There Is A Train In Florida That Is Absolutely Amazing, But It Keeps Killing People At An Alarming Rate

Miami Herald - ... Since then, the death toll has climbed at an extraordinary rate. Brightline trains have killed 182 people, significantly more than publicly known, an investigation by the Miami Herald and WLRN, South Florida’s NPR member station, has found. Reporters spent a year combing federal rail data, local medical examiner records and police incident reports to count the dead. Brightline officials did not dispute the finding.

Local governments and regulators have added to the problem. Deaths have spiked in parts of South Florida where train horns were intentionally silenced after cities and counties demanded “quiet zones” so as not to bother people living near the tracks. But federal regulators have allowed the train-horn bans to stay in place, and cities have resisted closing treacherous railroad crossings. 

Brightline is the nation’s most dangerous passenger train, reporters found, killing someone every 13 days of service, on average. In addition to those deaths, 99 people have been injured. In at least 101 cases, the train crashed into vehicles, but no one was hurt.

The company has not been found at fault for any of the deaths on its tracks. It has faced at least a dozen lawsuits for deaths and injuries, according to court records. None have gone to trial. Some have been settled for undisclosed amounts.

This one is kind of messed up, but I'm blogging it because I was recently shocked to find out how people seemingly don't realize this is going on. And by people, I mean Mr. Broward County, southern-Florida's special son, Nicky Smokes.

Since opening a (really amazing) restaurant in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, and our sixth Good Night John Boy location in Delray Beach, I have spent a lot of time in southeastern Florida this year. 

And I'll be honest, to me, there is no better way to travel than by the comforts of high speed rail. 

If you've been to Europe than I know you feel me. It's an abomination that this country leads the league in nearly every batting category, but we're stuck in the fucking stone ages when it comes to our trains.

But I digress. The point of this blog is that since the United States government is inept at doing anything except pissing away money, and going to war, a private company took it upon themselves to build a railway system in southern Florida- dubbed, "The Brightline", and it is fucking amazing. 

Cheap. Clean. Safe. Comfortable seats. Comfortable ride. Fast wi-fi. And best of all, no traffic. 

But it comes with a catch. A big catch actually. 

It's killing a lot of people.

But drivers account for relatively few of the fatalities. The Herald/WLRN found that only 24 people — or 13% — were in cars. Pedestrians are most at risk. The luxury-priced train runs through urban centers, bar districts and neighborhoods. 

Of the 182 dead, 158 were on foot or bicycle, reporters found. About 60% of those who died weren’t at crossings, according to federal data. Many didn’t navigate around downed gates or see lights flashing. Official report after report recounts people noticing the Brightline moments before it killed them.

It's really fucked up. 

Anytime I ask somebody from Florida how so many people and cars are getting hit by trains, their response is almost always, "we're not used to trains down here". 

I'm not exactly sure if that tracks or not, but that's what I'm told.

There's an instagram account setup that only tracks when people get hit by the Brightline, and as you can see, it is way too active. 

Keep your head on a swivel Floridians. The Brightline is supposedly expanding service across the state from Orlando to Tampa, which will cut that travel time down to just under an hour. Which would be really awesome. 

Trains are the future.