Brightline says local service will stay shut for months; Orlando route still on track
Virgin Trains USA, formerly known as Brightline, announced Wednesday that it is suspending service between downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach for “the coming months.” It did not say when service might resume.
In posts to its social media accounts Wednesday, the express passenger train service blamed COVID-19-related work-from-home policies and social distancing mandates for the continuation of its service suspension, which began March 25. “It is expected to take a long period of time for service demand to return to pre-virus levels,” it posted on Facebook and Twitter.
Meanwhile, the private rail company said it will continue construction on the link from West Palm Beach to Orlando. The company also expects to move forward with planned stations in PortMiami, Aventura and Boca Raton.
“Brightline’s temporary suspension is understandable,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez in an email. “We expect as businesses begin to open up that the company will resume operations. We are continuing to proceed with plans for the Aventura station to be ready to serve workers and visitors who would be well-served by this east County transit route.”
In an April 2020 public filing, the company had said service to Orange County was scheduled to commence in 2022. It was not immediately clear whether that timetable was still in place. A Brightline representative referred a request for comment to the company’s statement.
Brightline’s initial March 25 hiatus brought layoffs of approximately 250 employees, including senior staff.
Wednesday’s announcement marked another snag in South Florida’s years-long quest to draw car-addicted drivers from often-jammed freeways onto mass transportation. First announced in 2012 as All-Aboard Trains, the high-speed rail — then renamed as Brightline — began West Palm-to-Lauderdale service in early 2018, a year later than planned, adding Miami service later that year. Though the initial timeline called for Orlando service to commence in 2017, it was delayed by opposition in counties through which the train would travel. The fast trains have been involved in accidents resulting in 40 deaths; none have been blamed on Brightline crews or equipment.
Prior to the COVID crisis, Brightline’s ridership was tracking steadily higher despite a ticket price above the means of many daily commuters. On a year-to-date basis, just before it suspended operations, the rail service carried a total of 271,778 passengers — an 11% increase year-on-year — and recognized $6.5 million of total revenues.
In its April filing, the company said that the March service suspension was “not expected to have a material net financial impact on our business....We have access to ample operating liquidity to withstand a protracted slowdown in the travel market,” it said at the time.
In its annual financial statement, the company reported year-end cash reserves totaling more than $466 million. The company also reported $184.4 million in capital contributions from one of its parent companies.
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group Ltd. holds a small stake in the company. The rail company’s majority owner is private equity firm Fortress Investment Group; Fortress’s majority owner is tech conglomerate SoftBank Group. The Japan-based SoftBank recently reported first-quarter losses of $18 billion.
Prior to the COVID crisis, Brightline’s ridership was tracking steadily higher. On a year-to-date basis, just before it suspended operations, it carried a total of 271,778 passengers — an 11% increase year-on-year — and recognized $6.5 million of total revenues.
Despite business reopenings across Florida, the global travel industry remains severely crippled. Air travel revenues are expected to plummet by $314 billion, or 55% from 2019 levels, according to the International Air Transport Association.
At the same time, most routes on Amtrak, deemed an essential service, remain in operation, though at reduced schedules.
The company previously announced that all change and cancellation fees would be waived for ticketed travel between March 10 to April 30. Guests would be credited for the fare paid to use on a future booking.
In response to a customer on Twitter, the company’s account tweeted, “Don’t be sad. We’ll be back when the time is right.”
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 6:49 PM.
