“Having our first Brightline trainset completed and on its way to Florida is a major accomplishment and brings us one step closer to the introduction of our innovative new train service,” remarked Michael Reininger, president of Brightline. “Once in Florida, our operations team will begin the required testing as we ready to launch Brightline between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach next summer.”
The first trainset is approximately 489 feet long and is painted in Brightline Blue. Siemens is currently building four additional trainsets for Brightline’s first phase in four other bright hues: pink, red, orange and green. Delivery is expected by the end of March.
Each trainset is comprised of two diesel-electric locomotives, which will meet the federal government’s highest emissions standards, and four stainless steel coaches. The bright yellow locomotive on each end makes for high reliability and redundancy.
Michael Cahill, president of Siemens Rolling Stock, said, “Building the first full trainset for Brightline is an extremely exciting milestone both for future riders in Florida and also for the many professionals who worked hard at our Sacramento manufacturing hub. Building these trainsets utilized the latest in modern manufacturing techniques, a vast supply chain and leveraged the best in Siemens engineering and manufacturing know-how.”
“We are all extremely proud to see the first one come to life and make it one step closer to ushering in a new era of modern transportation in Florida,” added Cahill.
The trains are 100 percent Buy America compliant and Siemens has developed a base of U.S. rail suppliers to support the manufacturing of the Brightline trains. The company will also be providing maintenance for the trains once they start service in Florida. Brightline is scheduled to begin express inter-city service in mid-2017.