Greg's Corner

Is rail the future of travel in America?

If you’ve ever traveled by train in America your choice of carrier is extremely limited. You’re going to be using the services of either Amtrak or a regional rail service like SEPTA in the Philadelphia area or NJ Transit in the Garden State. Most of these services are government-run and in the case of Amtrak can be just as expensive as flying. While there are many great train stations in major cities like Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Chicago, train stations in smaller but still major cities leave a lot to be desired. However, a privately owned rail company is hoping to change all that.

Brightline has its major station in Miami and is said to be an amazing experience for train travelers. They currently run lines to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach with a future expansion planned for Orlando. The rates appear to be quite reasonable and the service aboard the trains is said to be outstanding. It also doesn’t hurt that Brightline has partnered with the Virgin Group and has rebranded as Virgin Trains USA. Virgin has its own history when it comes to commuter travel as they have been successful in both the airline industry in the US and the rail industry in the UK.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwKQR7oMc58%5D

Brightline/Virgin Trains USA hope to cash in on the rising trend of people ditching cars for ride-sharing services not to mention travel between destinations which are too long to drive but too short to fly. While the service is only currently in South Florida, there are plans to expand the service to other parts of the country such as having a line from Las Vegas to Southern California. Could we be seeing a travel by train renaissance in the US within the next decade? Hopefully so because current rail services and options are lacking at best.