Brightline has announced opening its $100m state-of-the-art train maintenance facility, Basecamp, which sits on a 25-hectare site south of Orlando International Airport. The facility, the most advanced in the region, will be used to commission new Brightline trains. It will also service existing trains in anticipation of a ramp-up to 24/7 operations when Brightline opens its Orlando station later in 2023. When operating at full capacity, the facility will employ 175 workers. The facility can service up to 16 trains at one time in its undercarriage pits. It also has multiple overhead cranes and storage tracks that extend the length of more than two football fields, among other advanced technology features.
The operator has also announced the implementation of a new inventory, ticketing and reservation system from Sqills, a Siemens Mobility subsidiary. It will allow the company to manage and maximise seat utilisation optimally. The new system, known as S3 Passenger, will enable Brightline to enhance the customer experience with high-end luxury and real-time predictive maintenance. Implementing the new system will help the company increase operations to begin long-haul service to Orlando. The latest investment into the S3 passenger solution will also provide critical data analytics to make operations more efficient.
Brightline’s goal is to reinvent train travel and remove cars from the road by connecting city pairs and congested corridors that are too close to fly and too long to drive. The company provides fast, efficient, hospitality-driven transportation featuring the latest in customer-friendly amenities. The opening of Basecamp and the implementation of the new reservation system mark a significant step forward in Brightline’s mission to revolutionise rail travel in America.
