MIAMI — Florida’s Brightline rail service is scrambling to avoid bankruptcy after an outside auditor warned that the company lacks the cash to keep paying its bills, according to financial disclosures.
The privately run passenger train operator, which runs between Miami and Orlando, carries $5.5 billion in debt. It was scheduled to make a $117 million interest payment this year, but deferred it while it hunts for outside investors by June 15, The Wall Street Journal reported. Creditors have already engaged restructuring advisers after the auditor flagged “substantial doubt” about Brightline’s ability to continue operating as a going concern.
Despite the cash crunch, the company posted its strongest quarter ever in the first three months of 2026. Ridership and revenue both hit record highs, with March showing 20% growth compared with the same month a year earlier, Brightline said in a statement…