All Aboard Florida, the intercity passenger subsidiary of Florida East Coast Railway (FEC), announced on Nov. 9, 2015 that its Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Orlando service will be branded Brightline and also revealed the first artist's impressions of the fleet of Siemens-supplied trainsets that will enter service when the first phase of the project is launched in mid-2017.
The branding and product offering for Brightline has been developed by architecture and interior design firm Rockwell Group, and is intended to create a "holistic hospitality experience for the Florida travel market."
Unveiling the brand at the site of the future Miami Central transport interchange, All Aboard Florida president Michael Reininger said that Brightline “will provide a genuine alternative to car travel, offering convenient booking options, roomy seating, free onboard Wi-Fi, catering on trains and at stations, and easy connections to local public transport.”
Last year, All Aboard Florida placed an initial order with Siemens for five 125-mph trainsets, each formed of four coaches and two Charger diesel-electric locomotives, which will be assembled at the company's plant in Sacramento, Calif. Siemens will maintain the fleet at purpose-built depots at Orlando International Airport and West Palm Beach under a 30-year contract signed earlier this year.
Each trainet will be formed of two yellow-liveried locomotives, with each coach carrying a different color scheme. "Typically, trains have been one color, either grey or silver, and tend to blend into the background," says Reininger. "As our trains pull into the stations, their colorful entry will be another way that Brightline takes the grey out of travel."
Brightline stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach “have been designed as mobility-centric urban hubs, with housing, office, retail, and hospitality space, which is expected to make them destinations in their own right,” said Reininger.
Further details of Brightline services will be released in the coming months through new website and social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook.