Brightline reported close to bankruptcy

[Iskra]

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).

We had baggage vans for years, and DVT’s are still used for this on an ad-hoc basis, so it’s not all that alien.

 

[RT4038]

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).

I should imagine it is because, in the heyday of rail travel, a large proportion of passengers were making long distance journeys with large quantities of luggage, inconvenient for stowing in sleeping cars or crowded 'open' coaches. This has then become the norm in North America. If you've done any journeys in double deck sleeping cars of Amtrak you will know how little space there is in them for luggage not needed on the journey.

 

[Taunton]

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).

When travelling for several days transcontinental it's different. Not only are you typically taking more (remember these are countries of much immigration, with huge impedimenta), but in the very restricted space of sleeper accommodations you likely want one small bag with you for the journey, and all the rest out of the way. There has always been at least one full baggage car in long distance trains, with a Baggageman, and in times when there was mail, and also "Express", which were packages by train, there were commonly a couple under their control.

 

[Krokodil]

We had baggage vans for years, and DVT’s are still used for this on an ad-hoc basis, so it’s not all that alien.

As a guard I've moved excess luggage into my DVT. It being routine for all passengers however is something that feels like something out of the days when people started their summer holidays on a King-hauled Cornish Riviera Express.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 May 2026 ==

When travelling for several days transcontinental it's different.

Last time I checked, Istanbul was a transcontinental journey away.

 

[StephenHunter]

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).

It was far more common in the past, especially for international journeys. Victoria even had a dedicated customs shed for it.

 

[Krokodil]

It was far more common in the past, especially for international journeys. Victoria even had a dedicated customs shed for it.

Well, yes. But the year is 2026 now.

 

[Backroom_boy]

Brightline Florida's restructuring track could split along creditor lines

Even as Brightline Florida chugs towards bankruptcy court to restructure its USD 5.5bn debt pile, its complex structure and divergentREAD MORE

ionanalytics.com

Even as Brightline Florida chugs towards bankruptcy court to restructure its USD 5.5bn debt pile, its complex structure and divergent creditor interests could lead some entities to out-of-court deals.

By 1 July, the Fortress Investment Group-backed operator of a passenger railroad that connects Orlando and Miami, Florida, must make interest or redemption payments payments on USD 2.219bn Series 2024 tax-exempt project owner bonds, USD 1.119bn taxable corporate notes and USD 985m Series 2025B commuter rail project tax-exempt bonds.

Earlier this month, the company said it may be compelled to pursue additional restructuring initiatives, “including possible out-of-court restructurings or in-court relief,” if unable to obtain additional financing or extend certain debt....

Analysis of the Brightline situation; didn't really follow it all if im honest but I think it says Brightline investors are heading for a massive loss but are likely to not try and collapse the company and to keep the service running in order to get some return

 

[Herriot2021]

Brightline Florida's restructuring track could split along creditor lines

Even as Brightline Florida chugs towards bankruptcy court to restructure its USD 5.5bn debt pile, its complex structure and divergentREAD MORE

ionanalytics.com

Analysis of the Brightline situation; didn't really follow it all if im honest but I think it says Brightline investors are heading for a massive loss but are likely to not try and collapse the company and to keep the service running in order to get some return

This would appear to be the best outcome for the staff and passengers, even if the investors take a bit of a haircut.

 

[iamraymond]

Brightline Florida's restructuring track could split along creditor lines

Even as Brightline Florida chugs towards bankruptcy court to restructure its USD 5.5bn debt pile, its complex structure and divergentREAD MORE

ionanalytics.com

Analysis of the Brightline situation; didn't really follow it all if im honest but I think it says Brightline investors are heading for a massive loss but are likely to not try and collapse the company and to keep the service running in order to get some return

It does say that in there somewhere, once you can wade through the mounds of dog ****. It's a good attempt for a 12 year old on work experience though

 

[AlterEgo]

It does say that in there somewhere, once you can wade through the mounds of dog ****. It's a good attempt for a 12 year old on work experience though

It's a capital markets newsletter, it isn't pitched at you.

 

[quantinghome]

US: Brightline Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Brightline has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as the Florida passenger rail operator seeks to restructure its debt.

railway-news.com

Brightline has now filed for bankruptcy. The restructuring kind. So still operating, but it does throw into question whether passenger services can run on a commercial basis.

Brightline has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as the privately owned Florida passenger rail operator seeks to restructure billions of dollars of debt.

The Chapter 11 petitions were filed on 24 September in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey by Brightline Holdings LLC and a number of affiliated companies.

 

[Oxfordblues]

I rode the Brightline once and it was a European-style experience, except for the awkwardness of buying a ticket. The machine wanted to know my date-of-birth (as if that were relevant) and my Zone Improvement Plan (zip-) code, So I put in OX2 0EU and it rejected it as invalid. I tried various random, but quite bogus, 5-character codes til it finally accepted one. Every American has a zip-code of course, but there was no provision for foreigners!

 

[Tester]

I rode the Brightline once and it was a European-style experience, except for the awkwardness of buying a ticket. The machine wanted to know my date-of-birth (as if that were relevant) and my Zone Improvement Plan (zip-) code, So I put in OX2 0EU and it rejected it as invalid. I tried various random, but quite bogus, 5-character codes til it finally accepted one. Every American has a zip-code of course, but there was no provision for foreigners!

A bugbear of mine - mandatory postcode fields.

As I discovered when I lived in Hong Kong, which has no postcodes.

 

[Backroom_boy]

US: Brightline Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Brightline has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as the Florida passenger rail operator seeks to restructure its debt.

railway-news.com

Brightline has now filed for bankruptcy. The restructuring kind. So still operating, but it does throw into question whether passenger services can run on a commercial basis.

Hopefully few of the Brightline critical assets have any 'dual use' that might tempt someone to sell them off.

 

[AdamWW]

I rode the Brightline once and it was a European-style experience, except for the awkwardness of buying a ticket. The machine wanted to know my date-of-birth (as if that were relevant) and my Zone Improvement Plan (zip-) code, So I put in OX2 0EU and it rejected it as invalid. I tried various random, but quite bogus, 5-character codes til it finally accepted one. Every American has a zip-code of course, but there was no provision for foreigners!

When Beverly Hills 90210 was on the in UK it was easier for people to come up with a valid ZIP code.

At least that's all you had to do - I couldn't buy a ticket on Virginia Railway Express because the only method of payment was a bank card and they didn't accept UK cards.

 

[Sorcerer]

So still operating, but it does throw into question whether passenger services can run on a commercial basis.

For a private enterprise in today's world, it would be very difficult because investors need returns, but railways are operationally expensive and don't bring them quickly, which is why many railways around the world are either state-run/subsidised or sometimes opt for a Rail Plus Property model like Hong Kong MTR. As I understand it, Brightline were operating on a similar model but it seems in this instance they haven't been able to make it work.

 

[Backroom_boy]

For a private enterprise in today's world, it would be very difficult because investors need returns, but railways are operationally expensive and don't bring them quickly, which is why many railways around the world are either state-run/subsidised or sometimes opt for a Rail Plus Property model like Hong Kong MTR. As I understand it, Brightline were operating on a similar model but it seems in this instance they haven't been able to make it work.

I dont know what Fortress have been playing at with their Brightline invesment; as majority owners of Florida East Coast Railway it made sense to leverage that and their property portfolio with overlaying a higher speed rail service on top. But they then sold FECR to a Mexican freight company putting Brightline in a more precarious position with their new landlord. They set up what is still a strong brand with wide name recognition and then two years in dallied with Virgin branding (while seemingly believing Virgin was investing financially in their business) then lost hands down when they wanted to pull out of the deal. They keep saying that passenger figures would grow over time but then completely closed shop for a year-ish (or two?) through Covid, meaning they had to start growing again feom zero. (Though maybe it would have been hard to have done all the track re-laying while still running a service) They projected wildly high passenger figures seemingly without having the actual number of coaches that could carry them. But above all they have borrowed so much, with seemingly no way of paying it back within the timescale. They are either playing some really high level 4D chess or they dysfunctional self-sabotagists.

But I wish them luck; if they have structured it so the Brightline assets can only be used to run a railway and they can offload a lot of the debt then it should keep going in the short to medium term. I dont hold much promise though, they are putting much away in the renewals fund for when the assets all need renewing in 15/25 years.

 

[Sorcerer]

I dont know what Fortress have been playing at with their Brightline invesment; as majority owners of Florida East Coast Railway it made sense to leverage that and their property portfolio with overlaying a higher speed rail service on top. But they then sold FECR to a Mexican freight company putting Brightline in a more precarious position with their new landlord. They set up what is still a strong brand with wide name recognition and then two years in dallied with Virgin branding (while seemingly believing Virgin was investing financially in their business) then lost hands down when they wanted to pull out of the deal. They keep saying that passenger figures would grow over time but then completely closed shop for a year-ish (or two?) through Covid, meaning they had to start growing again feom zero. (Though maybe it would have been hard to have done all the track re-laying while still running a service) They projected wildly high passenger figures seemingly without having the actual number of coaches that could carry them. But above all they have borrowed so much, with seemingly no way of paying it back within the timescale. They are either playing some really high level 4D chess or they dysfunctional self-sabotagists.

But I wish them luck; if they have structured it so the Brightline assets can only be used to run a railway and they can offload a lot of the debt then it should keep going in the short to medium term. I dont hold much promise though, they are putting much away in the renewals fund for when the assets all need renewing in 15/25 years.

I don't think passenger numbers would've been enough because ridership was pretty good from what I understand. The fact is Brightline was running a capital intensive business that doesn't make a quick-enough return for investors even despite filling a genuine gap in the transport market. I do hope the service can be maintained somehow because good quality passenger rail is something the US is seriously lacking, but to be honest I wouldn't expect any Florida Republican Governor to be keen on possibly nationalising it if Brightline had to properly throw in the towel.

 

[Krokodil]

They are either playing some really high level 4D chess or they dysfunctional self-sabotagists.

It's Florida, draw the obvious conclusion.

I don't think passenger numbers would've been enough because ridership was pretty good from what I understand.

In absolute terms? Or as a percentage of available seats? Because they were running the equivalent of 2+4 HSTs to begin with. It's not difficult to sell-out a four coach train and the fuel consumption per seat-mile will be dreadful.

 

[StephenHunter]

It's Florida, draw the obvious conclusion.

Alligators got into their headquarters?

 

[Sorcerer]

In absolute terms? Or as a percentage of available seats? Because they were running the equivalent of 2+4 HSTs to begin with. It's not difficult to sell-out a four coach train and the fuel consumption per seat-mile will be dreadful.

I'm afraid that I don't know the specifics, but I'm still not sure passenger numbers could've saved them anyway just because of railway economics.

 

[6PAN]

I rode the Brightline once and it was a European-style experience, except for the awkwardness of buying a ticket. The machine wanted to know my date-of-birth (as if that were relevant) and my Zone Improvement Plan (zip-) code, So I put in OX2 0EU and it rejected it as invalid. I tried various random, but quite bogus, 5-character codes til it finally accepted one. Every American has a zip-code of course, but there was no provision for foreigners!

Ticket machines on the New York subway ask for your Zip code if you pay by credit card, I found that 99999 usually works for a UK card.