The first Brightline Trainset at Workshop b in West Palm Beach, Fla. Photo: courtesy of Brightline.
Brightline, the future passenger rail service that will connect Fort Lauderdale to Miami and West Palm Beach, has revealed its first trainset, BrightBlue, which is comprised of two locomotives and four coaches. The trainset is housed at its new railroad operations facility, Workshop b, in West Palm Beach, Fla., and was manufactured by Siemens in their Sacramento, Calif., facility.
“We are excited to welcome our first Brightline trainset to Florida and provide a preview of the entire train,” said Mike Reininger, president of Brightline. “Our trains are among the most innovative in the United States and the world, with every detail having been designed and built from the guest’s perspective, making it easy, convenient and comfortable to ride.”
“We are looking forward to the launch our new express, inter-city service this summer,” added Reininger. “South Florida is very close to experiencing the future of train travel, a new travel alternative as an option to private cars on crowded roads.”
The Brightline train is fully accessible and exceeds ADA compliance standards. The trains have level boarding and automated retractable platforms. Interior aisles are 32 inches wide, and a restroom that is ADA accessible is available. On each trainset, there is one Select and three Smart coaches. In the Select coach there are 49 seats that are 21 inches wide. In the Smart coach there are 58 to 66 seats that are 19 inches wide.
The trains also feature large windows, high ceilings and open luggage racks. There are luggage towers in each coach for larger carry-on bags and overhead luggage racks and under-seat storage for smaller items.
Workshop b is Brightline’s new 12-acre railroad operations facility in West Palm Beach that serves to repair, maintain and store Brightline’s trains. There are four tracks in the facility, two of which are covered by an 800-foot long canopy. A 15,000 square foot building features offices for train personnel, a multipurpose training room and crew facilities. Additional warehouse facilities will house spare parts and supplies, along with a fueling station that is being constructed.
Four additional trainsets are being built at Siemens rail manufacturing hub in Sacramento. Siemens will also be providing the full service and maintenance for the Brightline trainsets.
The first trainset is expected to begin testing on a 10-mile test track south of Workshop b next week. Brightline is scheduled to begin express inter-city service this summer.