WTM 2017: Miami gears up for Brightline train service

The next phase of the Brightline train service, which will connect Miami with Orlando in approximately three hours, is scheduled to launch early next year.

The service, which part-launched in mid-2017, will pass through Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando while improving downtown connections, according to Suzie Sponder, director of media relations for the Miami and Beaches tourism board.

“The Brightline station in downtown is an exciting project in itself – it’s going to have a food hall, it’s going to be like a mega-station”, she said. “The complete service probably wont be launching until later into 2018, probably even 2019, but there will be a direct service from Miami to Fort Lauderdale into Palm Beach up and running before that.”

The train will travel at speeds of up to 125mph with 16 northbound and 16 southbound services operating daily.

Elsewhere in the city a series of new openings is putting the city’s food and culture scene in the spotlight; five new food halls are set to open within the next three years, according to Sponder, including Time Out Market, a cluster of restaurants, bars and cultural experiences curated by Time Out and scheduled to open in 2018.

The Miami Design District, located outside of downtown, also continues to develop with the Institute of Contemporary Art opening in December. The entire complex, home to 125 fashion brands alongside various art installations, is set for completion by the end of next year.