FEC Railway sues Brightline over commuter rail expansion plan

Miami Herald

01-08-2025

In a move that could derail plans for a long-awaited commuter train service, Florida East Coast Railway is suing Brightline for 'clandestinely' negotiating with county governments to add more trains to its rails in violation of a contract agreement between the two companies.
Plans have been in the works for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties to run a version of Tri-Rail commuter trains through South Florida's urban corridor, east of Interstate 95 along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks that Brightline uses. The private luxury train company and FECR entered into a series of agreements in 2016 and 2017 that gave Brightline exclusive rights to run passenger trains on the rail corridor — with specific limitations.
In its suit, filed July 11 in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Florida East Coast Railway notes the many accidents that have occurred on its tracks involving Brightline, saying that adding more trains to the line 'would heighten the risk of potentially severe accidents.'
A recent Miami Herald/WLRN investigation found that more than 180 people have died after being hit by Brightline trains, making the higher-speed train service the deadliest major passenger railroad in the U.S.
The dispute signals a breakdown in friendly relations between Florida East Coast Railway, which is more than a century old, and Brightline, which began operating its private passenger train on FECR's tracks less than a decade ago. Since that time, Brightline has struggled to turn a profit, reporting net losses over $500 million in 2024.
'The cooperation and transparency between FECR and Brightline that made Brightline's passenger service a reality has, unfortunately, long disappeared,' FECR said in its complaint. 'Desperate to salvage some of its investors' funds, Brightline has covertly engaged in a years-long campaign to stave off its own financial problems by loading FECR's tracks with more passenger trains.'
Brightline denies the allegations in the complaint and argues FECR was contractually obligated to resolve the dispute in arbitration and should not have filed its lawsuit.
'Brightline does not comment on ongoing litigation but this claim is without merit and we have filed a motion to dismiss and compel arbitration,' Brightline spokesperson Ashley Blasewitz told the Miami Herald and WLRN.
Representatives for FECR did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Details of the case have not previously been reported.
FECR seeks a judge's action to halt any agreements or further negotiations between the counties and Brightline — potentially scuttling more than five years of work on the part of local governments, who have secured and applied for millions of dollars of grants from the federal government to improve public transit in South Florida. FECR is arguing that Brightline doesn't have the unilateral authority to negotiate for the commuter rail and that there isn't the space or infrastructure to run more passenger cars on the tracks.
'[That] funding is dead in the water, as Brightline's representations are not only legally prohibited by its agreements with FECR, but also practically precluded by FECR's existing use of its tracks,' FECR wrote in its complaint.
Florida East Coast Railway was founded by oil magnate Henry Flagler in 1895 and today is a subsidiary of international conglomerate Grupo México. From Miami to Cocoa, Brightline runs on tracks owned by FECR. Brightline owns the tracks from Cocoa to Orlando.
While Brightline offers a luxury passenger experience, the counties plan to bring a service to the same tracks that is more similar to Tri-Rail, a lower-priced commuter train that runs west of Interstate 95.
FECR alleges that Brightline violated a part of the companies' Joint Use Agreement that requires either party to present a proposal to a joint committee if they want to make major changes to the corridor, including increasing 'the capacity of the Shared Infrastructure to accommodate additional trains.'
Brightline did not follow that requirement, FECR argues, when it began negotiating with the counties in 2020 to create a new rapid-transit passenger service as part of a planned 'Coastal Link' that would run from Miami-Dade to Palm Beach County.
'Brightline kept [FECR] in the dark because it knew full well that its expansion plan not only threatened to significantly disrupt FECR's freight service, but was also impossible without substantial new investment in track and facility infrastructure, which Brightline certainly could not afford,' the complaint states.
FECR contends that it only found out about these talks 'by chance' and that when it approached Brightline with its concerns, Brightline accelerated its negotiations without bringing FECR to the table.
In 2020, FECR wrote a letter to Miami-Dade officials, flagging concerns about the commuter rail project and saying that FECR had been 'relegated to the sidelines.' In a response to the county at the time, Brightline President Patrick Goddard said FECR's letter contained 'substantial misinformation' and mistakenly left the impression that FECR could 'veto' county commuter service.
Goddard also called it 'obviously inappropriate' for FECR to involve itself in the negotiations.
Florida East Coast Railway's then-president, Nathan Asplund, told county officials it wasn't FECR's goal 'to disrupt your negotiations with Brightline, nor is it to discourage commuter rail on the Line' but said the increase in rail traffic 'will require significant upgrades to the Line and potentially the installation of a 3rd [set of tracks], which may or may not be possible.'
The negotiations have not been finalized. In 2023, Miami-Dade County unveiled plans for five new train stations as part of the Coastal Link project, including stops in Wynwood, Little Haiti and close to Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus near North Miami.
According to FECR's complaint, current plans propose that Miami-Dade run 54 trains daily, seven days a week for 18 hours a day, with service every 30 minutes during weekday peak periods and every 60 minutes during off-peak periods and weekends.
FECR alleges those plans were made without its approval, which is required through its agreement with Brightline, and that the plans threaten to create a logistical nightmare for South Florida.
'Instead of reducing congestion and improving transit efficiency, it will: Hinder the Counties' ability to alleviate highway traffic by diverting resources away from freight transport; disrupt critical supply chains, [and] jeopardize the efficiency of the PortMiami by forcing more freight onto trucks,' the complaint states.
In October, the Biden administration pledged up to $389 million to Miami-Dade to develop transit in the county's northeast corridor as part of the Coastal Link project. The entire Miami-Dade portion of the project is estimated to cost $927 million, which the county expected to cover with a mix of state and federal grants and local dollars.
The Florida Legislature removed funding for the commuter rail from this year's budget cycle, prompting worries about the project's future.
Brightline has touted its imminent commuter rail agreements to investors as a sign of future growth and financial stability.
In a monthly investor report from July of 2023, Brightline said it was making progress on commuter rail and expected revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars by granting the counties access to the rail corridor.
FECR argues that Brightline does not have the authority to give Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach access to the tracks that FECR owns. It also claims that Brightline is at the brink of 'financial collapse' and says the 'covert' deals are an effort to stave off financial issues.
Brightline has reported substantial financial losses, and its bond ratings have been downgraded multiple times this year, most recently on Wednesday.
'Today, the company teeters on the brink of insolvency and financial collapse,' the complaint states. 'But rather than gratitude for the use of the FEC Corridor, Brightline wants more — more trains and more profit.'
Brightline filed a motion to dismiss FECR's lawsuit on Tuesday. In its motion, the passenger rail company calls FECR's allegations 'frivolous' and argues the proper venue to settle their dispute is not the courthouse.
FECR 'chose to flout those contractual requirements and file its claims in court,' Brightline wrote.