MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Brightline high-speed train testing resumed Friday on the Treasure Coast.
Full-speed 110-mph trains will go back and forth along an 11-mile stretch of track between Jensen Beach and Port St. Lucie through Sunday.
"When we hit top speed at 110 mph it was the fastest a train has ever gone in the state of Florida," said Katie Mitzner with Brightline.
The tests will happen from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
Flaggers and law enforcement officers will be at railroad crossings to help keep drivers and pedestrians safe.
Brightline said it's conducting the high-speed testing as it prepares to expand service from South Florida to Orlando next year.
"It's significantly faster than what people are used to seeing, so we are beginning this testing to do all the things we need to do internally and the train and the corridor to be ready to run at these speeds eventually carrying people," Mitzner said.
Brightline has made safety improvements at all 156 railroad crossings along the corridor.
"At all these crossings we have made improvements to the roadway profiles, put in a second track, new markings on the road, new gates, signals, new technology," she said.
One downside to the testing is that drives have to wait to cross the tracks. However, most people said they're excited to ride the train at those speeds.
"I think this is the future. I think that would be pretty cool," Anthony Oliver said.
On Saturday, Brightline will be testing their train up to 79 mph.
