Brightline Is Making Trains Luxurious Again

What we can learn from Florida's fancy private sort of high-speed train.

Late last year I decided to fly down to Florida to try out the (relatively) new Brightline passenger train between Miami and Orlando. It caught my attention for a couple of reasons. First, it’s the first privately funded passenger train North America has seen in quite some time. Second, it’s branded as high speed rail. As a market urbanist, I naturally had to check it out.

I went to South Florida expecting to come back talking about speed. Instead, I want to talk about comfort.

I didn’t do much research on Brightline before booking my trip. Had I done so, I might have changed my mind about visiting. The train wasn’t all that it seemed.

I was sitting on a train to Ottawa in early December, about a week before my trip to Florida. I decided to compare the travel time to my current trip. According to Google Maps, the distance between Toronto and Ottawa is similar to Miami to Orlando (402km vs 380km). The posted travel time for my Toronto to Ottawa trip was 4:28, compared to 3:25 for my upcoming Florida trip. In other words, an hour and three minutes longer for an extra 22 kilometers. Certainly faster, but the difference was less than I expected. For context, Via Rail’s high frequency rail plan (often panned as too slow) aims to get people between Toronto and Ottawa in under three hours. In other words, Florida’s high-speed train isn’t that fast.

This was a deflating revelation. Florida was never at the top of my travel agenda. I hadn’t been since I was a kid. But I’m glad I went. Because despite the relatively modest speed of the train, it was by far the best travel experience I have ever had.

After a fun few days in Miami with a friend Planes, Trains, and Automobiles experience that nearly ended with me missing the train while stranded on the Miami monorail in a torrential rain storm, I just wanted to get home. I arrived a few minutes before the posted departure and, what do you know - half hour delay. Not a great start.

Then I arrived at security. That was unexpected. I’m used to just being able to walk into a train station, but it’s Florida, so I guess you never know who’s armed. But there was no line, so it was only a minor annoyance.

Things started looking up once I passed through the airport like security. The station is nice and bright, and has reasonable amenities, including a bar/cafe and a shop with some grab and go snacks.

All that was fine and good, but I had lounge access (after polling my Twitter followers, I splurged on a $139 business class ticket). They had a decent spread of charcuterie and some non-alcoholic beverages. Nothing special, but comfortable. Also felt a bit futuristic, at least compared to North American comparators. Just scan the QR code, into the business lounge you go.

When the train arrived, boarding was a breeze. I wish I'd taken a picture (I had my hands full), but the process was refreshingly simple. They rope off the escalators until the train arrives, pull it back, and everyone just walks onto the train. No elaborate boarding process. They just scan your ticket onboard. That's a much nicer experience than my home station in Toronto, where people need to queue up (unless you’re in business class).

There’s something civilized about just walking onto a train. Airports are always a bit of a process. Arrive early. Wait in the security line. Kill time sitting in an overcrowded bar, or maybe a bench by the gate if you’re lucky enough to get one. It’s nice just walking into a downtown station and wandering casually on to the train. It’s relaxing, even.

The revelation came when I sat down. The seats. My God, the seats! Twenty-one inch wide hand stitched leather seats, and an unbelievable amount of leg room. I didn’t even bother putting my bag in the overhead compartment since I had room for it in front of my legs. Pure luxury.

Apologies for the low-quality video (and the shot of my bare legs), but here’s a quick look at the interior from my seat. Look at all that room!

Then comes the service. Pretty good food, if a bit plain (I initially forgot to take a picture, so here’s what it look like part way through). And a couple of exceptional Florida beers on offer. What more could I ask for?

Things chugged along at a pretty good pace. I wasn’t able to verify whether we hit the top speed of 200km/h, but it sure felt like it at times flying up the coast. Of course, the high(er) speeds are limited to segments with dedicated track. So there were definitely times when it felt like a typical North American passenger train, speed wise. We also ended up being a half hour late, owing to our delayed departure.

Honestly, I didn’t even care about the delay. I had an incredibly comfortable seat, a nice view of the coast, two excellent Florida IPAs. It wasn’t much different than hanging out at a nice lounge. Needless to say, I was satisfied (though tired, as you can see).

The station in Orlando is even nicer than the Miami side. High ceilings, a nice cocktail bar. I tried to get into the business lounge, though apparently passes only work at the originating station. You’ll have to take my word that it’s nice.

The weird thing about the station is that it’s actually attached to the airport. I suppose this would be quite handy if you were flying into Orlando and taking the train on to Miami. I’m assuming that’s a minority of trips, but I suppose a nice option.

The downside to the airport location is it’s a beast of a trip downtown. Apparently there’s a rail station a 15 minute drive away, but if you need to get an Uber anyways, might as well just go right downtown.

Ordinarily when we compare rail to air travel, we focus on travel time. On that metric, Brightline does ok. Three hours and twenty-five minutes isn’t bad, considering it’s an hour and ten minute plus flight. Build in an hour of cushion at the airport and it’s 3:25 vs 2:10. The plane still wins, and you can get an economy seat in a low-cost carrier for about the same as Brightline business class. But if I could spare the extra hour and fifteen minutes, there’s no question I’d choose Brightline.

Brightline isn’t only more comfortable than flying, but the time is more useful. There’s plenty of room for your laptop, no need to worry about sketchy airplane WiFi, and you can take a call if you need. It’s like your own roving office, but with drink service. It’s a WiFi hobo’s dream come true!

Until and unless we get more dedicated track in North America, trains won’t be able to compete on speed. Brightline’s new project between LA and Las Vegas will be the first legitimate high speed rail line in North America, which may inspire further investments. For now, we should focus on what rail can do better than air travel: comfort.