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Federal judge dismisses challenge to Brightline train service in Indian River County

Posted at 2:25 PM, Dec 27, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-27 14:25:44-05

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a challenge to private passenger train service between South Florida and Orlando brought by a county along Florida's Treasure Coast.

The judge in the District of Columbia on Monday tossed out a lawsuit brought by Indian River County against the developers of the Brightline train service.

The train service currently operates from Miami to West Palm Beach with plans to expand service to Orlando. The extension of the line would run through Indian River County.

The county argued the project was ineligible to receive tax-exempt funding and that federal agencies had conducted flawed health and safety reviews of the project.

The judge disagreed.

Separately, the train project this month also got a six month extension to issue $1.15 billion in tax-exempt bonds.