Judging from the heavy flow of travelers who boarded and disembarked from Brightline trains in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, it would seem unfathomable that the pioneering higher-speed rail business would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
For Jodi Hinkle, who was headed for Port Everglades with a friend for a seven-day cruise in the Caribbean, Brightline is a railroad that ought to be serving her hometown of Oklahoma City.
“I wish we had some kind of mass transit,” she said while waiting for a ride to the port from the Brightline station. “It was so convenient. I think it was a lot faster than going in an Uber.”
She and her friend, Jan Nicosia of Washington State, had just spent three days visiting Miami and took the train to Fort Lauderdale to catch their cruise ship. A “good experience,” Nicosia said, and comparable to the high-speed Eurostar rail line in Europe.
The sentiment was echoed by others, including Raymond Joseph, himself an Uber driver who was waiting for two clients arriving from Orlando.
“A lot of people are enjoying it,” he acknowledged, adding that many travelers tell him they believe Brightline is safer than flying.
Nonetheless, some 17 Brightline entities — but not the operating company — filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors just before midnight last Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, New Jersey. The filings came after Brightline spent many grueling months of trying to renegotiate billions in debt that helped fund the construction and expansion of Brightline into the 235-mile passenger rail service that now extends from Miami to Orlando, serving Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach in between.
The Brightline parking garage in Fort Lauderdale was more than half full on Saturday as passengers boarded heavily booked trains. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The business at this point
Where does Brightline stand today? According to a court declaration from Brightline President Patrick Goddard, the business shapes up this way:
“Brightline’s core operating business has continued to gain commercial momentum as it ramps up following the opening of its Orlando station and long-distance service, consistent with other early-stage intercity passenger rail operators,” he wrote in the filing dated Friday. “The Company’s ridership and revenue continue to grow year over year, while guests continue to give high marks to Brightline’s service. As such, these Chapter 11 Cases have been commenced, not to address the operating business— which is not itself in Chapter 11—but to address a holding company capital structure.
“Although Brightline’s revenue and ridership have continued to grow (the Company achieved record monthly ridership in March 2026, and monthly ridership exceeded prior-year levels in each month through July 2026), results have materially lagged the company’s original projections and the reserves set side to cover debt service through ramp up were not enough for the slower ramp up the company has seen.”
The company is continuing to operate its train schedules as usual. There have been no announcements of any layoffs or other cutbacks.
The Rail Service: Brightline operates up to 36 one-way trains daily at speeds up to 125 mph. For the 12-month period between July 2025-26, ridership was 3.6 million.
Workforce: Brightline Management LLC employs approximately 520 employees, with 90 people working at the corporate level, 340 working in guest services, ticketing, maintenance, engineering, cafes and concessions. An estimated 100 are members of the Transport Workers Union (TWU), with a collective bargaining agreement under negotiation.
The Chapter 11 Filers: They are holding companies whose primary assets include direct/indirect ownership of Brightline Trains Florida LLC — the operator of the trains — which is not in Chapter 11.
Principal Assets: Interests in the railroad operating company; commuter access rights in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties; assets for a potential Orlando-to-Tampa expansion; and a 40% interest in the Brightline West rail project proposed for Las Vegas to Southern California. (Brightline West is not in Chapter 11).
Debt at a Glance: Consolidated long-term debt by the Chapter 11 companies totaled approximately $2.492 billion, with total combined debt (including obligations of those not in Chapter 11) of approximately $7.1 billion.
Pre-Chapter 11 Restructuring Efforts: Brightline hired financial and legal advisers to pursue investor interest in buying stock and in asset sales (which generated limited interest). It remarketed bonds, delayed interest payments on existing debt and obtained bridge financing.
Why file for Chapter 11: Despite record ridership growth, revenue lagged behind original projections. The bankruptcy cases aim to rebalance the holding company’s funded debt obligations and raise additional cash.
“Restructuring Support Agreements”: In other words, deals that will deliver new financing that will allow the railroad to keep running. On the day of the Chapter 11 filings, Brightline reached agreement with an insurance company and a group of mutual funds for “additional bridge” and post-Chapter 11 financing plus nearly $490 million in new long-term “exit” capital.
A southbound Brightline train eases out of the downtown Fort Lauderdale station at Broward Boulevard. The company is offering a wide variety of special fares to draw customers such as $15 one-way weekend tickets between Sept. 30 and Nov. 1 for travel in South Florida. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Continuing traveler support
On Saturday, travelers were continuing to vote in Brightline’s favor. A ticket agent said all of the trains were full, and the terminal quickly filled up with passengers of all ages before trains rolled into the station. A seven-story parking garage operated by Brightline on a nearby side street was filled to the fourth floor. Shuttle vans bearing Brightline’s black and yellow colors ferried train passengers to and from the airport.
Fort Lauderdale bankruptcy lawyer Chad Van Horn, who is not involved in the Brightline case, said in an interview Friday that it appears the rail line can succeed if the debt load becomes lighter.
“It seems based on the numbers that the business works without the debt,” he said. “Chapter 11 is greatest at fixing debt issues.”
Advance reports of the impending bankruptcy filings this past week did not seem to deter passengers, said Van Horn, who rode a Brightline train from Fort Lauderdale to Miami on Thursday.
“It was packed,” he said. “I love it. I take it to Orlando for court. I take it to Miami. I am certainly wishing them the best.”
Still, said Hinkle, the traveler from Oklahoma, there was one minor downside: “The only thing I didn’t like was I had to ride backwards and it made me a little nauseous.”
A first-day hearing on an array of company motions for various approvals, including the financing agreements, is set for Monday before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mark E. Hall in Newark.