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Problem Draft



THE FLORIDA BRIGHTLINE


ROUGH DRAFT




DEFINITIONS:
The Brightline: The Brightline is a privately owned company high-speed railway system that runs from central Florida to South Florida.
Bonds: The a loan usually given by the government that is paid back at a certain time

Phase One: Phase One involved the construction of a railway that takes passengers to West Palm Beach, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale. 
Phase Two: the construction of the Orlando portion of the railway

PROBLEM:

The lack of barriers or fencing puts pedestrians at risk and inefficient suicide prevention efforts. The Florida Brightline has become the most deadly railroad in the country.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

The creation of the BrightLine is the result of a series of acquisitions. The Fortress Company acquires the company Florida East Coast Industries(FECI) for $3.5 billion dollars. FECI is Florida’s Largest and oldest Real estate and Transportation Company. It is an essential part of constructing the infrastructure of Florida. This acquisition leads to the creation of a privately owned company called All Aboard Florida (AFF). All Aboard Florida had the dream of creating a train that quickly and efficiently takes passengers around Florida in less time than a car ride. This goal for connecting Floridians to the commercial and most popular areas of Florida occurred in two phases.

Phase One involved the construction of a railway that would take passengers to West Palm Beach, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale. An additional goal of All Aboard Florida is to improve upon Florida’s existing railways and ensuring the safety of passengers and pedestrians alike. In 2015, the AFF is renamed the Brightline.




While Phase Two of the AFF involves extending the railway to Orlando. More specifically the Orlando addition of railway would connect to Northern Florida (Jacksonville and Tampa) to Central Florida(Orlando) to South Florida ( Ft. Lauderdale and Port Miami). The construction is projected to be completed by 2022. This part of the railway was financed by the Florida Development Finance Group for $1.15 billion dollars in bonds and was quickly approved by the US Department of Transportation in December 2017. After a series of test-runs, the Brightline officially opened to Floridians in January of 2018.




CASE STUDIES

The first fatality associated with the Brightline occurred during initial testing in 2017. An eighteen-year-old girl stepped in front of the train and died shortly after being hit. Her death was ruled as a suicide.
Prior to the public opening of the Brightline, Jennifer Reed, a Florida resident, was hit by the Brightline Train and died. 

Since 2017,  the Brightline has become the most deadly railway in the country in a span of three years. The Brightline is a high-speed railway system that connects Central and South Florida.  What would take three to four hours in a car ride would take only an hour on the Brightline. According to the Tri-Rail Commuter Service, the national amount of fatalities is 1 for every 100, 000 miles. The Brightline's average is 1 every 29,000 miles. That is about one or more deaths a month. 
This is a matter of public safety and security. The Brightline travels to and from the most populous areas of Florida. 111.8 million people visit Florida according to VisitFlorida. Visitors along with Florida natives want to find the most cost-effective, convenient and secure way to travel. These factors play a major part in influencing a consumer’s choice of travel. Less money spent on travel can have a positive effect on Florida’s businesses. 
The Brightline Trains will have an increase in riders with the construction of the Orlando leg of the railway. Orlando is one of the most popular places to visit in Florida, it is the home to theme parks such as Disney World, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Legoland and SeaWorld. Theme-park goers could enjoy their vacations by avoiding the stresses of a car-ride by taking the Brightline to Miami. Inversely, over 5 million people a year travel to Port Miami. A  train that takes tourists from popular destination to popular destination is not only ideal but it is an effective use of one’s resources. 
When one considers the information listed above, the number of people that can be impacted by the Brightline Train this importance of the safety and security of that use the Brightline is urgent. The Brightline will become a more integral part of the Floridian economy amongst the completion of Phase Two. Tourism is a major factor that will influence the success of Brightline. An interconnected state will increase travel. Security and Safety should be the main concern with Brightline. In an article by NPR, Brightline understands the concerns of citizens and advocacy groups but the company seems to be more focused on the construction of the Orlando Station. Part of the concern is with the $200,000 per mile of fencing for the 235-mile railroad. Safety should always precede costs. The Brightline has the duty to maintain, operate, to secure their railway systems. In order to reduce accidents, it would be helpful to increase suicide prevention efforts and construct barriers around railways. 

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Introduction

The Brightline is a railway system that takes its passengers to and from metropolitan areas of Florida such as West Palm Beach, Ft.Lauderdale, and Miami. The Brightline is the nation's deadliest railway, with more than one death per month. This is more than all of the 821 railways in the US. Many of these deaths are a result of suicide or reckless behavior (ie. trying to beat the train or playing drinking games too close to the tracks, etc.). Railway suicide does not only impact the families of the deceased but the passengers and staff on the train and the communities around the area of the incident. Brightline as a company has an inadequate way of addressing suicide prevention and preventing reckless behavior. Despite the clear need for effective change, Brightline has not yet found an efficient way to address this issue. Brightline has partnered with Operation Lifesaver non-profit focused on creating railway safety education. Operation Lifesaver has an abundance of resou...
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