Killer Train

About Killer Train

Brightline, the first private passenger train to open in the U.S. in more than a century, is hailed as a national model for the future of rail. Since 2018, Brightline has sold millions of train tickets in Florida, and now the company is expanding to the West Coast. A yearlong investigation from WLRN News and the Miami Herald uncovers a glaring dark side: Brightline remains the deadliest passenger train in the country by far. According to federal data, someone is killed on average once every 13 days of operation. While the company has claimed most deaths are suicides, in fact, the majority were found to be accidents or their causes were undetermined. And while it’s a private venture, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are being earmarked for Brightline projects. In Killer Train, our team of journalists offers the most comprehensive answer yet to the question: Why is Brightline so deadly?

Publisher

WLRN News, Miami Herald

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

14 Jul 2025

Latest episode

30 Dec 2025

Latest episodes

3 of 8 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   30 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Over / under

   The future of Brightline may depend upon public dollars for safety upgrades, critical infrastructure and for keeping the company's struggling finances afloat.

2. 

   20 Nov 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Sitting ducks

   Why are some railroad crossings more dangerous than others, according to federal data? Drivers who survived collisions with Brightline trains argue the infrastructure around the tracks put them in harm's way.

3. 

   30 Oct 2025TRANSCRIPT

   The high price of quiet trains

   The tracks Brightline trains run on were already the deadliest stretch of railroad in the nation in the 1980s and 90s, according to federal data. Have local governments learned anything from that history?

4. 

   29 Jul 2025

   'You never think that you'll die in that way'

   Hear the stories of three people who lost their lives on the tracks, in the words of the loved ones they left behind.

5. 

   22 Jul 2025

   Bonus Episode: Cracking open Brightline’s books

   Brightline hasn’t yet turned a profit — and it’s billions of dollars in debt.

6. 

   22 Jul 2025

   Should tax dollars pay for a private train?

   Taxpayers are on the hook for hundreds of millions in costs related to Brightline, despite the company’s initial claims that the train would be fully funded by private investment.

7. 

   15 Jul 2025

   Emergency

   Early on, the promise of a private passenger train connecting South Florida’s cities was tempered by the reality: People were dying on the tracks.

8. 

   14 Jul 2025

   Introducing Killer Train

   Florida’s Brightline has been hailed as a model for the future of U.S. rail. It’s also the deadliest passenger train in the country by far, according to federal data.

Inside a recent episode

Over / under

Published 30 Dec 2025 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And if anyone's going to pay for it, it's going to be taxpayers. These proposed tunnels in Fort Lauderdale alone would cost $500 million. And building bridges along the route that Brightline uses would be over $600 million. That's according to estimates from Broward County in the state of Florida. In Aventura, about halfway between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, the state built a ramp to bring cars over the FEC rail tracks, costing taxpayers $40 million. That, plus a separate bridge for pedestrians, was completed in April 2025. When you're at the top of this pedestrian bridge, you can see the old intersection, where Northeast 203rd Street used to cross the railroad tracks. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

3.9 / 5

35 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 17 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

13

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

50

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