The privately operated Brightline train system between Miami and Orlando has killed 182 people in collisions and strikes since 2017, according to a new report.
The passenger train system kills someone every 13 days on average, according to the report from the Miami Herald and WLRN-FM. Collisions and strikes have killed 182 people and injured another 99 since 2017, according to the report.
Pedestrians and cyclists account for the majority of Brightline-related deaths, at 24, while motorists are the remaining 158. Around 60% of the deaths did not occur at train crossings.
The company says that self-harm and reckless behavior contributed to the death toll.
In a statement to the news outlets, Brightline Vice President of Operations Michael Lefevre said, “More than half have been confirmed or suspected suicide – intentional acts of self-harm.” He also said that drivers have gone around gates and ignored warning bells and lights, and that others have taken illegal shortcuts crossing train tracks.
The report, however, said only 75 of the 182 deaths have been ruled as suicides, with 91 ruled as accidents. Another 10 have an undetermined cause and there are six deaths where a ruling on the cause is pending.
Brightline trains run at street level without fencing or other separation from drivers and pedestrians from Miami to Cocoa, Florida, since they travel at under 125 mph. There are safe pedestrian crossings about every quarter mile along the Brightline tracks, according to Mr. Lefevre’s statement.
Train lines that travel above 125 mph, including the northernmost section of the Brightline system that heads to Orlando, must be separated from the road and have no traffic crossings. There have been no deaths on the Orlando section, according to the report.
Brightline contends that the news outlets had an axe to grind against the rail company.
“What was clear from the beginning of their reporting and is evident in the story they ultimately published – facts mattered less than their pre-conceived angle. … None of the incidents along the railroad have been the result of improper train handling by Brightline personnel or failure of our equipment or infrastructure,” the company told Newsweek.
