Brightline trains' historic route from South Florida to Orlando. Here's what to know

MIAMI — The Brightline train has left the station, and did so precisely at 7:15 a.m.

The long-awaited, long-heralded passenger train route to Orlando's entertainment capital became reality Friday morning when the first Brightline train carrying passengers departed Miami at sunrise and arrived at Orlando International Airport station at 11:07 a.m. Going forward, Brightline's rail service will run 16 daily trips between South and Central Florida.

Brightline trains continue to provide commuter service for South Florida, from West Palm Beach to Miami daily. But the launch of the Miami-to-Orlando route, with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, capped an 11-year financial, engineering, regulatory and political odyssey.

"Today is actually the culmination of more than a decade of dedication and hard work," said P. Michael Reininger, Brightline's CEO. "We have reinvented what it means to travel by train. We have tried to build a guest experience through the lens of modern American travel … and we did this from the ground up."

Perhaps, but the ultra-modern, high-speed Brightline follows a route first tracked by railroad baron Henry Flagler more than a century ago. Nonetheless, faster train service between populous South Florida and Central Florida's theme park mecca is arguably the most sought-after transportation infrastructure since a basket of Florida oranges lured Flagler to run his iron horses the length of the state's east coast.

In addition to Brightline, the federal government-subsidized Amtrak train runs routes across Florida, and Tri-Rail has long served commuters across South Florida. But all eyes have been on the development of the Brightline service in part for its promise of speed and more upscale amenities.

More: How Brightline's $5 billion passenger train project has to change the minds of Americans

"People of this state will have more transportation options, and everyone loves trains," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who traveled on the first train Friday morning. "Traveling by train is faster. This train in particular, it's easier and it will significantly reduce travel time to Orlando."

Friday's launch of Orlando service on Brightline's pink-and-yellow colored train, loaded with public officials, civic leaders, business people and media, generally went smoothly. The train made it to the first station, in Aventura along Miami-Dade County's northeast corridor, in 17 minutes. Fort Lauderdale followed at 7:48 a.m.

Then it was on to Palm Beach County with stops at Boca Raton at 8:22 and West Palm Beach at 8:48. The train was forced to slow down in Delray Beach, passing the scene of a wreck involving a southbound Brightline train that struck and killed a pedestrian. The wreck had no effect on northbound Brightline service from Miami to Orlando.

The fatality is a reminder that Brightline's tracks, especially through West Palm Beach and to the south, run through a primarily urban region with roadway and pedestrian crossings.

The densely populated nature of the route, Reininger said, caps Brightline's speed on the north-south directional tracks between Miami and Cocoa at 110 miles per hour. But after Cocoa, when the tracks run east-west, Reininger said higher speeds up to 125 miles per hour are permitted, and he claimed once Brightline clocked in at that top speed it would make it the "second-fastest train" in the United States.

"Our maximum speed in this geography is 110 miles an hour, and that has to do with the nature of the area," he said as Friday's train approached the turn at Cocoa. "When we make the turn, we're in a completely sealed corridor, there are no grade crossings, and it's a higher class of track, it's all brand new track, and so that's why we can accelerate the speed there to 125."

From Fun-Train to Brightline: The 25-year journey to Miami-Orlando passenger rail service

How many northbound and southbound Miami-to-Orlando trains will Brightline run each day?

As for the route to Orlando, there were five trains departing West Palm Beach on Friday and the first, which left at 12:03 p.m. was sold out, according to Brightline's website. The others were scheduled for 2:03 p.m., 4:03 p.m., 6:03 p.m. and 10:03 p.m. Six six trains were scheduled for Saturday.

Brightline tickets from Miami to Orlando range from $79 to almost $300 for a one-way ticket. Tickets from West Palm Beach are about the same. Tickets can be bought at a Brightline station or online at gobrightline.com.

Groups of no less than four and no more than 16 people are eligible for a 25% discount with a promo code at checkout. This offer is good through the end of the year. Passengers can enter their promo codes at checkout.

Brightline aims to succeed where other South Florida-to-Orlando trains failed

A high-speed rail line from South to Central Florida has been so desired that in 2000, close to 3 million Floridians voted for one. And before that, the short-lived Florida Fun Train rode the rails, too.

The Fun Train and the high-speed bullet train constitutional amendment proved to be swampland-in-the-Everglades dreams, but they were colorful sagas on the Sunshine State's business and political path to a Miami-to-Orlando choo-choo train.

The bullet train first approved by voters statewide via a constitutional amendment in 23 years ago was scrapped by a do-over constitutional amendment four years later that voided the earlier ballot initiative. The Fun Train, four guest cars with a decidedly cheery decor, brightly colored seats and glass roofs for all-around views, launched exactly 25 years ago, in September 1998. It ceased operations a few months later.

Then came Brightline.

Brightline to Orlando: What riders can expect for this weekend's inaugural trips and beyond

Back in 2012, the company was called All Aboard Florida. It was a venture led by Flagler's legacy company, Florida East Coast Industries, with backing from the hedge fund Fortress Investment Group.

Wes Eden, co-founder of Fortress Investment, said the idea of building what would become Brightline originated after he read a biography of Flagler.

"It is a remarkable story of a man that had a lot of success in his business life and then, in his mid-50s, decided to pack up and move to Florida, at a time when the state was one of the poorest and least populated states in the country, and started to build a train," Edens said. "And we stand here today on the shoulders of Henry Flagler."

Edens said Friday he believes the Brightline route is "the beginning of a true rail renaissance" in the United States. He noted that European and Asian countries have invested heavily in high-speed rail systems that operate profitably and "move millions if not billions" of people, and now the United States lags far behind.

He added Brightline is a model from which to develop other high-speed rail links and create a "rail industry" that generates millions of jobs. He said other routes that are prime for high-speed rail service include Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Charlotte to Atlanta, Portland to Seattle and Houston to Dallas. The federal government, he noted, stepped up with $66 billion for passenger rail, including $12 billion for high-speed projects, in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure.

"We are in the first minute of the first day of a real renaissance in rail travel in this country," he said.

Still, Brightline's trek to Orlando required years and many millions of dollars worth of improvements to the FEC's tracks followed. Political and legal fistfights, primarily with Treasure Coast counties and residents, were part of the landscape, too. Those obstacles have been cleared away, but resentment lingers in some quarters.

A time-lapse video of a Brightline train moving through a railroad crossing in Fort Pierce that had safety arms upright on Sept. 19 caused heartburn for locals. It was later explained the train was traveling at less than 3 miles per hour, on a test run, and the safety barriers only rose because the train made a stop just short of the intersection.

Still, the episode showed Brightline's trains and tracks still run through some unfriendly communities.

Local mayor says route and development around Brightline station is a game-changer

But on Friday, Brightline's Reininger was squarely looking forward.

"We are now connecting the state like never before," he said. "We'll move millions of people around this state."

The mayor of one of those communities piggybacking on Brightline, Boca Raton, was bullish about how the rail line's presence benefits the south Palm Beach County city.

Mayor Scott Singer said the city is working on a transit-oriented development in the Brightline station area that will include a new City Hall and community center to "take advantage of the new gateway to Boca Raton that Brightline is."

Singer said the city plans a mix of residential, retail and office space at the site to make the west side of the track opposite Mizner Park a "compelling destination." The Brightline station will be near a new performing arts center, he said, and the presence of the station is drawing private sector investment in the downtown, including Class A office buildings, in "part because of the proximity" to the rail stop.

"We already knew Brightline was a game-changer for our city and so many," Singer said. "Seeing this major transportation network built out fully to encompass both Central Florida and South Florida is a watershed moment for all of us."

Brightline station in Brevard?: Cocoa, Melbourne leaders want one, but no decisions made

Brightline's next move: Stations in Tampa, Space and Treasure coasts?

Next up, Reininger said, could be an Orlando-to-Tampa leg, which by then would connect 75% of the state's population via a Brightline train. The rail line also is looking to add stations between West Palm Beach and Orlando along the Treasure Coast and Space Coast corridors.

In 2015, Cocoa and Melbourne leaders lobbied for their respective cities to rise atop a target list of potential sites for what was then All Aboard Florida to build a passenger train station along the Space Coast.

"All roads lead through Cocoa first. And that's the reason why we should be the designated location — permanent designated location," Cocoa Mayor Mike Blake said in April while attending the "unveiling" of the Orlando station.

"Location is everything. Access to the port area. Direct line to the (Orlando) airport. Cocoa is the chosen spot," Blake said.

In the Treasure Coast, issues with Brightline go back a long time as well.

In 2013, after the idea of a high-speed rail was proposed, officials in Indian River and Martin counties filed state and federal lawsuits against the rail line in an effort to derail the plans for a train.

In 2018, Brightline, Martin County and a coalition of Treasure Coast and South Florida residents against rail expansion reached a settlement that called for the construction of a Brightline station somewhere on the Treasure Coast to be completed within five years of the start of the Miami-to-Orlando route.

It will be in either Martin County or St. Lucie County, but Brightline hasn’t yet chosen a location.

On Friday, City of Stuart employees gathered opposite City Hall near the rail tracks at about 8 a.m. donning yellow sunglasses, garlands, and black and yellow balloons, waiting to cheer the Brightline train go by.

“We are hoping to have a stop in Stuart in the future. If it’s going to get passengers to Florida and our area, might as well have a stop here,” said Eula Clark, city commissioner for the city of Stuart.

If and when Brightline has a stop in the Treasure Coast were questions for another day, although Reininger indicated it was a top-of-mind priority. On Friday, though, all eyes were on the ride to Orlando.

"It's a big day for Florida and it's a moment that marks the beginning for a new industry and a blueprint for expanding rail in America," Reininger said. "Our eyes are trained on the future, and we are going to get back to work tomorrow to make those future possibilities happen."

Palm Beach Post editor Jim Coleman, Florida Today and TCPalm contributed to this report.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Brightline historic train service from South Florida to Orlando begins