More Floridians will have access to passenger rail this Christmas with private rail operator Brightline set to open two new stations on December 21. The stations are on Brightline’s existing South Florida rail line at Aventura, which is located between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and Boca Raton.
Aventura and Boca Raton are the first new stations for Brightline since it opened its initial segment between Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach in 2018.
The opening comes as Brightline hurries to finish work on its long-awaited extension to Orlando. The railroad had completed roughly 87 percent of work on the roughly 170-mile extension from West Palm Beach to the Orlando Airport at the end of October. Construction is due to wrap up early in the new year, after which Brightline must test and run simulated passenger service on the line before it can open to passengers.
The railroad had hoped to finish work on the Orlando line by Christmas but, in August, acknowledged that construction would drag into 2023.
The new Aventura and Boca Raton stations are expected to have a “significant accretive impact” on Brightline’s operations; in other words, they will boost both ridership and revenues. In October, the latest month available, the railroad carried 23 percent more passengers than in 2019 and brought in 72 percent more revenues. Brightline carried 102,615 passengers and generated $3 million in revenues that month.
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