The first Brightline passenger train is here in West Palm Beach. Today, we got a behind-the-scenes tour.
The sleek train car is what developers call the most advanced passenger train in the country.
“Introducing this new smarter way to travel is an important piece that will change the landscape,” said the president of Brightline, Mike Reininger.
This morning, we toured the first completed train at the facility where it’s housed.
Every train has 240 seats. The aisles are wide, some cars have solo seats and there are power plugs and USB ports at every seat.
The company will sell two coach options: Smart and Select coach, which will cost more. The bathrooms have smart technology.
Part of the project includes implementing a quiet zone from 15th Street in West Palm Beach to the Port of Miami.
You’ll be able to get from West Palm Beach to Miami in an hour with one stop in Fort Lauderdale.
“What immediately comes to mind is I won't have to drive in that horrible traffic to get to Miami again,” said Mayor Jeri Muoio. “I just have to jump on a train.”
Muoio says the concern she hears from residents is congestion.
“People are worried about the number of trains coming through the city and what that it will do to traffic,” said Muoio.
Brightline hopes this will help traffic because more people will travel by train.
“I’m interested to see how the new system, and the new times the train comes, will affect the traffic that we have here,” said Ajai Johnson, who works in downtown West Palm Beach.
The first quiet zone will be from Okeechobee Boulevard South to Lantana. The rest of the zones will take effect as construction is completed.
Brightline expects to start train service later this year.