A Flexity 2 tram leaving Broadwater Parklands on the Gold Coast Light Rail by David Ansen via Wikimedia Commons

The new Brightline railway in South Florida now links to a station in Central Miami. The line operates eight daily round-trips linking Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

The new Miami Central station is located near the original Florida East Coast (FEC) station, which served the Atlantic Coast Line streamliners from New York, the “Dixie” trains from Chicago, and many other top Florida trains. Brightline trains use the original FEC mainline tracks. The new station provides connections to the Miami heavy rail metro system and the downtown people-mover loops. Within a year or so, the area’s TriRail commuter system will also run some trains to the new station. Brightline’s next expansion will continue up the old FEC right of way to someplace near Cocoa, heading west to Orlando.

Brightline is a unique private railway development sponsored by the corporate descendants of the FEC, and it’s built with the expectation of support from real estate development adjacent to the line’s stations. For now, Brightline apparently has no plans for intermediate stops at the many communities between Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, which are now served by TriRail using the old Seaboard right of way. See more about Brightline

— Ed Perkins, editor

For more travel tips from Ed Perkins, see our companion site Ed on Travel