Brightline will re-open for business on Nov. 8, 2021, with service between its Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach stations.
Brightline’s train service will relaunch with multiple service enhancements and investments to the guest experience, including new food and beverage options and complimentary door-to-door transportation in December. Starting today, passengers can purchase tickets and book future travel plans through Brightline’s new website and mobile app available for download in Google Play and the Apple Store.
To celebrate its return, Brightline is launching special ticket promotions, including the first ride free through the new Brightline app for smart ride offers during the month of November. Introductory ticket prices will start at $10 for SMART and $27 for PREMIUM for a limited time only.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm for Brightline’s return and we are excited to welcome back past riders and all our new riders on Nov. 8,” said Patrick Goddard, president, Brightline. “Our relaunch opens a new chapter for Brightline that includes an enhanced guest experience, from the moment they book their travel plans on our app, to the moment they reach their final destination. Every stage of the Brightline journey has been built through the lens of today’s modern traveler and creates a travel experience unlike any other.”
What’s new
As part of its relaunch, Brightline is unveiling guest enhancements that will elevate train travel to a true car-free lifestyle experience in South Florida through its new door-to-door service and upgraded food and beverage options.
Door-to-door service
In addition to the Tri-County connectivity provided by Brightline, riders will now get to experience the new and first-of-its-kind branded, door-to-door service. This will include a fleet of both private and third-party vendor vehicles supporting point-to-point service beyond the train and making a car-optional lifestyle possible. This first-of-its-kind multimodal app will help its guests plan trips using public transit, Citibikes, scooters, shuttles and chauffeured vehicles. Brightline is also working on partnering with local public transportation agencies to integrate connectivity between both transportation modes in the near future.
Citizens culinary center
Citizens is MiamiCentral’s new culinary center by C3, a global food tech platform, which will house C3 by sbe’s restaurant offerings inspired by globally-renowned chefs such as “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto, Chef Katsuya Uechi, Michelin Starred chef Dani García and Chef Dario Cecchini. Founded and led by Sam Nazarian, C3 (Creating Culinary Communities) is a fast-growing food-tech platform. The company is re-imagining the food service industry by tapping into the power of exceptional culinary talent, digital brand IP and bringing its portfolio of more than 40 culinary brands.
Original MiamiCentral tenants that will be open at Citizens starting Nov. 8 include KUENKO and Patagonia. Popular C3 brands coming new to Citizens MiamiCentral in November (with more coming in December) include:
- EllaMia - a modern and sophisticated coffee shop that brings a slice of craft coffee culture to national and international destinations. Lovingly named after the two daughters of C3 founder, Sam Nazarian, EllaMia offers breakfast pastries, sandwiches, salads, macarons, specialty chocolates and quality blends of coffee.
- Cindy Lou’s Cookies - Cindy Lou's Cookies is a classic all-American cookie shop founded by Miami-based baker Cindy Kruse and her team, specializing in big, old-fashioned, seriously delicious cookies, that are intended to warm the heart and nourish the soul. Cindy Lou’s Cookies is a recent addition and partner to the C3 platform and with plans to expand nationwide.
- Umami Burger - topping America's best burger lists since 2009. With a new menu helmed by renowned Chef Alvin Cailan, Umami Burger’s revamped menu features favorites for the ultimate foodie and burger aficionados.
- Sam’s Crispy Chicken - a fast-casual dining concept offering Southern-fried chicken specialties 100 percent antibiotic and hormone-free.
- Cicci di Carne - centered on the concept of the local deli and butchers' shop, with a menu helmed by world-renowned Chef Dario Cecchini, known as the "world's best butcher."
Additionally, Citizens at Miami Central will eventually house C3’s ghost kitchens to power the food tech platform’s proprietary app Go by Citizens. The Go by Citizens app provides a digital culinary market experience where consumers can order from multiple C3 digital restaurant brands in one transaction, with no hidden delivery fees and all orders arriving in one basket. Following opening, C3 has plans to open ghost kitchen operations and to feature popular digital restaurant brands such as Soom Soom Fresh Mediterranean, In a Bun, The Other Side and Radical Rooster.
Brightline currently serves Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, with expansion stations in Aventura and Boca Raton opening in 2022. Construction to Orlando is on track to be complete by the end of 2022. Moreover, discussions with local stakeholders remain underway regarding expansion to Disney and Tampa.
Brightline projects more than nine million annual passengers once all Florida stations are completed. The future expansion of MiamiCentral includes a Miami-Dade commuter rail system with stations in Wynwood, the Design District, El Portal, North Miami and FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus.
Touchless and safe travel
Among its new safety measures, Brightline will require all teammates to be fully vaccinated prior to the reintroduction of service. The company has identified and will implement a series of COVID-19 protocols in stations and on-board trains, including an almost touchless transportation system. Safety measures include increased cleaning, pre-packaged foods, touchless bathrooms, cashless payment and electronic tickets. Per the existing federal mandate, teammates and guests will be required to wear masks in stations and onboard all trains. Brightline features reserved seating, and the private four-person table configurations within each coach have plexiglass dividers, providing increased privacy and distancing.
Twenty-five percent of the air in Brightline’s coaches comes from fresh air intake ducts and gets filtered before being mixed with recirculated air, unlike airplanes where air is entirely recirculated. Brightline will also utilize a Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization (NPBI) system developed by Siemens, the manufacturer of the trainsets. Ozone-Free NPBI artificially creates millions of positive and negative ions and releases them into the forced-air circulation of an HVAC system. The ions, or charged particles, neutralize pathogens, viruses and bacteria.
