A look inside Brightline’s train maintenance facility in Orlando
The theme park capital of the world will be connected with the cruising capitals of the world, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, by train when Brightline opens their new route later this year. That launch is one step closer with the opening of Brightline’s train maintenance facility they call Basecamp.
Brightline is the only provider of modern, eco-friendly, intercity rail in America. The company currently serves Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach with its Orlando station at the Orlando International Airport beginning service later in 2023.
Basecamp is a 135,805 sq. ft. state-of-the-art train maintenance facility in Orlando. The $100 million facility sits on 62-acres south of Orlando International Airport and has begun commissioning new Brightline trains and servicing existing trains. It will ramp up to a 24/7 operation when Brightline opens its Orlando station later this year and will employ 175 workers, including engineers, conductors, technicians, and inspectors.
“Today we welcome you to the most advanced train maintenance facility in the Southeast and I would venture to say the country – Brightline’s Basecamp,” shared Brightline President Patrick Goddard as he welcomed members of the media to tour the site. This impressive facility was developed by Brightline and is an essential component to our service from Miami to Orlando launching this year.”
Brightline’s Basecamp is the length of two football fields, featuring cutting-edge technology, including:
Truck Shop: where coach and locomotive trucks can be disassembled, cleaned, and rebuilt for additional use
Drop Table: a 25-foot deep drop table that operates between the heavy maintenance track and the truck shop and can swap out trucks quickly to get trains back into service
Parts Warehouse: an 11,000 sq. ft., three-story tall parts shop
Wheel True Facility: where wheels are cut or “trued” back to their original profile allowing for maximum ride quality and performance
Two Fueling Islands and a Sand Island: an 80,000 gallon biodiesel fuel farm
Train Wash Facility: can wash a four coach train and two locomotives in 15 minutes, using 75 percent recycled water
Photo by Quinn Roseboom
The facility will also have:
• The ability to service up to 16 trains at one time in its undercarriage pits.
• Multiple overhead cranes, including a 30-ton crane capable of removing 30,000 pound engines.
• Storage tracks that extend the length of more than two football fields
“This world-class facility has everything under one roof to maintain our trains, will provide highly paid highly skilled jobs to the region and will be a bustling hub for train maintenance, maintaining eight of our 10 trains here nightly,” shared Brightline Executive President of Infrastructure Michael Cegelis, during the briefing. “Currently we are more than 90 percent complete with our construction to Orlando and once completed, we will follow a rigorous certification and verification process. We are closer than ever to connect Florida with high-speed rail.”
As construction continues, Brightline recently made history as the fastest train in Florida, reaching speeds of 130 mph during testing between Orlando International Airport and Cocoa, Fla.
Once open, the Orlando station will take passengers between South and Central Florida in about three hours. For more details on the trip, visit gobrightline.com.
