Congressmen Posey and Mast have introduced the Pedestrian Safety Study Act to help protect the safety of pedestrians, motorists and residents along the high-speed rail corridor being constructed on Florida’s East Coast. Virgin Trains, USA., formerly known as Brightline, was running from Miami to West Palm Beach when management announced it would shut down until further notice due to Coronavirus.
Brightline Train going through an at-grade crossing in Broward County. September 2018
The proposed legislation would provide federal funding to study the safety of the railway, particularly in areas where schools are within a one mile radius of the railroad.
Residents and local businesses have expressed safety concerns about the rail project given the high number of fatalities already associated with the train since its South Florida operations began in 2018.
“These trains will travel at fast speeds through existing town centers and residential areas with little separating the tracks from the surrounding communities,” said Rep. Posey. “The introduction of high- speed rail will undoubtedly present safety challenges for many, including our schools, and that needs to be properly addressed.”
Last year, the Associated Press reported the FEC railroad corridor has the worst per mile death rate of any of the 821 railroads in this Country.
“The deaths our communities have already witnessed along this corridor clearly indicate there are safety issues, and Brightline has a long history of straight-up lying to the people of Florida, so at this point I don’t believe they’ve earned the trust to decide for themselves whether their trains are safe. This study is much needed to expose these issues before more lives are lost,” said Rep. Mast.
The Pedestrian Safety Study Act directs the FRA and the Federal Highway Administration to conduct a study on motorist and pedestrian safety along the Virgin/Brightline high-speed train corridor and share their safety recommendations with Florida’s Department of Transportation.
Read the press release: PedestrainSafetyStudyAct-Release-July16,2020
Read the proposed legislation: Rail Safety Study POSEY