Rail Travel News: With a Renewed Energy and Plenty of Funding Amtrak is Out to Wow America into Taking the Train, Brightline Already Serving Orlando, Miami, and soon, Las Vegas

By Max Hartshorne
GoNOMAD Editor

Travel by train is having its moment in 2024.

For railfans like me or people who haven’t seen the inside of the aged Amtrak Amfleet in decades, it will be a year of new train lines, new high-speed rail construction, and more and more ways to ride. 

Rail traffic data points to a continued uptick from the Pandemic dips…ridership has never been higher for Amtrak. 

All aboard the Rail Travel News Express!

If you want to experience an actual high-speed train trip now on a scenic, warm weather route, head south to the busiest airport in Florida, MCO Orlando.

Here you can board the Brightline Express, and it will take you to Miami, with stops in West Palm Beach, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, and dozens more.  A one-way ticket in Smart Class will cost $89 for the three-hour trip, and up to $189 for First Class, with free snacks and beverages and bigger seats up front. 

Clean, Yellow, Spacious and FAST

Brightline Holdings trains are clean, spacious, and bright green and yellow. Out in California later this year, the same company’s Brightline West division will break ground in the Mohave desert to build a Las Vegas to California high-speed train line. The Rancho Cucamonga-Las Vegas line will be in the median of I-15. How about that, Martha?  High-speed trains run down the middle of the interstate across the desert. 

Brightline has committed $600 million towards initiating the project, and it is actively pursuing $3.75 billion in federal infrastructure funding to offset approximately one-third of the total project expenses. Bright line is owned by Fortress Investments, one of the deepest pocketed hedge fund.

In June, a $25-million federal grant was secured to support the design and construction of two stations in California. The remaining funding for the project is anticipated to come from private sources. The timeline includes a potential groundbreaking by the end of 2023, followed by a four-year construction period to commence passenger operations in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. 

Rancho Cucamonga Isn’t Los Angeles

The only drawback with the faster-tracked Brightline train line is that it ends in Rancho Cucamonga, California, with an LA Light rail line connection; of course, ending it in the center of Los Angeles would be much better.  But for now, it’s a significant step forward. 

Despite this garish color scheme, 97 Floridians have been hit by the passing Brightline trains since they began service in 2018. It remains a big problem with trains of all sizes– but these high-speed trainsets have to pass road crossings at some points, unlike in Europe, where dedicated fences keep high-speed lines separate and safer than in the U.S. 

Up in central California, work continues over budget, but moving forward on an even bigger and more expensive project, California High-Speed Rail, which will eventually connect San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2030.  Stay tuned, for now it’s only building in the Central Valley between Merced and Bakersfield, and negotiating the right of ways for the rest of the 350-mile route.

New Massachusetts Stations Opening in 2024

Closer to home, we have a few new railroad stations opening up in Massachusetts in 2024.  New Bedford and Fall River, Mass, will get train service this summer as a new MBTA line opens to Boston. 

Phase 1 of the South Coast Rail project extends commuter rail service to Taunton, New Bedford, Freetown, and Fall River. Service was supposed to begin by the end of 2023, but that was delayed. In both Ashland and Lynn, T service is returning.  The T stop recently reopened following a multi-million dollar restoration project that closed the Ashland station in August. Meanwhile, the T has also opened an interim platform in Lynn to restore train service there after safety issues caused Lynn station to close down in 2022.

New Station for Amtrak in Brattleboro

Up in Brattleboro, Amtrak is building a new station next to the river starting this March. And wait until you see the bridge that will open in 2024, a high-arching steel monster that will  tower over the old bridge from Hinsdale NH to Brattleboro. 

The town’s new train station will house a waiting area with 36 seats, a restroom, an outdoor area with more seating, and an engineers’ room with additional parking on site. It will even have an electric snowmelt system!

And to the south in Windsor Locks, while you can now park there for free for a few days, a new Amtrak station is under construction and it will be open for business in 2025. 

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