Florida’s Brightline train has brought fast rail travel to the Sunshine State, but it has been plagued by an alarmingly high rate of fatalities at railroad crossings.
At least 108 people have died on Brightline’s rail lines since they went into service in July 2017, or roughly one death for every 37,000 miles traveled, the worst rate in the country and three times higher than the next worst rail line, according to an analysis from Associated Press. .
Earlier this month, Brightline fatally trained vehicles in two separate incidents, just days apart, at the same intersection, killing a total of three people.
In those cases, and many of the other fatal crashes, it appears that drivers ignore crossing lights and drive around fences as they try to outrun the train. Most of the other fatalities on Brightline tracks appear to be suicides.
Brightline has not been blamed for operator or equipment errors in any of the fatal incidents, but the alarming statistics have raised questions about what can be done to reduce deaths along the company’s tracks.
Emergency crews work at the scene where a Brightline passenger train collided with an SUV on January 10 in Melbourne, Florida
At least 108 people have died since Brightline started operating in July 2017, or about one death per 60,000 kilometers traveled, the worst rate in the country.
A Brightline spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com this week.
After test runs in 2017, Brightline launched passenger service in 2018, connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
Last fall, service expanded to include trains between Miami and Orlando, with a further extension planned to reach Tampa.
The bright, neon yellow trains travel at speeds of up to 200 km/h in some locations. The 3.5-hour, 235-mile trip between Miami and Orlando takes about 30 minutes less than the average trip.
Brightline is the only privately owned intercity rail service in the US and is a rare success story for American passenger rail, unlike California’s long-delayed plans to build a high-speed line from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
Last month, Brightline’s private backers got a $3 billion boost from the Biden administration for a new planned route between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area, part of a national effort to expand passenger rail service.
But the company has been plagued by reckless and deadly behavior at intersections, leaving Brightline officials and regulators looking for solutions.
Earlier this month, two fatal incidents at the same intersection underscored the urgency of the problem.
On January 10, 62-year-old Charles Julian Phillips was killed when the vehicle he was riding in was struck by the train at an intersection along the US 1 corridor in Melbourne, on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Three passengers in that vehicle were injured, according to Melbourne police.
Then on January 12, driver Lisa Ann Batchelder, 52, and passenger Michael Anthony Degasperi, 54, were killed at the same intersection.
Emergency services work at the scene of a fatal incident involving a vehicle and a Brightline train in Melbourne on January 12
The fatal crash occurred two days after another fatal vehicle collision at the same intersection
On January 12, driver Lisa Ann Batchelder, 52, (above) and passenger Michael Anthony Degasperi, 54, were killed at the same intersection
Brightline is the only privately owned intercity rail service in the U.S. and is a rare success story for American passenger transportation
Half of the deaths from Brightline trains were listed as walking or running on the tracks
Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey said it appeared the SUV they were in was trying to outrun the train.
He said he has spoken with Brightline officials about conducting a new public safety campaign to warn drivers not to drive around railroad crossings, stressing that the train travels at higher speeds.
“I’ll start by saying that if the arm is down, don’t walk around,” Alfrey told Orlando television WKMG.
‘There is no good result with a train. This is an unfortunate situation. We have another loss of life. There are safety measures in place for a reason, and people should adhere to them.”
The National Transportation Safety Board said it would investigate the two fatal crashes.
“Investigators will seek to better understand the safety issues at this intersection and will explore options to prevent or reduce these crashes in the future,” NTSB spokeswoman Sarah Taylor Sulick told the Associated Press last week.
She said a preliminary report will be released within 30 days, and a final report will be released within 12 to 24 months.
Brightline’s mortality experts are experts
According to federal data, trains killed at least 922 people in the U.S. in 2022, the last full year for which data is available.
In raw numbers, major freight carrier Union Pacific had the most fatal incidents that year, with 233, followed by Amtrak with 143.
But Brightline’s fatality rate is higher when taking into account the number of miles trains travel on Florida’s passenger line, a number far lower than that of the national carriers.
California’s Caltrain commuter line has the second-highest fatality rate in the country among U.S. railroads that run at least 60,000 train miles per year, according to AP’s analysis.
Caltrain has averaged one death for every 120,000 miles since 2017, a figure more than three times lower than Brightline.
After test runs in 2017, Brightline launched passenger service in 2018, connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach
Last fall, service expanded to include trains between Miami and Orlando, with a further extension planned to reach Tampa
Brightline’s death rates have puzzled experts. The passenger service shares tracks with Florida East Coast, a freight line with a much lower fatality rate.
Suicide is a major contributor to Brightline’s death rates, and the line’s fast and bright yellow trains may somehow be more attractive to suicidal people.
Federal data does not clearly show whether suicide was a factor in deaths on railroads, although more than half of train deaths nationwide are reported to be the result of suicide.
a Treasure Coast News Analysis of narrative accounts in federal incident reports found that suicides accounted for at least 7 percent of fatal incidents in Brightline in 2022.
Brightline’s federal reports typically describe how an engineer spotted someone on the tracks, honked the horn and hit the emergency brakes, but the person was fatally struck.
A Brightline train at full speed takes a quarter mile to stop.
The local police reports are much more gruesome, especially in the descriptions of what happens to a person hit by a train.
The engineer and conductor, who have seen the fear or despair on the victim’s face, are often sad, investigators report.
Several Brightline engineers and conductors have witnessed numerous deaths, some within weeks of each other.
For confidential support, call or text the US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.