The county’s Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) is conducting a study to see what Tampeños and their neighbors think about Brightline service in their area.
Brightline is a Florida-based high-speed rail service with stations in Orlando, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Downtown Tampa is among proposed new locations along with Lakeland, Disney/International Drive and Treasure Coast.
A Space Coast station is planned for late next year.
The survey— which is offered in both English and Spanish—looks to see how people would use Brightline. In addition, TPO wants to find out who would be using it, how people would like to access the station and what connections and features matter most to them.
Those who complete the survey and enter an email before it closes on May 31 are entered to win a $100 grocery gift card.
The convenience of a cushy, shorter trip to Orlando has been accompanied in the news by Brightline’s reputation for train-related fatalities.
The railway is the nation’s deadliest per mile, according to WPBF, which said that 127 people have been killed by Brightline trains since 2018 with 41 of those deaths happening in 2024. The Miami New Times recently tracked incidents of pedestrians being struck by the train while crossing or walking along the tracks, sometimes intentionally—its report “logged more than 50 pedestrian and motorist deaths caused by collisions with the company’s trains since January 2022.”
In spite of these deaths related to Brightline, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) says that none have actually been attributed to Brightline itself.
The FRA has run national campaigns warning drivers and pedestrians not to try and beat trains, but Brightline tracks are especially risky since the train goes about 125 mph.
Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | BlueSky
Related Stories
As it plans Tampa expansion, Brightline high speed rail seeks $400M in tax-exempt bonds
This article appears in May 8-14, 2025.