JENSEN BEACH, Fla. — Drivers on the Treasure Coast will soon be seeing fast-moving Brightline trains at crossings.
The private rail line is set to start testing the high-speed trains this month at speeds faster than they currently travel in Palm Beach County.
The testing will occur in Martin and St. Lucie counties starting the week of Oct. 17 at speeds of 110 mph. Currently, the trains travel at about 80 mph in South Florida.
One of the crossings they will travel through is Jensen Beach Boulevard, which has a roundabout at the crossing.
Inside the nearby Jensen Beach Barber Shop, customers and employees have a front-row seat to what happens on the nearby railroad tracks.
"I've seen them go around the gates," barber shop owner John Gentile said. "I'll be sitting out front, and I see them go right around that gate."
Gentile thinks drivers here will need time to get used to driving with Brightline trains traveling in the area.
The trains will travel at speeds of 60-80 mph in densely populated areas, but 110 mph in more rural areas.
All of this is coming as Brightline gets ready to expand service to Orlando next year.
"Brightline will be moving a lot faster than the trains they're used to," St. Lucie County spokesman Erick Gill said.
Brightline officials said there will be guards and law enforcement in the areas where the testing is occurring to warn drivers.
The Brightline trains are expected to go even faster once they pass Cocoa Beach, possibly reaching 125 mph.
Despite these high speeds, there are faster trains in the U.S. The Amtrak Acela, which provides service between Washington, D.C. and Boston, reaches speeds of 150 mph.
The Brightline testing will occur at the following crossings:
St. Lucie County
- Savannah Road/Waterplant Road
- Midway Road (County Road 712)
- Walton Road
- Riverview Drive
Martin County
- County Line Road
- Skyline Drive (County Road 722)
- Pitchford Landing
- Jensen Beach Boulevard (State Road 707A)
- Palmetto Avenue
