By Railfan & Railroad Staff
MIAMI — The construction of Brightline’s expanded main line from Miami to Orlando is half done and coming in under budget. The private Florida passenger railroad reported the progress in an investor filing last month, according to the Next Miami.
Brightline is privately funded and began running between Miami and West Palm Beach in 2018. Service has been suspended since late March due to the global coronavirus pandemic and there is no estimate on when it will return.
The expanded route is expected to go into service in late 2022. As of November, there were nearly 1,000 people working on the construction of the new line. To support the new operation, a maintenance facility was being built near Orlando International Airport and at the time of the investor report was about a quarter complete. That facility is expected to be done sometime this winter.
Brightline currently has 10 Siemens Charger SCB-40 locomotives operating push-pull with five trainsets. Additional equipment will arrive before service begins on the expanded route.
