Orlando, that will change everything in terms of our service for the state.”
For more information, please visit:
Photo Credit: Mitchfl/Shutterstock.com
