Even as Brightline’s financial woes are growing, Brevard County leaders remain focused on ensuring the railroad’s next station is built in Cocoa, made possible through millions of dollars in public money.
“There will be passenger rail service here in Cocoa. There is still optimism around it regardless of any news coming out about certain financial situations with Brightline,” said Samantha Senger, the director of economic development with the city of Cocoa.
That optimism remains belied by the report from Ernst and Young auditors, who found that Brightline “does not currently have the liquid funds necessary to service its debt and meet such other obligations as they become due.”
The company currently has over $5 billion in debt and is expected to pay around $117 million in interest this year, having already delayed interest payments previously, according to a Bloomberg report.
Still, the company and local officials appear confident that the passenger train service will continue and that a station will be built in Cocoa.
Brightline has said its ridership is growing and is working on coming up with long-term solutions.
“Brightline continues to demonstrate strong momentum, with first quarter 2026 marking the highest ridership and revenue performance in our history, with 20% year over year growth in March,” Brightline spokeswoman Ashley Blasewitz told the Palm Beach Post.
“We are currently engaged with our partners on various options to enhance our balance sheet and position our company for long-term success.”
Brightline runs from Orlando to Miami with its only other stops being in South Florida.
Cocoa has long been seen as the best candidate for a future stop as the high-speed rail must already slow down substantially to change directions from its east-west to north-south journeys. Currently, the city along with the Space Coast Transportation Organization are waiting on around $57 million in federal grant money to move forward on the station.
“Brightline have been great partners of ours in this project. I foresee it having a good outcome. That grant is to increase passenger rail service around the country. We’re still going to pursue this funding and the station because it’s a transformational project for the region,” Senger said.
In addition to the $57 million being sought in federal transportation grants, the Cocoa station would also be funded by $15.5 million from the Space Coast TPO, $5 million from the Brevard County Tourism Development Council, and $5 million from the city of Cocoa.
County commissioner Thad Altman has long expressed his enthusiasm for the project, especially the use of public money to bring it to fruition. He said the growth of the space industry in Brevard County is going to require more transportation solutions to ensure more people can come here without overcrowding roadways.
“As we become more and more congested, the support that’s going to be necessary, I think you’ll see people commuting through rail,” Altman said. “I hope that one day we’ll be able to connect with Jacksonville and maybe the entire eastern seaboard.”
Whether Brightline’s financial troubles could affect Brevard’s hopes for a commuter rail station is a separate concern, according to Abby Hemenway, spokeswoman for the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization.
“We remain optimistic in the competitive strength of this project, as federal grants heavily favor strong multi-agency partnerships and regional safety benefits. Our partnership model is already proven, having recently secured a $4.9 million federal grant for rail crossing safety enhancements right here in Brevard County,” she added.
Tyler Vazquez is the Growth and Development Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. X: @tyler_vazquez.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brightline’s financial troubles won’t stop Brevard County’s train station plans
Reporting by Tyler Vazquez, Florida Today / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
