Latest news with #Brightline
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Brightline's deadly tracks: Why blaming train's victims is a lethal cop-out
Not too long after Brightline began operating in South Florida in 2018, it became clear that the fast trains were killing a lot of people. The narrative from the company and local officials has been that the drivers and pedestrians killed were at fault for making reckless decisions to cross train tracks improperly. A new investigative report by the Miami Herald and WLRN sheds lights on new information, and the blame-the-victim narrative can no longer be the only explanation for Brightline's shocking death toll of 182 people. The passenger rail service connecting Miami to Orlando at speeds between 79 mph and 125 mph is the nation's deadliest. To be fair, the Herald/WLRN report indicates that some of the people killed did make bad decisions. For example, there was the driver of a Maserati who zigged and zagged around cars stopped at the tracks in Oakland Park and sped around a gate to his death. Brightline officials told reporters the company has done a lot to educate the public and to push for stricter enforcement of trespassers at the tracks. Vice President of Operations Michael Lefevre wrote in a statement: 'All have been the result of illegal, deliberate and oftentimes reckless behavior by people putting themselves in harm's way.' The company has not been found at fault for any of the deaths on its tracks. But 182 deaths should not be accepted as the status quo or written off as the result of human stupidity. Fast trains are not a novelty in the developed world, and South Florida, where most of the deaths occurred, does not have a monopoly on bad human decisions. Although Lefevre said 'more than half' the deaths 'have been confirmed or suspected suicide' — a convenient explanation for the company — the Herald/WLRN reported that autopsy reports ruled that the majority of fatalities were accidents or undetermined. The vast majority of those killed were on foot or bicycles, which is important considering that Brightline train tracks in some places cut through urban neighborhoods, a lot of them poor. The investigation showed that Brightline has failed to urgently address the train's dangers, turning to the public to pay for safety upgrades around the private track. The company's lobbyists also killed Republican legislation to increase state oversight of the railway. Local governments haven't necessarily helped either, and delays in the release of federal funds for crucial safety projects compound the problem. So there isn't necessarily one culprit. The Brightline corridor is so dangerous, the Herald/WLRN found, because of the large number of rail crossings and local officials' resistance to closing some of the most dangerous ones. Unlike other passenger trains that keep cars and people away from crossings with overpasses, bridges and tunnels, 96% of Brightline's crossings are at grade, meaning there is no separation between railroad tracks and streets. Lefevre said if those crossings aren't being closed it is not 'for lack of effort or interest on Brightline's part.' More than a decade ago, we were alerted about some of these issues by Brightline's first critics, officials and residents from Florida's Treasure Coast, north of Palm Beach. Back when Brightline was still just a concept, then called All Aboard Florida, people there worried that the trains would run on existing private freight tracks that are too close to downtowns and roads, such as U.S. 1. The argument from Brightline proponents was that the Florida East Coast Railway tracks were laid before some of those communities were built or expanded. If Brightline had been conceived from scratch and not on existing tracks, it would probably look different and be less dangerous. But the trains are already running, and we want a railway between Miami and Orlando to be successful. The question is how to make it safer. The Herald/WLRN points to some issues that require attention. More than half of Brightline's crossings are within 'quiet zones,' where train horns are allowed to be silenced at local governments' request if safety equipment is added. No deaths have happened on the trains' fastest segment from Cocoa to Orlando, where they can reach speeds of 125 mph. Is that because that area is less populated or because the stretch is fenced off and inaccessible to cars and pedestrians? Because Brightline doesn't reach 125 mph along most of its route, it can run without fencing or separation from pedestrians and cars in those areas. Brightline is more dangerous to drivers and, especially, pedestrians compared to other American passenger railroads. There are plenty of reasons for that. Now there needs to be financial and political will to address the deadly problem. Click here to send the letter.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Florida's beloved Brightline train has killed 180 people in eight years as locals ignore safety crossings
Florida 's beloved Brightline trains were revealed in a new investigation to have killed more than 180 people in just over eight years, leading to furious finger-pointing and calls for further safety measures around the notoriously deadly rail line. The Sunshine State's icon trainline has been dubbed America's most dangerous railroad for reportedly killing one person on average every 13 days of service, according to a year-long investigation by the Miami Herald and WLRN. A staggering 182 people have died and 99 were injured on the tracks since 2018, with another 101 collisions into vehicles mercifully ending without causalities. Brightline officials have said the company has gone to great lengths to keep the public safe, pointing to the high level of suicides and drug-influenced incidents that critics have called 'victim blaming'. 'We have been a leader in the industry on safety initiatives related to education, enforcement and engineering,' Brightline Vice President of Operations Michael Lefevre said in a statement to the Herald. '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.' The Herald, however, claimed the company's initiatives weren't substantial enough after Brightline extended their lines of service through Treasure Coast to Orlando, where 49 people died by train. Brightline has faced legal pressure over the years in relation to the deaths along the railroad. But of at least a dozen lawsuits, none have reached trial and some were resolved in undisclosed settlements. Lefevre noted that 'more than half' of the deaths along the tracks 'have been confirmed or suspected suicide.' 'All [deaths] have been the result of illegal, deliberate and oftentimes reckless behavior by people putting themselves in harm's way,' the statement continued. Autopsy rulings reviewed by the outlet, however, reportedly suggest that a 'majority of the fatalities were accidents,' instead of suicides as Brightline have claimed. 'Of the 182 dead, 75 were ruled suicide by local medical examiners - or about 41%. In Broward County, where 61 people have died, 30% were ruled suicide,' the outlet reported. Brightline's dangerous reputation has spurred controversy for years, and as the first few deaths occurred in 2018 the company faced backlash for 'victim blaming.' In Brightline's first week of service, 51-year-old Jeffrey King had been struck and killed on a bicycle in Boynton Beach, making him the fourth death at the hands of the train line at the time. US Rep. Brian Mast called the company out for it's public comments that people such as King had not payed attention to the safety warnings at crossings. 'Stop victim blaming and take responsibility for the fact that your trains are killing people,' Mast tweeted at the time. 'Trains should stop running until massive safety flaws are resolved.' Yet, Brightline's president, Patrick Goddard, told a congressional committee in April 2018, that the people pointing figures at the trains safety 'choose to ignore the facts and the actual police reports surrounding these incidents, a common theme of bending information to suit their anti-progress narrative,' the Herald reported. 'Every person who has died on our railroad has either chose to end their lives or been under the influence of drugs,' he said at the time. Out of six deaths at that point, two had been ruled suicide, and the remaining of the victims had tested positive for drugs. King had marijuana in his system, but the Palm Beach County medical examiner's office told the Herald that it was impossible to know if it played a significant role in his death. Brightline has claimed that the majority of accidents can be blamed on the careless attitudes of drivers and pedestrians along the railroad tracks. However, the outlet also points out that local initiatives have contributed to the increasing death toll. In parts of Southern Florida, train horns were silenced following local demands for 'quiet zones' and many cities have been tentative to close dangerous crossings. The highest number of deaths were reported in Palm Beach County, Broward and Miami-Dade. The high-speed train's installation came with fears that its presence would increase the dangers for some of the most densely populated areas of Florida. Trains that travel at speeds more than 125 mph must adhere to mandatory safety measures, which means the tracks are required to be separated from roads and pedestrians with no traffic crossings. Brightline's speeds only increase to these numbers in the final stretch of its service to Orlando, which opened in 2023, and is fenced off completely. Along this stretch, no one has died. The trains speeds between Miami and West Palm Beach reach 79 mph and 110 mph further north to Cocoa, the Herald reported. While safety fears have proved to have been substantiated, efforts to keep the public safe have been made by the railroad company despite their stance that the deaths resulted from reckless behavior. '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,' Lefevre continued. 'Every time a person takes an illegal shortcut across the tracks or walks down the middle of the tracks, they are making a deliberate choice and putting themselves in a dangerous position.' Pedestrians were found to be the most at-risk group, with 158 of the death toll made up of those on foot or bicycle, the Herald reported. Around 60 percent of those who died weren't at crossings, according to federal data obtained by the outlet. However in 2014, Frank Frey, a Federal Railroad Administration engineer, was a member of a team who walked the route of the prospective railroad line. A report from Frey, obtained by the Herald, warned of trespassing, even then, being at an all time high. Frey urged the company to exercise increased safety efforts, including fending to direct pedestrians to crossings. Frey also suggested the company add crossing-gate arms and median dividers to deter drivers from going around gates, the Herald reported. '[T]hey are not exercising appropriate safety practices and reasonable care,' Frey wrote in the report. Yet the company resisted making any changes. It argued against state bills in 2017, 2018 and 2020, which would require the company to pay for fending at popular trespassing shortcuts. Rusty Roberts, a former company official, said the measures were ineffective, expensive and difficult to maintain, the Herald reported. But, following a federal grant in 2022, Lefevre was one to declare the measures as 'common sense' that would have an 'immediate impact.' 'When done in the right area and with the proper length, fencing can be a benefit to channel pedestrians to the nearest crossing,' he said in a statement. The terms of the grant would cost Brightline $10 million and federal and state governments $35 million for 33 miles of protective fencing and landscaping along the tracks, warning markings at crossings and 168 crisis-support signs for those who are suicidal. However, Brightline trains continue to make headlines as incidents along the tracks lead to tragic consequences. Maddie Brunelle, 18, died eight years ago after being struck by a Brightline train, and her mother, Amy Brunelle, continues to fret over the railroad that lies through Florida. 'What scares me is how much open track there is,' Brunelle told the Herald. 'And how close it is to public areas.' Her daughter, who was bipolar and in a manic state, had walked out of a treatment facility and headed toward the tracks. Brunelle was the first victim of the Brightline trains, and the area of her death remains unfenced. Lefevre said in his statement to the Herald that each incident is 'tragic and avoidable.' Brightline did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
How the Miami Herald and WLRN found Brightline's death toll
A team of reporters from the Miami Herald and WLRN spent over a year documenting every death involving Brightline trains since the rail line's launch seven years ago. Drawing on autopsy reports and local law enforcement records, reporters discovered that 182 people — so far — have been killed by the fast-speed train. The team of reporters analyzed federal railroad data, reviewed federal safety studies, consulted experts and reviewed hundreds of pages of medical examiner and police incident reports to better understand the factors that contributed to each death and to compare Brightline's safety record against other railroads nationwide. Counting the dead There is no one-stop shop for requesting and obtaining records about the 182 people, as of July 14, who have died in incidents involving Brightline trains. The task was made more difficult by errors and delays in federal rail data, a federal policy to withhold detailed suicide information from public release, and a relatively new Florida law that prevents release of autopsy reports of people who died by suicide. The Federal Railroad Administration's website is also challenging to navigate. As a result, prior media reports on Brightline deaths have undercounted the true toll. We found that 182 people were killed by Brightline trains, with 41% ruled suicides by medical examiners. The Federal Railroad Administration recorded only 23% as suicides in its data, which can lag by up to three months. Both figures are well below Brightline's determination that 'more than half of deaths' were confirmed or suspected suicides. The team started by obtaining train fatality data from the Federal Railroad Administration, which maintains the most comprehensive record of train deaths. Railroads are responsible for filing a Form 55a incident report whenever an incident on railroad property results in injury or death. This data is available as both a public database with individual records for each injury or fatality and an interactive dashboard with summary statistics. The public database typically excludes all incident data for deaths determined to be suicides and the dashboard only includes summary totals of suicide deaths. It does not contain enough information to identify the number of people who had died by suicide by county for each month and year, crucial information for verification purposes. We accessed the dashboard's underlying data, which contains far more detail about each incident. This allowed us to build a more robust dataset by writing code to combine these detailed records with the more limited data typically available on the dashboard. We then turned to local public records to identify victims and create an accurate count. Getting these records presented a new set of challenges. Each county has its own medical examiner office. Each city has its own police department or in some cases uses the county sheriff's office. Each agency has its own computer system, and some weren't able to find records that reporters requested. Sometimes, agencies denied our requests, requiring us to assert legal rights to public records. The team's goal was to confirm each fatality with at least two records. The work of confirming details was made more difficult thanks to a Florida law that went into effect last year and made it a third-degree felony for medical examiners to release autopsy reports in suicide cases. So reporters turned to local police reports for the missing details. Where Brightline stands nationally In 2019, an analysis by the Associated Press named Brightline the deadliest railroad in the country. At the time, 41 people had died. Since then, Brightline has expanded to Orlando, adding 170 miles to its network. We used death totals from the same FRA dashboard to compare all passenger railroads with Brightline's numbers. The team's analysis found that the federal dataset contained duplicates, missing records and inconsistent death rulings, but it still offered the most accurate and standardized baseline for comparing all railroads. The totals used to compare each passenger railroad included trespasser and suicide deaths between 2018 and 2024. Using operational data that railroads submit each month, we calculated the distances traveled each year, which allowed for a determination of each railroad's death rate per million miles, a standard metric used by transportation-safety experts. Our analysis found that Brightline remains the deadliest passenger railroad in the country per million miles traveled. Its fatality rate is one-and-a-half times worse than San Diego's Coaster Commuter, which has the second-highest rate. South Florida's Tri-Rail and Central Florida's SunRail, which use different tracks than Brightline, are also among the top 10 deadliest passenger trains. Comparing crossings While many Brightline deaths didn't occur at official train crossings, the only practical way to compare the safety characteristics of the Brightline route with the routes of other passenger trains was to compare the relative safety of these official crossings using data that railroads and state departments of transportation submit to the FRA. The team took inspiration from the methodology used by the FRA to assess risk at highway-railroad crossings, calculating safety levels using maximum timetable speed and exposure, a metric representing the product of the average daily total traffic count and number of daily trains. We also considered whether a crossing was at-grade — when the crossing is at the same level as the road — and if it had a whistle ban. We compared Brightline with the Coaster commuter train in the San Diego area, Caltrain in Northern California, Altamont Corridor Express between Stockton and San Jose and Amtrak's Lincoln and Wolverine routes from Chicago to St. Louis and Detroit. The team chose to compare these lines because Coaster, Altamont and Caltrain were among the top five deadliest railroads from the analysis, and the two Amtrak routes were referenced by Brightline's president as comparable during a 2018 congressional hearing. To ensure that the comparison included all the crossings for each rail line, the team used geospatial data from the North American Rail Network Lines and Amtrak Routes datasets to compare with the FRA crossings data. The team determined the total daily trains that ran on each line by adding counts of daylight, nighttime and switching trains. Exposure was calculated by multiplying the total daily trains by average daily traffic. Reporters also wrote code to calculate the percentages of at-grade crossings and whistle bans for each railroad. The analysis shows that 96% of Brightline's crossings are at-grade and more than half are within quiet zones. Its trains are also permitted to travel at higher speeds at a larger share of crossings and are more exposed to vehicle traffic compared to every railroad in the comparison. Visualizing Brightline deaths Reporters created maps and a 3D model to show fatality locations, compare crossings by railroad and walk readers through a high-risk intersection. One map highlights Brightline crossings with an exposure value over 5,000. Federal Highway Administration guidance suggests active warning devices, like flashing lights and automatic gates, at crossings at or above this threshold. It isn't clear from the data how many of those crossings actually had active warning devices. The team's reporting found several instances where recent crossing modifications were missing. Another map primarily uses geographic information from FRA records. About a third of the locations had to be manually geocoded using Google Maps and by referencing descriptions of the locations in death and safety records and local news reports. Most of these geocoded locations were missing from the FRA data because they were considered suicides or were too recent to be included in the federal records. An additional handful of locations had to be manually geocoded because there were minor inaccuracies in the FRA coordinates. To show the population distribution on the Brightline fatalities map, the team used 2020 American Community Survey data to map Florida's population using evenly spaced dots that were sized based on the estimated population in the area they represent. To understand the nature of where and how these fatalities occurred, reporters also analyzed the relationship of the locations of these fatalities to nearby street-level crossings along the Brightline route. The Brightline route used in the map was extracted from a Florida Department of Transportation map and the current station locations were geocoded using Google Maps. The underlying map is composed of Florida's county lines from the U.S. Census Bureau 2020 TIGER/Line shapefiles. To recreate a photorealistic 3D model of the intersection at 141st Street and U.S. 1 in North Miami — where a Brightline train collided with a vehicle — the team used on-the-ground and drone photography, along with visual-effects software. Miami Herald photographers captured hundreds of high-resolution images from multiple angles of the intersection. The team stitched together overlapping photos of the area to produce a 3D model of the intersection using a technique called photogrammetry. In the process, reporters replaced distorted objects in the model — such as palm trees, intersection signs, crossing arms and poorly rendered vehicles — with detailed 3D models purchased from Turbosquid, an online library of 3D models. The team matched the virtual camera to the perspective of actual cellphone crash footage that had been posted on X (formerly Twitter). The team also added effects highlighting the intersection's problem areas, such as the absence of fencing and the proximity of U.S. 1 to the tracks. McClatchy Media Creative Director Sohail Al-Jamea contributed to this report.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Our Laterally Locked Housing Landscape Is Holding The Line. We're Looking Ahead
Press Release – Kiwi Economics Investors have been hunted by policymakers, both from the last Government and RBNZ. Interest rate deductibility, Brightline tests, and laser focussed LVR restrictions have all targeted investors. The Kiwi housing market continues to stumble sideways. Yes, there was an unsustainable 46% surge out of Covid. Yes, the RBNZ orchestrated an 18% correction back to more sustainable levels. But over the last 2 years, house prices have gone nowhere. That will change, next year. Interest rate cuts will fuel confidence. And confidence will generate activity. Investors have been hunted by policymakers, both from the last Government and RBNZ. Interest rate deductibility, Brightline tests, and laser focussed LVR restrictions have all targeted investors. Precisely what we don't need with a chronic housing shortage. It's investors that will reignite the housing market. But now, they remain sidelined, waiting to rebuild equity in their portfolios. It's chicken and the egg. Which one came first? Interest rate cuts. Interest rates are the biggest driver of house prices. Swift interest rate cuts are feeding through fast. But they have not gone far enough. And investors no longer need to worry about the Brightline test or interest deductibility. But they do still worry. They're waiting for the economy to recover. They're waiting for their own businesses to improve. They're waiting. The true test will come over the warmer months. The latest REINZ data shows a housing market that remains largely locked in lateral moves. After seven consecutive months of (very) modest gains, house prices dipped by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in June. Over the year, house prices were up just 0.3%. That's not a market in recovery. It's a market that is failing to find its footing. And after 225bps of rate cuts, the recovery lacks any real conviction. House prices are still down 16.3% from the November 2021 peak. And prices have only lifted half a percent since the RBNZ started cutting in August last year. Rate cuts have not yet triggered investors. The median national house price sits virtually unchanged from a year ago at $770,000. And the median days to sell, one of the best real-time indicators of housing dynamics, continues to yo-yo above the long-term average of 40. The longer it takes to sell, the weaker the market. And days to sell lifted to 50 from 47 last month. It's still a buyer's market out there. As we said in our latest outlook 'We've seen green shoots emerge, and then die off, only to re-emerge again. But we must wait, like gardeners, until spring… to see if the green shoots start blossoming or remain in drought.' The data for June was frost bitten. The colder months are always harder on the housing market. But nevertheless, this is certainly not a hallmark of an economy that has undergone a significant easing cycle. And if anything, the unresponsiveness of investors is a sign that there is more work for the RBNZ to do. More rate cuts are needed to stimulate demand in housing. Much of our optimistic forecasts for growth in the Kiwi economy into 2026 is predicated on a bounce in housing demand. It's the Kiwi way. Heightened job insecurity from a labour market still bleeding out, a surge in housing stock, the continued absence of investors, and rapidly declining net migration are all weighing heavily on the housing market's recovery. Many of these pressures are themselves by-products of an economy that still needs stimulus. Yes, we are getting closer to the bottom in interest rates. And these days forecasters, including ourselves, are arguing over just 50bps. It's not much, but it is still important. Do we need a neutral (unhelpful) rate of 3%, or do we need a stimulatory (helpful) rate of 2.5%. We argue that the economy needs (more) help.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Our Laterally Locked Housing Landscape Is Holding The Line. We're Looking Ahead
The Kiwi housing market continues to stumble sideways. Yes, there was an unsustainable 46% surge out of Covid. Yes, the RBNZ orchestrated an 18% correction back to more sustainable levels. But over the last 2 years, house prices have gone nowhere. That will change, next year. Interest rate cuts will fuel confidence. And confidence will generate activity. Investors have been hunted by policymakers, both from the last Government and RBNZ. Interest rate deductibility, Brightline tests, and laser focussed LVR restrictions have all targeted investors. Precisely what we don't need with a chronic housing shortage. It's investors that will reignite the housing market. But now, they remain sidelined, waiting to rebuild equity in their portfolios. It's chicken and the egg. Which one came first? Interest rate cuts. Interest rates are the biggest driver of house prices. Swift interest rate cuts are feeding through fast. But they have not gone far enough. And investors no longer need to worry about the Brightline test or interest deductibility. But they do still worry. They're waiting for the economy to recover. They're waiting for their own businesses to improve. They're waiting. The true test will come over the warmer months. The latest REINZ data shows a housing market that remains largely locked in lateral moves. After seven consecutive months of (very) modest gains, house prices dipped by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in June. Over the year, house prices were up just 0.3%. That's not a market in recovery. It's a market that is failing to find its footing. And after 225bps of rate cuts, the recovery lacks any real conviction. House prices are still down 16.3% from the November 2021 peak. And prices have only lifted half a percent since the RBNZ started cutting in August last year. Rate cuts have not yet triggered investors. The median national house price sits virtually unchanged from a year ago at $770,000. And the median days to sell, one of the best real-time indicators of housing dynamics, continues to yo-yo above the long-term average of 40. The longer it takes to sell, the weaker the market. And days to sell lifted to 50 from 47 last month. It's still a buyer's market out there. As we said in our latest outlook 'We've seen green shoots emerge, and then die off, only to re-emerge again. But we must wait, like gardeners, until spring… to see if the green shoots start blossoming or remain in drought.' The data for June was frost bitten. The colder months are always harder on the housing market. But nevertheless, this is certainly not a hallmark of an economy that has undergone a significant easing cycle. And if anything, the unresponsiveness of investors is a sign that there is more work for the RBNZ to do. More rate cuts are needed to stimulate demand in housing. Much of our optimistic forecasts for growth in the Kiwi economy into 2026 is predicated on a bounce in housing demand. It's the Kiwi way. Heightened job insecurity from a labour market still bleeding out, a surge in housing stock, the continued absence of investors, and rapidly declining net migration are all weighing heavily on the housing market's recovery. Many of these pressures are themselves by-products of an economy that still needs stimulus. Yes, we are getting closer to the bottom in interest rates. And these days forecasters, including ourselves, are arguing over just 50bps. It's not much, but it is still important. Do we need a neutral (unhelpful) rate of 3%, or do we need a stimulatory (helpful) rate of 2.5%. We argue that the economy needs (more) help.
