Brightline deaths prompt ‘concern’ from DeSantis, oversight letter to FDOT
In response to the ongoing spate of fatal accidents along the Florida East Coast rail corridor, Gov. Ron DeSantis has asked Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin Thibault to look into the issue.
“Public safety is paramount with regards to Florida’s transportation systems,” a spokesperson for the governor said.
At the same time, the Florida Transportation Commission has sent a letter to FDOT over passenger-rail safety concerns.
Ron Howse, chairman of the commission that serves as the citizen’s oversight board over FDOT, said in the Nov. 4 letter that he was “recently made aware of concerns from citizen advocacy groups related to rail safety in the state.”
“Florida Department of Transportation’s role in oversight of passenger rail with respect to maintenance, safety, revitalization, and expansion is subject to the concerns raised,” he wrote.
FDOT has not yet issued a formal response but is in the process of preparing one, the agency said.
In a written statement, Brightline said safety is a top priority, and that it meets and exceeds the highest standards set by the Federal Railroad Administration and FDOT. It said it would continue to work closely with FDOT and the governor’s administration to raise awareness for rail safety.
The FRA counts 30 “trespasser” incidents in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties in 2019 involving Brightline trains, including 19 that resulted in fatalities. The most recent involved a train slamming into an SUV in Aventura on Nov. 15, one day after a man ducked under a safety gate near Deerfield Beach and was killed.
In its statement, Brightline said the incidents “are tragic and all have been the result of deliberate unlawful actions to ignore warning signs or safety barriers.”
“Approximately 75% of the incidents involving our trains have been suicides and/or drug related,” it said.
The freight-carrying Florida East Coast rail line has seen an additional nine trespasser fatalities this year, mostly concentrated in Treasure Coast counties. Tri-Rail has seen three trespasser fatalities this year. The FRA has not responded to a Freedom of Information Act request for information on whether it has discussed the incidents with Brightline. Neither Brightline nor its parent company, Florida East Coast Industries, has been charged in any of the incidents.
The issue of safety is heating up as Brightline, soon to be known as Virgin Trains USA, advances toward Orlando from its existing South Florida base. As it makes its way up the Treasure Coast, the train will go faster, climbing to speeds of up to 110 miles per hour.
Among the leaders of the advocacy groups referred to in Howse’s letter is Susan Mehiel, of Vero Beach. Her group, the Alliance for Safe Trains, has issued periodic newsletters reporting on the incidents.
“Our biggest concern is their refusing to put in any amount of fencing and barriers for pedestrians,” Mehiel said. She said many pedestrians are getting stuck at the at-grade crossings as trains come through.
Mehiel said she had recently met with DeSantis over the issue.
She was joined in Tallahassee by Tony Brown, head of the NAACP chapter of Indian River County. Brown said many impoverished people of color traverse the proposed Brightline route.
“Having that many trains at 100 mph traveling to a community such as ours is real critical — it would be a danger and disaster for us,” he said in an interview.
Meanwhile, Indian River County has filed a lawsuit that seeks to prevent Brightline from imposing the costs of the installation and maintenance of the improvements necessary for the project onto county taxpayers.
And the area’s state senator, Debbie Mayfield, has filed legislation calling for greater safety measures.
“When FDOT builds a road, they build and design that road and intersection based on traffic patterns and how people can travel safely,” she said. “So at-grade crossings need to be adjusted in the same way.”
In its statement, Brightline said it has “run thousands of safety public service announcements, distributed thousands of safety materials, worked with local law enforcement and schools on these matters.”
