Local governments and a tax district should create new agreements with two railroads if they are going to receive millions in tax dollars for beneficial projects, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast says in an almost-10-minute Facebook video posted Feb. 6.
The city of Stuart, Martin County and the Florida Inland Navigation District should write contracts with Brightline and Florida East Coast Railway that make the companies better partners if hundreds of millions tax dollars are to be spent on a railroad station and a new a railroad bridge, says Mast, R-Fort Pierce.
Brightline might get a station in Stuart worth $87 million and Brightline and FEC would get a railroad drawbridge over the St. Lucie River in Stuart by paying only $26 million of the $262 million total cost.
The Stuart Brightline station would be at 500 Southeast Flagler Ave.
Train bridge
“I don’t think we should pay to build a bridge that Brightline and FEC control,” Mast says in the video.
FEC did not respond to a request for comment. The Florida Inland Navigation District declined to comment.
The FEC Stuart Railroad Bridge, Jan. 20, 2026.
Brightline is expected to pay nothing for the Stuart train station while Brightline and FEC would pay only 10% of the cost of the train drawbridge.
For that reason, Brightline and FEC should have 10% control over raising and lowering the bridge, Mast said. The public, especially the maritime industry, should have most of the control, he said.
Brightline officials said the operation of the bridge will be determined by rail safety and U.S. Coast Guard regulations.
Stuart Brightline train station
Additionally, Brightline should be more transparent about its finances with FIND, Stuart and Martin County, Mast says, if it wants public money.
“Are you (Brightline) going to be solvent in a year or two years, given the struggles we’ve seen?” Mast asked.
For its part, Brightline said every month it publishes a revenue and ridership report. And that’s transparent, Brightline officials said.
FEC charges
Moreover, FEC, which owns the railroad tracks along Florida’s east coast, charges cities, towns and counties to place cables or pipes under the tracks, Mast says.
“I don’t think it’s a good relationship,” Mast said, when a Mexican company is asking for U.S. tax dollars with one hand and charging taxpayers with the other. FEC is owned by a Mexican company, Groupo Mexico.
Contracts must be written, Mast says, that prevent FEC from charging cities, towns and counties to place cables, pipes and roads under or over tracks.
Mast could not be reached to explain why he thinks FEC should end the charges.
Stuart spokesperson Misti Guertin said contracts would likely be drafted after grant applications are approved.
Waste transfer
Mast also spoke out on the video against the use of the Fort Pierce rail yard as a waste-transfer station for Miami’s trash, which smells and brings rodents.
More on Brightline: Price swells 45% for controversial Florida Brightline station
More on Stuart: Customers in Florida weren’t told of contaminated water for six months
“That’s an example of a terrible partnership,” Mast said. “They need to stop that.”
Mast wants to end the use of Fort Pierce as a waste-transfer station by tying the issue to funding for the S. Lucie bridge.
Keith Burbank is TCPalm’s watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com and at 720-288-6882.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Brightline, FEC need to be better partners, Florida congressman says