Recently, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced that the Brightline rail service is the only company that submitted a proposal to build a new intercity passenger train line from Orlando to Tampa. Unfortunately, a slew of fatal incidents since Brightline’s opening has led many people to oppose the train route.
Brightline, which began operating for testing purposes last year and was opened to the public in January, has already been criticized for causing a number of fatalities. In fact, there were four confirmed fatalities on the tracks within just one week of it being opened to the public (this includes fatalities that occurred during testing). As of October, ten people have been struck by a train and killed since its testing began last year. Many people that Brightline is skewing the numbers when they claim that a majority of these deaths occurred as a suicide attempt.
Other decisions made by Brightline have alarmed the public due to potential future safety hazards. For example, 20 railroad crossings in Palm Beach County will not blast their horn, which is used to warn people of an incoming train, in certain designated quiet zones. In addition to that, less than 50 percent of the crossings will have quad gates, which are safety barriers that block traffic on both sides of the track when a train is passing through.
Speed is another prominent safety concern. Currently, Brightline trains are allowed to go up to 79 mph. Soon, however, upcoming additional rails may have trains that travel at a staggering 110 mph in some Florida counties. This is equivalent to approximately 322 feet per two seconds, which is greater than the length of an entire football field.
In response to public safety concerns, Brightline released statements emphasizing the importance of not trying to “beat the train.” While some argue that adults should know better than to cross the tracks while a train approaches, not implementing vital safety features could still put adolescents at an even higher risk than adults. Most people do not have a fully developed prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that controls rational decision making, until they are around 25 years old. This lead children and teenagers to make reckless decisions, which around train tracks, could prove to be fatal.
With all of this in mind, Brightline needs to do more than simply telling people not to go on the tracks. It is unacceptable to rationalize their blatant refusal of implementing safety features by blaming the public for these tragedies. Hopefully moving forward, Brightline takes safety into serious consideration before moving forward with its new tracks and even higher-speed trains.
