Brightline shows people want more trains. But who will pay for them?

Brightline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after months of talks with bondholders, seeking room to borrow another $490 million to keep up with $4.4 billion in accumulated debt. The company insists trains between Miami and Orlando will keep running as usual, since the filing excludes the operating division and does not touch Brightline West's Las Vegas-to-Los Angeles project. Ridership rose 14 percent and revenue 17 percent this year, yet the line still serves about 3.5 million riders and pulls in roughly $240 million annually, less than half the ridership and a third the revenue it forecast back in 2024.

Brightline has also drawn scrutiny for 182 deaths tied to its trains since 2018, mostly at crossings, which the company attributes not to train operations but points to its safety spending. Meanwhile Brightline West, a roughly $21 billion project, has already collected a $3 billion federal grant and is seeking a $6 billion federal loan. Transit advocates quoted in the piece argue the episode shows private capital alone can't build the rail infrastructure Americans increasingly want to ride, leaving the bill, as usual, pointed at taxpayers.

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