USA: Private inter-city operator Brightline added two stations to its route in Florida on December 20.
The opening of stations at Aventura and Boca Raton means that Brightline now serves five stations in southern Florida on its route between Miami Central and West Palm Beach.
Both new stations are aimed at tapping into potential commuter traffic to and from Miami city centre. Aventura can be reached in approximately 20 min from Miami, with a Boca Raton – Miami journey taking approximately 1 h. The timetable for both is focused on providing trains at peak times, Brightline says; off-peak, they will be served at 2 h intervals.
The 3 160 m2 Aventura station has 240 car parking spaces and a bus interchange served by Miami-Dade Transit. A discount travel pass offer is available for MDT pass holders. Brightline is also running a temporary complimentary road shuttle between the station and Aventura Mall pending completion of a dedicated footbridge.
Boca Raton station sits on a 0·7 ha site adjacent to the city’s central library. It has a car park with capacity for 455 vehicles, and Brightline is to provide two on-demand electric vehicles for ‘last mile’ journeys with the downtown area. The station development has been supported by a $16·4m grant from the Federal Railroad Administration.
‘Brightline is on a mission to build a better way to get there. We’re connecting the state and economies making it easier to do business while expanding your backyard in so many ways’, said Brightline President Patrick Goddard. ‘Opening our stations in Aventura and Boca Raton is a community-wide effort that will alleviate congestion and regionalise south Florida.’
