Brightline, Florida’s high-speed passenger rail, has recorded 182 fatalities since 2017, the highest death rate of any U.S. passenger service.
A joint investigation by the Miami Herald and WLRN, published on Tuesday, revealed that a Brightline passenger train has killed on average someone every 13 days of service. In addition to the deaths, there have been 99 injuries and over 100 vehicle collisions.
The death toll was compiled by the outlets’ reporters via federal rail data, local medical examiner records and police incident reports. The report indicates that officials from Brightline, which has not been found at fault for any of the deaths on its tracks, did not dispute the findings. It began commercial service in 2018 as the country’s only private passenger railroad.
Newsweek contacted Brightline Florida, the Florida Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration via email outside regular office hours.
Why It Matters
The Miami Herald and WLRN report points to essential safety measures like fencing and signs were long uninstalled due to yearslong delays in federal funding. It also indicates that local governments and regulators also contributed to dangers, having pushed for “quiet zones” that silenced train horns to avoid disturbing nearby residents. Federal regulators have upheld these bans and cities have not closed dangerous railroad crossings.
What To Know
Since its first passenger fatality in 2017, which occurred during a test run, Brightline has recorded one death approximately every two weeks, making it the deadliest passenger railroad per million miles traveled in the U.S.
Between 2019 and 2023, an Associated Press analysis of federal data revealed that Brightline was involved in roughly one fatality for every 32,000 miles. For comparison, this is about four times more deadly than the second-highest fatality frequency for a major railroad, which was one death in every 130,000 miles at the time.
The Miami Herald report found that out of 182 fatalities, 41 percent were ruled suicides by local medical examiners, contradicting earlier company claims that the majority of the deaths were intentional acts of self-harm. Ninety-one deaths were ruled accidental and 10 were undetermined. Six rulings are pending.
Furthermore, the report found that there were many inadequate safeguards and limited crisis prevention efforts around the tracks, particularly in urban areas where Brightline trains can reach 79 mph.
Brightline is allowed to operate at street level without barriers by keeping the speed under 125 mph along most of the route, says the report. At 125 mph and over, mandatory safeguards apply.
Brightline’s plans for enhanced fencing and suicide prevention signage remain partially unfunded or delayed, awaiting federal grants. Rail crossings situated within dense neighborhoods, where trains are often barred from sounding horns due to “quiet zone” restrictions, remain especially perilous.
This prevalence of crossings and local officials resisting not closing them contribute to the dangerous nature of the Brightline track, says the Miami Herald report.
“There are things that could be done to reduce the number of crossings and therefore the number of interactions between the railroad and the public,” Brightline Vice President of Operations Michael Lefevre told the Miami Herald. “It is not for lack of effort or interest on Brightline’s part that those things aren’t being done.”
According to The Associated Press, the company has installed infrared detectors along routes to notify engineers if people were too close to the tracks, allowing them to slow down on the approach.
Brightline currently links the cities of Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Orlando.
What People Are Saying
Brightline Vice President of Operations Michael Lefevre said in a statement earlier this year: “As a result of our focus, including our significant investment in safety infrastructure, none of the incidents along the railroad have been the result of train operations.
“These incidents are tragic and avoidable. More than half have been confirmed or suspected suicide—intentional acts of self-harm. All have been the result of illegal, deliberate and oftentimes reckless behavior by people putting themselves in harm’s way…
“Brightline has invested hundreds of millions into modernizing the tracks and crossing systems and additional investment has been awarded. Since 2022, we’ve seen more than $70 million dollars of grants awarded for safety projects along our corridor. Brightline partnered with FDOT and all eight counties from Miami to Brevard for these dollars, helping to lead the advocacy efforts. Those grants were just signed at the end of May 2025, and we are optimistic that these dollars will help.”
What Happens Next
Brightline has committed $10 million toward safety upgrades as part of a federal grant made available in 2022. federal and state governments are to spend $35 million.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “988” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
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