Brightline celebrates completion of Orlando route construction

ORLANDO, Fla. — With a display of civic support from mayors along its route, Brightline has celebrated completion of construction on its route to Orlando, as well as the contribution its employees have made in forging a unique passenger rail operation.

The event today (Wednesday, June 21) at Brightline’s Orlando International Airport station comes as crew qualification runs continue on the 125-mph sealed right-of-way between Orlando and Cocoa, Fla., along with train-control testing on the newly completed Florida East Coast Railway double track south to West Palm Beach.

It also came on the same day the U.S. Coast Guard was to implement scheduled, twice-hourly bridge openings at the single-track bridge St. Lucie River at Stuart, Fla. [see “Coast Guard bridge plan ignores practices elsewhere …,” Trains News Wire, June 18, 2023]. That schedule has the potential to pose major issues for Brightline’s operating plans.

Meeting challenges, and receiving support

“This bridge issue isn’t the first and won’t be the last challenge we’re going to encounter,” Brightline President and CEO Patrick Goddard tells News Wire, “and that’s part of our culture. We understand that this is not going to be easy, that there isn’t a blueprint, that we have to figure out things as we go along.

“The type of individuals we’ve hired to take on this task are not the faint of heart and are passionate about delivering this ultimate experience,” Goddard says. “This is not a difficult thing to support — a great example of what is possible for intercity passenger rail in North America. There are many people who want this to happen from the local level all the way up to the federal level. They see that we’re doing it in a way that certainly we’re proud of, but it sets an example of how this can be done.”

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez — one of five mayors from communities with Brightline stations who took part in a round-table discussion as part of today’s ceremonies — echoes that observation.

In a News Wire interview, he says, “Having this connection is going to be transformative for our state, the country, and the world. We fought very hard to bring Brightline to Miami and connect to other transit modalities, and I think it is something that is a leverage factor for us. It’s great that the private sector is the one taking the risk, and we’re benefiting.”

Suarez, who recently entered the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was familiar with the Coast Guard’s recent decision changing the bridge rules. “Every project of this magnitude has political hurdles it has to overcome,” he says. “That’s typical, and I think Brightline has done a magnificent job navigating that. I think the benefits are so enormous for our state and our community that it would be shameful if we didn’t finish this and execute it right.”

Value of vision

A remarkable aspect of the event was the enthusiasm Brightline employees displayed when they lined up for a separate group picture with their yellow “bright spikes” after first posing with the mayors and Brightline executives. It was visible on every face. Many of these people came to the company with the promise they would be a part of something special, and it was clear they have not been disappointed.

How did it happen? Goddard didn’t hesitate with his response.

“Wes Edens, our founder,” Goddard says. “He had a vision for this thing way back — it wasn’t just about the commodity of transportation. This is about creating a brand experience that guests would appreciate,  and allow us to develop a teammate culture around values and to do something transformative to the state. It’s been a real honor and pleasure to help that manifest itself.”

Edens stood in the corner unobtrusively during the mayors’ roundtable. But just before it concluded, Dr. John Evans, the vice chairman of the Greater Orlando Airport Authority, urged everyone to give Edens a round of applause. The partnership Evans struck with the airport set the entire project in motion, and Evans recalled a former basketball coach who told him, “[If] you aint got vision, you aint got squat.”

Brightline employees and leaders from the communities they serve seem to agree.

Equipment testing, crew qualification continues

Less than an hour after festivities concluded, the “Bright Pink” trainset resumed Orlando-Cocoa runs dedicated to qualifying 38 engineer and conductor pairs required to operate the service. Those trips occur daily between 6 a.m. and 8:45 p.m.

Some of those being trained come from Brightline’s “Notch 8” program, named for a locomotive’s full-throttle position. Already-hired employees working at hourly positions on board, in stations, or in security “have an opportunity to elevate their position in the organization by going through intense training to become conductors, and ultimately, engineers,” says Goddard.

“Testing the positive train control system has gone very well,” says Mike Cegelis, Brightline’s executive vice president of rail infrastructure. Variations in the braking curve have to be tested at different speeds over the entire route on each track.

“All the track is cut over,” Cegelis says. “There is rehab work on the former main that will continue for the next few weeks, and we’re testing the highway grade crossings in Zone 4” — between Cocoa and West Palm Beach. That, Cegelis says, is done by segment, both conventionally, at speeds below 80 mph, and wirelessly, up to 110 mph.

After that testing is completed, end-to-end testing will begin. This includes, sequentially: field integration, field qualification, simulated revenue service, and finally a simulated service demonstration, “which is when all trains are running on our opening-day schedule.”

Asked when those tests might be completed, Cegelis would only acknowledge, “We’re selling tickets for Sept. 1.”