Brightline unveiled its first trainset in Florida on Jan. 11.
Comprised of two locomotives and four coaches, the trainset is housed at its new railroad operations facility, Workshop b, in West Palm Beach, Florida. This first trainset was manufactured by Siemens in their Sacramento, California facility. Siemens says the trainset "is 100% Buy America compliant, using components from more than 40 suppliers across more than 20 states."
Four additional trainsets are being built by nearly 1,000 employees at Siemens 60-acre rail manufacturing hub in Sacramento. Brightline expects delivery of these trainsets by spring 2017.
The first trainset is expected to begin testing on a 10-mile test track south of Workshop b next week. Construction of Brightline’s train stations in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami is rushing toward completion. Brightline is scheduled to begin express inter-city service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach this summer.
“We are excited to welcome our first Brightline trainset to Florida and provide a preview of the entire train,” said Mike Reininger, president of Brightline. “Our trains are among the most innovative in the United States and the world, with every detail having been designed and built from the guest’s perspective, making it easy, convenient and comfortable to ride. We are looking forward to the launch our new express, inter-city service this summer. South Florida is very close to experiencing the future of train travel, a new travel alternative as an option to private cars on crowded roads.”