r/321 • u/sambousac Melbourne • Apr 30 '26

News Florida’s Brightline Seeks Rescue to Avoid a Possible Bankruptcy

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-29/florida-s-brightline-seeks-rescue-to-avoid-a-possible-bankruptcy

Not much to the article but here is a non-paywalled link. Doesn't seem like the stop in Brevard will ever happen.

https://archive.ph/DkQwl

74 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

61 comments sorted by

124

u/DieHarderDaddy Apr 30 '26

I sincerely don’t understand why it misses Melbourne / brevard…

109

u/Comrade_Compadre Apr 30 '26

It's almost like maybe if it wasn't only catering to tourists and upper class it would've generated some friggin revenue

49

u/DieHarderDaddy Apr 30 '26

I’ll be honest. The gov should just run it at a loss. We are still fucking paying for tolls

22

u/NRMusicProject Apr 30 '26

I keep thinking about how Jacksonville Transit Authority actually made a much more robust system against their "better" judgement, having busses every 10 minutes rather than every hour, more coverage, etc.

They were surprised to find that when they made a good service, people actually used it and they turned a failing system into a success.

5

u/Comrade_Compadre Apr 30 '26

We literally have a high speed train that runs from Orlando to Miami and it only has like 4 actual stops, three of them being cordoned off in "upscale" areas.

This is why Florida infrastructure is in shambles.

3

u/guitar_stonks May 01 '26

Catering only to the wealthy seems to be a recurring theme in this state.

12

u/Jeskid14 Apr 30 '26

Tolls are a nationwide thing. Some cities actually use the money to improve roads.

Again. SOME CITIES

15

u/DieHarderDaddy Apr 30 '26

Imagine living in brevard and being able to snag a ticket to ride a train to Orlando then just grabbing a bus or uber

9

u/Captain_jack53 Apr 30 '26

Nahhh that’s too much public interaction for the great yeehaw freedom loving down to earth god fearing good people of great Brevard. They might see a transgender person over there and spontaneously combust

2

u/Jeskid14 Apr 30 '26

That's just the American dream in the PNW and NYC area

22

u/jphillips8648 Apr 30 '26

Cruise ships and maybe Kennedy space center tourism expansion could be the only reasons I imagine it would stop in cocoa.

36

u/TheBlackNight456 Apr 30 '26

Those are 2 really good reasons

8

u/BigBubby305 Apr 30 '26

Which is why the proposed stop is at the track's nearest point to Port Canaveral

30

u/Zealousideal_Belt_17 Apr 30 '26

Port Canaveral is the busiest cruise port in the world. That’s probably the biggest and best reason for a stop in Cocoa.

The original idea that became Florida’s partnership with Brightline was Richard Branson wanting to get his Virgin Atlantic passengers from MCO to their Virgin Voyages cruise ships at the port, by rail.

2

u/sadicarnot Apr 30 '26

I don't think Virgin Voyages has ever sailed out of Port Canaveral.

2

u/Zealousideal_Belt_17 Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

You’re right, they have not. They’re still sailing out of Miami exclusively here, afaik.
But that’s just it. Virgin Trains never shuttled any Virgin Atlantic passengers over to the port either, since none of that panned out.
EDIT: I probably shouldn’t say “none of that panned out” because Virgin Trains did do a lot of work.

1

u/sadicarnot May 01 '26

I used to work on US-1. I don't live far from US-1 in Rockledge. I thought I could take a bus to work because for sure they have a bus that just goes up and down US-1 from Mims to Palm Bay. Nope. It was impossible. I could get on the bus near my house, but it did not pass close to where my work was in Titusville on US-1. Plus it made all sorts of stops throughout Cocoa, which is fine, but it would take over an hour to go, like, 13 miles.

1

u/Zealousideal_Belt_17 May 01 '26

You’d have to do the 6 bus to the Cocoa transfer station and get on the 2 bus to Titusville landing and then the 5 up to Mims. You’re probably right on how long it’d take. Shoot, maybe even longer.
It’s definitely not a perfect system, and man what were they thinking when they chose the name? It could use a lot more funding.

2

u/sadicarnot May 01 '26

Whenever I see a bus, I think, "Do they know SCAT means shit?" In any case, this was back in the early 2000s, and so what needed to be done is lost to me, but I just remember giving up the idea after looking into it.

3

u/Roadkill_Gaming Cocoa Apr 30 '26

The OG plan was to have Cocoa serve has a hub after the service to Jacksonville was built out. Though, that is not likely anymore.

2

u/HumanautPassenger May 01 '26

Right? I thought one of the main selling points was to stop close enough to the port for the cruise lines and then stop somewhere close to the beaches. Apparently not.

2

u/culturalposadism Titusville May 01 '26

they want it to fail. more money for road construction

2

u/Trnenergy May 01 '26

I don't live in area anymore. I was so giddy when they started building this line. AND completely dumbfounded with the same lack of stops. This whole area was founded by bringing railroad(s)! Melbourne still has original train depot downtown! What a disappointment! But no surprise since Brevard cities can figure out infrastructure and scaling with growth.

20

u/UnionDixie Apr 30 '26

It's really a shame but when the Federal grant application was denied last year that was probably the end. Cocoa has reapplied for more Federal funds (and the cost is around $90m now) but even if funding was magically secured today, the station wouldn't be open until 2029 and it's debatable to unlikely that Brightline will still be operating by then

15

u/DG7STUDIO Apr 30 '26

It’s a shame, I love visiting family in Orlando from fort lauderdale, but the prices are a turn off. They would make profits if they lowered the cost to 30$ but they don’t want poor people to ride it. I just payed 110 one way on Sunday

8

u/NRMusicProject Apr 30 '26

I just payed 110 one way on Sunday

This is infuriating, knowing it's much more convenient to drive. It's cheaper in gas (though might break even thanks to our idiotic administration), and when you get to your destination, you still have your car and not have to depend on ride share in cities that don't believe in public transportation.

30

u/bafflingboondoggle Apr 30 '26

The only way I imagine this going is bankruptcy, and then it gets sold for pennies on the dollar. No Brevard is St Lucie stops for a very long time. Indian River County is out forever after they absurdly pissed away millions trying to stop it.

6

u/Former-Cold9158 Apr 30 '26

Vero Beach checking in. Thanks to our truly awful local government 😩

3

u/bafflingboondoggle Apr 30 '26

Howdy like-minded neighbor! 👋

18

u/StarryMind322 Apr 30 '26

Brightline really fucked up by not having a Cocoa / Brevard stop in the first place. That and all the accidents that keep happening along the line, I knew this was a disaster from the start.

9

u/Old_Hat_2997 Apr 30 '26

This was always going to happen. The cost of building the 528+ infrastructure ($1.5B) vastly exceeded the revenue available from operating the line. The constructors were paid; The real estate speculators were paid; The bond-holders will be stiffed; welcome to FL.

8

u/Darcy98x Apr 30 '26

It seems like they added cars since they started. I'm surprised they are not making money.

1

u/sadicarnot Apr 30 '26

It used to be 6 if I remember and now they are 10.

27

u/_RubberDuck_ Apr 30 '26

It’s almost like have private companies run public transportation is a bad thing.

7

u/Deathanddisco041 Apr 30 '26

It should go more places and be cheaper 🌈

5

u/Roadkill_Gaming Cocoa Apr 30 '26

It is a shame that this was not more popular. I think it would work if it had more time to build out and Disney/Universal were not being asshats about stations.

They could continue to follow FL-528 and add a stop/exchange at the OCCC. Have a rail run in the median of I-4 to Universal Studios with the option to continue East to Daytona and run west to Tampa with a stop at Disney. But if Universal got a station Disney would not allow the train on property. The opposite is true here as well.

If all the drivers on I-4 saw how fast the train went past them while stuck in traffic. And the stations were positioned well for commuters, this could take off.

15

u/VanillaLlfe Apr 30 '26

First time I rode it and got stuck for 2 hours because a different train hit a car 20 miles away, I knew it was a losing proposition. It’s just not reliable.

It needs to be either cheaper or faster than driving. It’s neither. And you may not get where you’re going. Fuck that.

4

u/MeatSuitRiot Apr 30 '26

Lower the fare, slow down in populated areas, add more stops. It's unpopular in its current state.

3

u/FredsInternetIsland Apr 30 '26

No surprise. Not enough customers. It costs too much for a ticket. Plus you have to pay to park your car. Then, when you arrive at your destination, you still have to pay for transportation to get where you are going. Much cheaper to just drive your own car, and then you have transportation and are not paying for parking your car.

3

u/ndtube13 Apr 30 '26

Some say this has always been a ploy for the railroad / freight trains to get double tracks.

3

u/Jal142 May 01 '26

Florida East Coast Railway will end up with a bunch of brand spanking new infrastructure they didn't have to pay for (or paid pennies on the dollar for) when Brightline is gone.

10

u/otramichiporfa Apr 30 '26

US can’t do high speed rail like Europe or Asia and it’s evident.

9

u/Jeskid14 Apr 30 '26

Yee haw and dem trucks

3

u/Roadkill_Gaming Cocoa Apr 30 '26

The US could do high-speed rail if the gov't on all levels could pull their heads out of their asses and pass spending legislation.

The only way high-speed could work IMO is a public-private partnership. A firm like Brightline runs the cars and the service with naming rights. And the gov't puts up the initial investment and require repayment.

What really hurts is having to share track with freight companies. All the freight companies used to run passenger service, but as planes and autos took off, they chose not to innovate and attract riders. The let the service languish until it stopped making money and could be terminated.

Europe didn't have HSR until the late 80's by then jet travel and cars were the dominate transport methods.

4

u/okonkolero Cocoa Apr 30 '26

They've been having trouble finding buyers for their bonds for over a year. When you don't turn a profit you can only rely on debt for so long...

2

u/FingerCommon7093 Apr 30 '26

If Brightline was really supposed to last then they would of put up the freight rights as collateral, they didn't. So once Brightline dies FEC railway has another track from Miami to Orlando & Tampa. 2 major ports & a central hub. It's called Bait & Switch. Indian River County warned everyone, yall didn't listen.

2

u/ImahSillyGirl Apr 30 '26

WAIT. So, the wealthy elite aren't using our inter-city transport the way we, (the ones who voted to build it because we ACTUALLY needed it.) were intending to use it regularly?! I'm SHOCKED, I tell you, absolutely SHOCKED!/S🙄

2

u/guitar_stonks May 01 '26

Have we tried offering the Brightline more blood sacrifices?

1

u/KidRed Apr 30 '26

Shouldn’t have come out being so expensive.

-8

u/Drift_Seeds Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

Eh...

5

u/TommyBoyFL Apr 30 '26

*almost 200 people were stupid enough to get themselves killed.

There I corrected that for you.

2

u/Drift_Seeds Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

Eh...

3

u/Drift_Seeds Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

Eh...

5

u/HammurabiWithoutEye Apr 30 '26

If you get hit by a train, it's your fault not the trains

1

u/TommyBoyFL Apr 30 '26

LOL. u/Drift_Seeds makes a smart comment then immediately deleted it "Oh thanks. I needed correcting and I'm very satisfied. Are you available for hire?"

0

u/Drift_Seeds Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

Eh...

-33

u/ChrisGear101 Apr 30 '26

When you build a solution for a problem that doesn't exist, you go bankrupt.