Brightline reported close to bankruptcy

[Taunton]

Brightline, America's deadliest railroad, has fallen into more hot water as the company faces bankruptcy with little respite in sight after the deaths of nearly 200 people.

"A financial audit by Ernst & Young on Brightline, a highspeed railroad that launched in 2018, saw that the company reported a net loss of over $230 million in 2025, raising red flags for the railroad's future.

The year before, the company reported a roughly half-billion-dollar loss.

According to the firm, the company's mounting $5.5 billion debt has left Brightline in need of drastic action to avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

There is 'substantial doubt' from the auditors that the railroad, which connects Orlando international Airport to South Florida, will be able to find the funds to bounce back.

Florida passenger rail operator Brightline has been continuing to report substantial annual losses, and now appears close to being out of cash ..."

link here:

MSN

The report also describes how fatalities on its quite limited operations are now nearly 200. I wonder what the ORR would make of this in the UK. It's maybe a bit surprising they have lasted this long. "Chapter 11" in the USA is somewhat like "In Administration" in the UK, not quite shut down and giving some space to reorganise finances, but often it's the end shortly afterwards if further investors cannot be found.

 

[Backroom_boy]

Not 100% suprised, as revenue didn't seem like it could be enough to break even with all their costs (also BL didn't have enough rolling stock until recently to generate the passengers needed)

But I thought there must be something I wasn't aware of that made it financially sound

 

[Bletchleyite]

They are quite a high cost operation - the completely unnecessary airport style security is one example.

 

[zwk500]

I bet this doesn't get brought up by any of the outlets that were trumping them as the success of privatised passenger rail...

 

[ainsworth74]

I wonder how much of their issues are due to the debt load of having to pay for a lot of their own infrastructure? I wouldn't be surprised to discover that the underlying passenger business covers its costs (or even turns a profit) but meeting the cost of the debt they had to take on to build out the physical infrastructure is choking them to death. Which might actually mean there's a business that could be salvaged depending on how any Bankruptcy proceedings go. They might file for Chapter 11 allowing them to restructure their debts and continue operating rather than Chapter 7 where they'd go into liquidation.

 

[riceuten]

The huge number (relatively) of fatalities are due to cars and pedestrians driving or walking around level crossings !

 

[Taunton]

They are quite a high cost operation - the completely unnecessary airport style security is one example.

Unfortunately a USA feature, which has spread to tourist attractions as well, and even starting to impact hotel and office entrances, although I accept that the US ubiquitous gun possession is a factor. I've seen quite reasonable looking family groups being stopped going into museums etc while the one with a gun has to go back and lock it in the car, with a sense of disappointment.

 

[williamn]

Unfortunately a USA feature, which has spread to tourist attractions as well, and even starting to impact hotel and office entrances, although I accept that the US ubiquitous gun possession is a factor. I've seen quite reasonable looking family groups being stopped going into museums etc while the one with a gun has to go back and lock it in the car, with a sense of disappointment.

And of course already prevalent on Amtrak, where there are usually 3-5 staff hanging around taking up space in the cafe car even for relatively short journeys, and seemingly doing very little.

 

[Backroom_boy]

The debt is several billion$, but it's all tied up in assets that can only be used for running a train service, so much like Eurostar, the service might carry on after financial restructuring.

 

[eldomtom2]

I wonder how much of their issues are due to the debt load of having to pay for a lot of their own infrastructure? I wouldn't be surprised to discover that the underlying passenger business covers its costs (or even turns a profit) but meeting the cost of the debt they had to take on to build out the physical infrastructure is choking them to death. Which might actually mean there's a business that could be salvaged depending on how any Bankruptcy proceedings go. They might file for Chapter 11 allowing them to restructure their debts and continue operating rather than Chapter 7 where they'd go into liquidation.

From what I've heard Chapter 11 is more likely. Apparently they're just barely managing to break even operationally at the moment after years of making an operational loss.

 

[iamraymond]

The debt is several billion$, but it's all tied up in assets that can only be used for running a train service, so much like Eurostar, the service might carry on after financial restructuring.

Yeah I imagine it could be a case of refinancing, or more likely a new operator is found. As you say, the fixed assets of the business are hardly repurposable and creditors won't want to take that sort of hit.

 

[Backroom_boy]

Yeah I imagine it could be a case of refinancing, or more likely a new operator is found. As you say, the fixed assets of the business are hardly repurposable and creditors won't want to take that sort of hit.

I wouldn't be suprised if Fortress has really limited their liabilities, so the creditors end up having to run the service and Fortress get to keep all the 'transit orientated development' surrounding the line.

 

[Taunton]

The key issue is whether, aside from any investment, their current revenue (fares) is exceeding their current operating expenses (pay, fuel, etc). The article doesn't specifically describe this, but the auditors must have identified it. I get the impression from the comments made that even this is not the case. That revenue in the most recent, normal, year is only half what they said it would be shows their financial forecasts were nonsense, as shown by Standard & Poor's, a respected financial organisation, says here "concerns around the quality of information provided", which is a coded phrase for fiction.

 

[The Pelican]

It's an interesting railway in the sense that the northern extension to Orlando Airport is new construction and grade seperated, and the southern part is the old Flordia East Coast railway, with plenty of level crossings. I wonder if getting rid of the worst 10 percent of level crossings might make it safer?

 

[iamraymond]

The key issue is whether, aside from any investment, their current revenue (fares) is exceeding their current operating expenses (pay, fuel, etc). The article doesn't specifically describe this, but the auditors must have identified it. I get the impression from the comments made that even this is not the case. That revenue in the most recent, normal, year is only half what they said it would be shows their financial forecasts were nonsense, as shown by Standard & Poor's, a respected financial organisation, says here "concerns around the quality of information provided", which is a coded phrase for fiction.

The issue is the cost of servicing their debt, and the upcoming payments due on it. Ernst & Young flagged this in the going concern section of their audit report.

 

[MoominAndChips]

The huge number (relatively) of fatalities are due to cars and pedestrians driving or walking around level crossings !

Brightline has done more for Florida's average intelligence than Florida's education system ever did

 

[Oxfordblues]

There are three separate rail passenger services between Miami and Fort Lauderdale: TriRail and Amtrak which share the CSX line and Brightline which uses the Florida East Coast route. But of course there's no coordination of timetables, fares or promotion, so it's no big surprise that one of them seems to be in trouble.

 

[LYuen]

They are quite a high cost operation - the completely unnecessary airport style security is one example.

This is quite common in a developing country under authoritarian government where the government consider their citizen a risk. Like China with their metro and railway.
oh wait.

 

[Taunton]

There are three separate rail passenger services between Miami and Fort Lauderdale: TriRail and Amtrak which share the CSX line and Brightline which uses the Florida East Coast route. But of course there's no coordination of timetables, fares or promotion, so it's no big surprise that one of them seems to be in trouble.

It's something I've never seen addressed, why TriRail, operating for longer, in parallel from Miami northwards about a mile inland from Brightline through equivalent neighbourhoods, has experienced only a fraction of the fatalities.

It is a shame that the one US experiment of a private venture modern rail transit system set up just so close and parallel to an existing operation. Reminds one of the New York Subway of the 1930s, when the Independent system (actually it's the city-funded one) set out to parallel the private BMT and IRT systems, which to this day, now all are together, leads to both duplication and to large unserved areas.

 

[AlterEgo]

There are three separate rail passenger services between Miami and Fort Lauderdale: TriRail and Amtrak which share the CSX line and Brightline which uses the Florida East Coast route. But of course there's no coordination of timetables, fares or promotion, so it's no big surprise that one of them seems to be in trouble.

You make it sound like the issue is that people aren't taking Brightline or that the company is not making revenue. The real situation is that Brightline's operating costs are very high and it's having problems servicing its debt accrued by the Orlando extension because of this. This is against a backdrop of record ridership and revenue.

It's something I've never seen addressed, why TriRail, operating for longer, in parallel from Miami northwards about a mile inland from Brightline through equivalent neighbourhoods, has experienced only a fraction of the fatalities.

Partly because it has only a fraction the number of level crossings, 72 as opposed to 156. And partly because the crossings on Brightline are much more poorly designed with a lot of propensity for traffic to queue across crossings, as they are adjacent to busy road junctions.

 

[Krokodil]

They are quite a high cost operation - the completely unnecessary airport style security is one example.

In a country with more guns than people I can see why it might be more necessary than it is here.

I've seen quite reasonable looking family groups being stopped going into museums etc while the one with a gun has to go back and lock it in the car, with a sense of disappointment.

People get into arguments with Disney security too. And then are made to walk back to their cars - no, you can't use the shuttle you arrived on now that the staff know that you've got a gun.

I wonder if getting rid of the worst 10 percent of level crossings might make it safer?

Alternatively Brightline could take the Japanese approach of billing the families of the motorists for the damage and disruption caused. Some crossings may be poorly designed but I've also seen a lot of people (including the driver of a fire truck who really should know better) blatantly zig-zag around them.

 

[AlterEgo]

In a country with more guns than people I can see why it might be more necessary than it is here.

Amtrak operates perfectly fine without it. With Brightline they have tried to cargo-cult an airline feel to the train, with some success. People don't take the trains in the USA for lots of reasons, but the image problem it has factors pretty high I would say.

 

[Krokodil]

Amtrak operates perfectly fine without it.

I thought that the Acelas had some kind of screening.

People don't take the trains in the USA for lots of reasons, but the image problem it has factors pretty high I would say.

Urban systems have an image issue - with some justification for the perception of lack of safety, there have been some nasty incidents on the NY subway and on the Chicago L. The long distance services are just slow, expensive, unpunctual and often inconveniently-timed (try catching one in Cleveland, two trains per day in each direction, all four calls between 1am and 6am)

 

[AlterEgo]

I thought that the Acelas had some kind of screening.

Nope, it operates on the same system and from the same stations as "regular" Amtrak.

 

[Krokodil]

Nope, it operates on the same system and from the same stations as "regular" Amtrak.

I must have been thinking of Via Rail. Who go for the screening and also like to pen you upstairs until the train has arrived.

 

[Backroom_boy]

I must have been thinking of Via Rail. Who go for the screening and also like to pen you upstairs until the train has arrived.

Amtrak are big on making you queue up and not allowing you on the platform to wait

 

[AlterEgo]

Amtrak are big on making you queue up and not allowing you on the platform to wait

They do like queueing but there is no security check, nor is there on VIA Rail either.

 

[Krokodil]

They do like queueing but there is no security check, nor is there on VIA Rail either.

Oh yes, I misremembered. VIA Rail check your bags for weight, not the nature of the contents. Why on earth they need to weigh them is beyond me...

 

[AlterEgo]

Oh yes, I misremembered. VIA Rail check your bags for weight, not the nature of the contents. Why on earth they need to weigh them is beyond me...

If it is checked baggage they have weight limits for what staff will lift o
in a single piece on and off the checked baggage car, though they are missing a trick as there is no way to pay for excess weight unlike the airlines. Amtrak also have this for checked baggage. It's all a bit weird.

 

[Krokodil]

If it is checked baggage they have weight limits for what staff will lift o
in a single piece on and off the checked baggage car, though they are missing a trick as there is no way to pay for excess weight unlike the airlines. Amtrak also have this for checked baggage. It's all a bit weird.

As a Brit the whole concept of checked baggage on a train does baffle me. I have never not brought my bags into the train with me, and I've travelled everywhere from Wick to Istanbul (not in the same journey).