The first Brightline high-speed train rolled out of Orlando’s airport at dawn on Sept. 22, 2023, and headed for Miami, tugging four coach cars filled with hundreds of exuberant passengers peering out spacious windows.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer called it “historic” and “one of the days we live for” during a celebration filled with confetti and yellow-and-peach banners hanging over the station’s platform near the airport’s Terminal C.

Since then, nearly 3.1 million riders have taken the 235-mile, three-and-a-half-hour trip between Orlando and Miami.

Brightline officials touted those ridership numbers to show the growing popularity of its “long-haul” service between the two large metropolitan areas. In the coming year, Brightline looks to add more coach cars with more seats, as some trips have sold out.

But it’s a mixed bag. Brightline’s older, slower service that began in 2018 between Miami and West Palm Beach faces challenges with stagnant ridership numbers and average fares dropping. Brightline also faces financial drags as investors question whether revenues have fallen short of projections.

“It’s been transformative,” said Patrick Goddard, chief executive officer for Brightline Florida, of the connection between Orlando and Miami. “It’s provided an alternative to driving a car in a state that is becoming increasingly more populated. It has influenced how people have migrated into the state.”

For Carla Rodriguez-Santos, a 23-year-old college student from Miami, a trip to Orlando used to mean driving for nearly five hours from South Florida “and hoping not to be stuck in traffic,” she said.

Now, “I can sit and relax and just work on my laptop,” she said as she walked out of Orlando’s Brightline station Tuesday on her way to catch an Uber ride to her grandparents’ home in south Orlando.

Brightline and Central Florida tourism officials cite passengers like Rodriguez-Santos in promoting the service as a “rail solution” for a distance too long to drive comfortably, but too short to fly.

“You no longer have a four-plus-hour drive,” Goddard said. “No one wants to be in a car that long and the exhaustion associated with that. This gives people [riding the train] a chance to be productive or not be productive; maybe have a cocktail and watch Netflix during your trip.”

Adrian Pacheco of Puerto Rico, for example, waited last week to catch Brightline to Miami, where he would then board a flight to Europe.

“It’s more convenient and cheaper than flying [to Miami],” he said. “And it’s less stressful than driving because I know I will get there on time without worrying about a traffic delay.”

According to its most recent investor reports, from January through July 2025, nearly 1.1 million people hopped on Brightline for the long-haul travel between Orlando and Miami, a nearly 21% increase from the same period last year.

In July’s long-distance ridership, at an average fare of just under $71, hit a monthly record of 164,590 passengers.

South Florida passengers use Brightline to visit Orlando’s theme parks, while Central Floridians head to South Florida for cruises, concerts and sporting events, according to officials.

Since May, Brightline has seen an uptick in passengers credited to the opening of Epic Universe theme park in Orlando. Next year, Brightline looks forward to Central Florida soccer fans boarding Brightline for the FIFA World Cup, which will include several matches in Miami, including the third place-match on July 18.

Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando, said Brightline has also provided lucrative international tourists in Miami with a convenient way to visit Orlando.

“They stay longer, averaging nine nights compared to four for domestic travelers, and spend more per person,” Matej said in an email. “That extended impact benefits our hotels, attractions, restaurants and the entire community.”

Trains run up to 16 round trips daily, zipping along at top speeds of 125 mph between Orlando and Cocoa Beach, then slowing to a maximum of 79 mph for much of the trip to Miami, with stops at West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Aventura.

At first, Brightline started with two locomotives and four coach cars, each having either 50 premium seats or 70 “Smart” coach seats, but it added two more after long-distance ridership increased.

The company recently ordered 30 additional coach cars with help from a federal grant. By the end of the year, it will operate 10-coach trains, nearly doubling passenger capacity from a year ago.

“We understand the frustration that people have had when you try to book a trip for the next and find that train to be sold out,” Goddard said about the additions.

But ridership numbers for the southern spur have remained flat. Reports show a 1% drop — or 7,232 fewer passengers — between January 2025 and July 2025 compared to the same time period in 2024.

Goddard said Brightline has evolved into “two very different audiences.” The “short-haul” passenger likes more frequent train departures, a specific-time schedule and better pricing, while long-haulers “have a little bit more flexibility. We found that we are trying to serve both of these audiences.”

The next step in Brightline’s expansion: Tampa.

Brightline announced plans this year to borrow up to $400 million to fund the first phase of a project linking the Orlando International Airport with Tampa. That project, Goddard said, would depend on the proposed Sunshine Corridor, a SunRail extension from the Orlando Airport to the Orange County Convention Center and the theme park district.

The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission — made up of elected Central Florida leaders, who oversee the SunRail commuter train — recently agreed to a $6 million two-year study that will look into building that Sunshine Corridor extension.

Maria Triscari, president and CEO of the International Drive Resort Area Chamber of Commerce, said such a connection would be “game-changing.”

“Providing various modes of transportation to move around the state is going to be critical,” she said. “And Brightline has created that connectivity. … The key now is to expand that connectivity to the Tampa area.”

But Brightline has its challenges.

A joint investigation in July by the Miami Herald and WLRN reported 182 fatalities on its tracks — or one person every 13 days — since 2017, the highest death rate of any train service in the country. Most of those killed were pedestrians or bicyclists and the deaths occurred in South Florida. There have been no deaths in Orange County.

Company officials said the fatalities were “self-inflicted” either by suicide or “reckless behavior” such as motorists maneuvering around crossing gates.

In addition, credit rating agencies are concerned about whether the company is producing enough cash to pay back the $6 billion in private money it initially borrowed to build or rehabilitate the tracks, build stations and manufacture 10 trains.

S&P Global and Fitch Ratings have ranked Brightline’s bonds with a “negative outlook.”

For 2024, Brightline also had a net loss of nearly $550 million, attributed to refinancing of that debt and expansion costs, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Goddard, however, pointed out that Brightline has had monthly gains in revenues and ridership and expects an increase in ridership and revenues annually.

“Even though the company is growing, we are not growing at the rate we should be growing,” He said. “[But] we are very optimistic about where we’re headed. … We are very, very pleased with the ridership growth, the impact on the tourism economy and the impact on transportation. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

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