WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The future of Brightline may be looking even brighter.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the high-speed rail station in West Palm Beach on Tuesday to give an update on the state of transportation nationwide and to take a look at the station's infrastructure.
From there, he hopped on a train to see the station in Fort Lauderdale.
"Part of what I'm looking forward to seeing here with Brightline is how the public/private partnership has helped this private operation get passengers to where they need to be," Buttigieg said.
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Buttigieg visited the station after speaking at the Forum of the Palm Beaches at the Kravis Center, sharing President Joe Biden's vision to expand passenger rail service across the country.
"He is a big believer in passenger rail," Buttigieg said. "A diversity of models serves us very well, and Brightline presents a very interesting example of that."
However, it's no secret there are concerns about driver and pedestrian safety.
An Associated Press analysis of Department of Transportation data shows Brightline is the deadliest train across the country, killing now 100 people since the analysis began in 2019.
"You talked about safety being one of your top priorities, and while Brightline is convenient, it is now the deadliest train in the country. How is your administration addressing that as you look for future expansions?" WPTV reporter Kate Hussey asked the secretary.
"We're putting our money where our mouth is with federal dollars going to physical infrastructure improvements that are going to help with safety," Buttigieg said. "A lot of the issue has to do with incursions on the track from pedestrians or vehicles, so anything we can do to head that off is a natural place to begin.”
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So far, the federal government has issued five grants to Brightine for safety improvements, including $15 million to help expand to Tampa as the company looks to connect cities across the country.
"Is private transportation the new frontier?" Hussey asked.
"I think it's a "both and," Buttigieg said.
"As South Florida has grown so tremendously in terms of development and people migrating down, is Brightline a solution for the congestion commuters are facing now?" Hussey asked.
"We're funding roads and bridges, but some problems, you can't just pave your way out of, and that means great trains and great transit," Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg also said Biden's trillion-dollar infrastructure package includes funding for public transit like Tri-Rail and Amtrak, but said the private sector can often accomplish what the federal government, bound by budgets and red tape, often can't as efficiently.
Below is a list of the grants the U.S. Department of Transportation provided to Brightline through the years:
· 2021 CRISI Award (Brightline): $15.8 million for Tampa to Orlando High-Speed Intercity Rail Passenger Project to advance preliminary engineering activities to support Phase III of the Brightline system, a 67-mile extension from Orlando to Tampa mostly within the right-of-way of I4 in in Central Florida. This passenger rail line will reduce the number of cars on I4.
Brightline's service is currently limited to Orlando and several cities in Southeast Florida. This grant will expand the operations by adding service to Tampa.
· 2022 CRISI Award (Brightline): $1.64 million for Brightline Trains Florida—Trespassing Identification and Classification Systems Project. This project involves research and safety program activities to develop software that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to collect reliable and precise data about trespassing locations and trespasser behavior.
This grant will help mitigate the number of trespassing incidents.
· 2017 CRISI Award (Brightline): In March of this year, Brightline finished a project sponsored by a 2017 CRISI award. They received $2.3 million from FY17 CRISI to enhance safety at 48 crossings in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties
Other Grant Awards that will impact Brightline:
· 2022 Rail Crossing Elimination Award: $15.4 million for the final design and construction of Broward County Sealed Corridor Project. This project will enhance the safety of the line by adding exit gates and medians at 21 crossings along Florida East Coast Railway's rail line, a freight rail corridor shared with Brightline's intercity passenger rail service
· 2022 Rail Crossing Elimination Award: $280,000 for City of Fort Lauderdale Railroad Safety and Congestion Analysis to study 15 crossings within the City of Fort Lauderdale along the existing Florida East Coast Railway corridor. Florida East Coast Railroad and Brightline trains operate over these crossings, causing delays at numerous crossings. The study will focus on data related to traffic, delays, and interactions at the crossings
Buttigieg heads to Miami on Wednesday where he will meet Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and hold a news conference at PortMiami.
While at the port, the secretary is scheduled to discuss improvements to port infrastructure and upgrading supply chains in an effort to lower shipping costs.
