About this episode

The episode explores the Brightline rail service in Florida, analyzing its business model and financial sustainability.

Brightline has been held up as proof that private passenger rail can work in the United States and right now it’s also a warning sign. We went to Florida to ride the Miami to Orlando train for ourselves, then pulled the thread on the business model behind the glossy stations and “high speed-ish” branding. What we found is a system with real momentum as well as a very real financial clock ticking in the background. We unpack how Brightline makes money, starting with the obvious: ticket revenu...

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