Brightline’s latest numbers tell a split story: the trains between Miami and Orlando are drawing paying customers and squeezing more dollars out of each trip, but the clock is ticking on a shaky credit outlook that analysts say could catch up with the railroad as soon as next year.
South Florida riders return even as pricing shifts
According to a monthly ridership and revenue report filed with lenders and described by WLRN Public Media, Brightline’s short-haul ridership within South Florida jumped about 25% in January compared with a year earlier. That surge helped short-haul revenue climb even though the average fare on those trips dropped.
The long-distance picture was more complicated. Brightline told lenders that long-distance ticket revenue rose roughly 17% in January, even as long-haul ridership slipped about 2%. The average long-distance fare landed at about $80, roughly 20% higher than a year before, reflecting the push to lean more on price than volume.
One big shift has been in commuter passes. Riders using the old discounted monthly pass had accounted for about 35,000 rides per month. The replacement pass logged roughly 22,000 rides in January, a change first spotlighted when the program returned with a 125 percent price hike.
Ratings cuts crank up the pressure
The ridership story comes with a harsh financial footnote. In a report this month, KBRA cut Brightline Florida’s municipal rating and flagged that operating shortfalls had already forced the company to tap a debt-service reserve account to make its January payment…