How fast are Brightline's higher-speed trains? You'll see beginning Friday
Brightline trains have been speeding through the Treasure Coast at previously unseen speeds for weeks, but on Friday those trains will be carrying something new: passengers.
Their frequency also will increase, as test runs turn into a regular service schedule of up to 32 trains per day.
Top speeds will reach 110 mph in the journey through the Treasure Coast, Brightline corporate affairs senior vice president Ben Porritt said in an email.
More: Brightline train schedule shows how many trains will pass through Treasure Coast and when
While detailed speed zones were not provided by Brightline, the company estimates a total travel time between Miami and Orlando of about 3½ hours for Friday's trains, according to its ticketing website. Along the 235-mile corridor, 3½-hour journey would mean the train would average about 67 mph.
Brightline has said its trains — which already run at up to 79 mph south of West Palm Beach — will travel up to 110 mph from West Palm Beach to Cocoa and then 125 mph between Cocoa and Orlando International Airport. Brightline has said trains will slow to cross the St. Lucie River bridge in Stuart.
The 110 mph speed would put Brightline in the same track class as the Amtrak Northeast Corridor between New York and Washington, D.C. Speeds will be even higher between Cocoa Beach and Orlando, when trains will operate on a higher class track. In that stretch there will be an upper limit of 125 mph, said Federal Railroad Administration spokesperson Warren Flatau. That puts it in line with the rest of the Amtrak Northeast Corridor.
More: Brightline opposition on Treasure Coast began almost as soon as the trains were proposed
The maximum authorized speeds will generally increase as the route moves northward, Flatau said, but trains cannot always operate at the maximum speed.
"Keep in mind these speeds are the maximum authorized, but there are various speed changes along each segment due to topography, track geometry, and other operational factors," Flatau said in an email.
More: Video shows Brightline train go through intersection while bars up; officials explain why
One reason for slowing down is the approach to and departure from stations. That said, Brightline trains, for now, will not be stopping on the Treasure Coast. In a 2018 lawsuit settlement, the railroad did agree to build a station somewhere in St. Lucie or Martin County within five years of the beginning of regular scheduled service ... which means Friday. Still, no plans for a station have been announced by Brightline. The city of Fort Pierce, though, has begun independent design work for a station.
Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com and 504-331-0516.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: What to know about Brightline train speeds before Friday's launch
