Death toll on Florida’s Brightline increases, still none the railroad’s fault

By Patrickhamiltonbrightline - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67588717

The privately owned Brightline railroad in Florida claimed two more deadly victims this week, pushing the death toll to 57 over a 5-year-period. A further two non-fatal crashes were recorded in the past four days. Yet none of the incidents are the railroad company’s fault, investigators have found.

It has been a particularly regrettable week for the Brightline thus far, which now has the worst per-mile fatality rate of all comparable railroads in the United States, analysis of Federal Railroad Administration data by The Associated Press (AP) has uncovered.

A pedestrian killed on Tuesday evening while attempting to cross marks the ninth victim since the Brightline service resumed in November after an 18-month corona shutdown. The railroad now averages around one death for every 56,000 kilometres travelled. AP has found that similar railroads elsewhere in the country perform at least three times better.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Brightline train collided with a car that had been abandoned on the tracks. The Sunday before, a train slammed into a vehicle that had ignored the safety arms and warning lights, killing the driver. The driver that narrowly escaped death on Wednesday evening had also ignored the safety arms at a crossing, the Miami Herald reported.

Cameras, sensors and drones deployed in effort to reduce incidents

Drivers manoeuvring around safety arms and other crossing barriers are one of the main causes of death on the Brightline, as is drinking. Regrettably, most of the fatalities have been suicides. As a result, Brightline has installed additional fencing and infrared detectors to warn train drivers for people near the tracks. Meanwhile, red-light cameras have been installed near crossings to fine drivers who go around the arms or barriers. Track monitoring using drones is being experimented with.

The 112-kilometre Brightline runs through the densely populated area between Miami and West Palm Beach, with an extension to Orlando near completion. The Brightline company is also considering a line between Orlando and Tampa on Florida’s west coast.

Central Florida’s SunRail, which serves the Orlando metropolitan area, has the second-highest death rate behind the Brightline, averaging one fatality for every 174,000 train kilometres travelled.

Further reading:

Author: Nick Augusteijn

Former Chief Editor of RailTech.com

1 comment op “Death toll on Florida’s Brightline increases, still none the railroad’s fault”

Ido Amin Dado|28.09.23|23:51

South Florida has the highest number of idiots trying to beat the train at a RR crossing.

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Death toll on Florida’s Brightline increases, still none the railroad’s fault | RailTech.com

Death toll on Florida’s Brightline increases, still none the railroad’s fault

By Patrickhamiltonbrightline - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67588717

The privately owned Brightline railroad in Florida claimed two more deadly victims this week, pushing the death toll to 57 over a 5-year-period. A further two non-fatal crashes were recorded in the past four days. Yet none of the incidents are the railroad company’s fault, investigators have found.

It has been a particularly regrettable week for the Brightline thus far, which now has the worst per-mile fatality rate of all comparable railroads in the United States, analysis of Federal Railroad Administration data by The Associated Press (AP) has uncovered.

A pedestrian killed on Tuesday evening while attempting to cross marks the ninth victim since the Brightline service resumed in November after an 18-month corona shutdown. The railroad now averages around one death for every 56,000 kilometres travelled. AP has found that similar railroads elsewhere in the country perform at least three times better.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Brightline train collided with a car that had been abandoned on the tracks. The Sunday before, a train slammed into a vehicle that had ignored the safety arms and warning lights, killing the driver. The driver that narrowly escaped death on Wednesday evening had also ignored the safety arms at a crossing, the Miami Herald reported.

Cameras, sensors and drones deployed in effort to reduce incidents

Drivers manoeuvring around safety arms and other crossing barriers are one of the main causes of death on the Brightline, as is drinking. Regrettably, most of the fatalities have been suicides. As a result, Brightline has installed additional fencing and infrared detectors to warn train drivers for people near the tracks. Meanwhile, red-light cameras have been installed near crossings to fine drivers who go around the arms or barriers. Track monitoring using drones is being experimented with.

The 112-kilometre Brightline runs through the densely populated area between Miami and West Palm Beach, with an extension to Orlando near completion. The Brightline company is also considering a line between Orlando and Tampa on Florida’s west coast.

Central Florida’s SunRail, which serves the Orlando metropolitan area, has the second-highest death rate behind the Brightline, averaging one fatality for every 174,000 train kilometres travelled.

Further reading:

Author: Nick Augusteijn

Former Chief Editor of RailTech.com

1 comment op “Death toll on Florida’s Brightline increases, still none the railroad’s fault”

Ido Amin Dado|28.09.23|23:51

South Florida has the highest number of idiots trying to beat the train at a RR crossing.

Add your comment

characters remaining.

Log in through one of the following social media partners to comment.