Brightline trains break 4 March records as Miami-Orlando eclipses South Florida service

Brightline’s growing long-distance ridership continued to eclipse the fluctuating short-distance ridership, helping the high-speed rail company break four records in March, according to its latest reports.

The Miami-Orlando service that launched Sept. 22 broke records in March for:

• 4,600 average daily bookings
• 133,928 monthly ridership

That boosted total ridership for Miami-Orlando and South Florida service combined:

• 8,332 total daily average bookings, up from 7,887 in February
• 258,307 total monthly ridership

Brightline has prioritized online seat bookings for Miami-Orlando, cutting the share available for South Florida. Lower ridership and higher ticket prices for the short-distance service is “consistent with Brightline’s strategy as it rolls out long-distance service,” according to S&P Global Ratings.

But Brightline plans to add more Siemens coaches to accommodate more passengers. The new coaches will arrive later this year, spokesperson Katie Mitzner previously told TCPalm. Each 240-seat train now contains four coaches flanked by two engines. Stations can accommodate 10 coaches, Mitzner said.

Miami-Orlando ridership eclipsed South Florida ridership for the first time in January and again in March, but not in February. TCPalm doesn’t know whether the shorter month was the reason. Miami-Orlando ridership has been growing since the service began over six months ago:

• 17,578 in September
• 79,686 in October
• 93,184 in November
• 115,683 in December
• 122,703 in January
• 113,874 in February
• 133,928 in March

South Florida ridership increased 9% to 124,379 in March compared to February, but was 31% less than 179,576 in March 2023. It has fluctuated since the Miami-Orlando service started:

• 125,475 in September
• 126,059 in October
• 112,423 in November
• 121,386 in December
• 113,560 in January
• 114,264 in February
• 124,379 in March

Combined ridership was:

• 143,053 in September
• 205,745 in October
• 205,607 in November
• 237,069 in December
• 236,263 in January
• 228,138 in February
• 258,307 in March

Miami-Orlando average daily bookings for months Brightline has released data were:

• 2,800 in October
• 4,200 in January
• 4,300 in February
• 4,600 in March

Ananya Tiwari is a business reporter for TCPalm. You can reach her via email at ananya.tiwari@tcpalm.com or follow her work on Facebook, Twitter or X, and MuckRack.