Ride the Brightline -(a high speed rail adventure from Orlando to South Florida)

Lenny and I took a vacation day and rode the Brightline. For those of you unfamiliar with Brightline, it is a high speed train line that connects South Florida to Orlando. Since September 22, 2023, the Brightline has been continuously operating routes from South Florida (Miami) to Orlando with up to 14 trains per day connecting the cities. Depending upon the number of stops, the Brightline route to Miami takes approximately 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

Orlando’s Terminal C is where we began our journey. The futuristic design and convenience of the station is impressive. Look at the beautiful views of Orlando and the open spaces for easy navigation.

Entering the Brightline station. You need to scan your tickets and baggage.

Navigating Terminal C is easy. Signs are everywhere.

Premium Lounge in Terminal C

Premium fare allows you access to the premium lounge. As you can see here, the lounge in Orlando has numerous food and beverage options and plenty of quiet space to rest, read, relax or work. Our only criticism is the lack of private bathrooms as you needed to leave the lounge area to use the facilities. However, entering the lounge area is simple as you just scan your boarding pass and the “magic doors” open.

Some of the breakfast offerings

Continental breakfast

You can see both Lenny and I were able to find ample breakfast fare. Coffee and tea are readily available as are alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Bagels, danish, cereal, and even hot foods like waffles and bacon are available.

Sunrise as seen from the Brightline Station in Orlando

You can have a breakfast cocktail. Bloody Mary anyone?

Some of the snack items available for purchase for Select Fare

Souvenirs are available for purchase

The Brightline Bar, Mary Mary, is named after Henry Flagler’s (founder of the Florida railroad) second wife.

SIgn shows current destinations in Florida. There are more coming, hopefully soon.

All too soon, our time in the lounge was over and we proceeded down the stairs to the train platform. Your ticket is marked with your train car and seat and the directions are very straight forward. Even so, we enjoyed chatting with the personnel on the platform and found them to be friendly and accomodating.

Brightline train arrives in Orlando station

Time to ride the Brightline.

Once we settled into our seat, we were excited to begin our journey. A cabin attendant serves each cabin and comes through with a cart containing multiple snacks, breakfast items, and all types of beverages. The food and beverage is included in your premium service.

Comfy train seats

If you need additional service while traveling, you scan a QR code with your smart phone and order exactly what you would like by seat number and have it delivered directly to your seat.

Leaving Orlando train station past the air traffic control tower

The Brightline is a high speed rail line as the tracks follow eastbound State Route 528 (also known as the Beachline express). Initially, the train mimics the speed of the highway traffic, but as the journey continues, the Brightline begins rocking faster. Reaching test speeds of up to 130 miles per hour, I am confident that Brightline was in excess of 110 mph as we reached the State Route 528 and Interstate 95 interchange in approximately 20 minutes. After we made the turn to head south, the train’s speed slowed dramatically.

Arriving at West Palm Beach two hours and 8 minutes after our departure from Orlando, we were happy with the comfortable seats, impeccable service and cleanliness of our train. We enjoyed a seamless premier experience. The West Palm Beach station, while smaller, is also newly renovated with comfortable amenities and decorated in the train’s signature yellow.

West Palm Beach train station

For the sake of comparison, we returned to Orlando using the Select fare (also known as) less expensive tickets. We were running out of time in West Palm Beach, so we returned to the train station about an hour and a half before our trip back to Orlando. We assumed that we could pick up light bites in the lobby bar area, as we waited in the regular lounge.

Rental car desk at West Palm Beach Station

Unfortunately, for Brightline ( and us) this was not the case. The lobby bar only had beverages and empanadas. The pretzel bites, flat bread pizza and other snacks were sold out.

Escalator to 2nd floor lobby area in West Palm Beach

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Lobby area in West Palm Beach station

The SELECT fare seats on the train were comfortable, albeit slightly less wide and plush as compared to the premium seats. Lenny who is over 6 feet tall had plenty of leg room to stretch out. We tried to order from the a la carte menu using our smartphones, but unfortunately most of the food items were sold out. Thankfully, I always carry a water bottle and a snack with me.

Seats on Brightline have ample width and leg room

In conclusion, the Brightline train is a definite must. A convenient way to visit South Florida from Orlando, or Orlando from South Florida, the train makes traveling very comfortable and affordable. We personally know cruisers who take the Brightline to Ft. Lauderdale from Orlando for their cruise. We saw many baseball fans on the train, headed to Miami for a Marlin game.

On another personal note, we met a friend in the Orlando station headed to Miami for work. She and her husband use Brightline often for work purposes.

She states,” I love traveling by Brighline. The experience is wonderful and beats driving or flying for business.”

Destinations currently served by Brightline.

My advice, definitely try the Brightline train service. But remember to bring your water bottle and a snack!

All the best,

Jennifer