Brightline: Photo Essay
By: Downtown News
Tags: Travel, Tourism, Trains, Brightline, Miami

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Brightline: Photo Essay

Miami Central was designed by David Rockwell, the well-known designer of boutique and luxury hotels.

Employees display such a spirit of hospitality that one passenger found it odd how nice everyone was, and their propensity to wave. When boarding the train, employees wave as if you were embarking on a circumnavigation of the globe. Soon becomes apparent that waving is contagious. Passengers — called guests by Brightline — wave back as the train departs.

Trains accommodate 300 passengers in two categories: Coach and Select.

Contrary to other commuter trains, Brightline assigns a seat to each guest. Trains run hourly. Service is available between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The fare for each segment is $10 in Smart Coach and $15 for Select. Miami-West Palm Beach is $15 and $25, respectively.

Select fare includes snacks, beverages and wine.

One objective is to make guests feel at home, and one does feel welcomed and comfortable. Guests have enough leg space and a tray that perfectly holds a laptop plus a cup of coffee and phone. Stations and trains come equipped with Wi-Fi and chargers.

An indicator of efficacy is attention to our bodily human condition. In other words, I always check restrooms. Brightline’s are impeccable and large enough to hold a small party.

There are two lounges, for the general public and Select guests. In addition to the traditional seating areas, each lounge offers a working station that equals the mushrooming office-sharing spaces like We Work.

Twenty-five minutes later we arrive in Fort Lauderdale. We left a cloudy Miami. In Fort Lauderdale, it is raining the proverbial cats and dogs. The planned visit to downtown Fort Lauderdale becomes a tour of the train station.

The return trip is delayed 18 minutes. At 4 pm we are on our way.

Optical illusion of a speeding world.

Further down the aisle, a mother travels with two young kids. The kids, oblivious to the world, are glued to their tablets watching movies. The official brochure highlights that their Wi-Fi is strong enough to stream Netflix. The mother looks out the window. Perhaps she has succumbed to the optical illusion that houses, trees, gardens, buildings and everything behind the squadron of clouds are moving at 80 miles per hour. Or perhaps she contemplated her life. It’s only a short trip but compared to the drive along I-95 traffic, even a commuter train ride allows a taste of the word travel.

Descending towards the exit.

Attendants greet passengers as they disembark. “This way, please.” They point to the escalator leading to the exit.

Outside, a one-foot deep ocean has formed, momentarily trapping passengers. Welcome back to Miami.

Bright Line has been acquired by the Virgin Group, which runs trains, cruise lines, and airlines. Later on this year, Brightline will become Virgin Trains. Virgin’s plan is to expand service to Orlando, Tampa, and other US destinations.

Niels Johansen is a commercial photographer and photojournalist. Text by Raul Guerrero.

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