Florida’s Flashy Private Railroad Just Filed for Bankruptcy, but Trains Keep Running

Brightline, the privately owned passenger railroad linking Miami and Orlando Airport, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing covers the company’s holding company rather than its Florida operating subsidiary, and Brightline says service along the 235-mile line will continue as normal.

Chief executive Nicolas Petrovic described it as a financial restructuring that is not expected to affect operations. The company reported $4.4 billion in debt, while the Wall Street Journal put the figure at $5.5 billion across its Florida entities. Existing investors have committed $490 million to fund the restructuring and add liquidity.

Brightline says it will keep pursuing growth plans, including a station in Cocoa Beach, commuter access in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach areas, and study of an extension from Orlando to Tampa. Its Las Vegas–Southern California project, Brightline West, is not part of the filing and is still focused on completing its financing.

The railroad opened in 2018 between Miami and West Palm Beach and reached Orlando in 2023. It has fallen short of early ridership goals, but the company says 2026 has been a year of growth, with ridership and revenue up 14% through August compared with a year earlier.

Sources: Travel Weekly, Brightline