Florida East Coast Railway might have derailed the construction of a Brightline passenger rail station in Stuart.
“FEC (Florida East Coast Railway) has clearly communicated in multiple letters to Brightline that the request and plan for a passenger station in Stuart have been denied,” said Robert Ledoux, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, for Brightline, in an April 27 letter to former Stuart Mayor Christopher Collins.
The FEC, according to the letter, “cannot support any station that would result in the existing Stuart bridge being down in violation of USCG rules,” likely referring to the drawbridge over the St. Lucie River in Stuart, which is subject to U.S. Coast Guard rules.
“The FEC system would require the bridge to be down while the train stops at the station,” Ledoux wrote.
Ledoux declined to comment further to TCPalm.
Martin County officials, however, appear unconcerned about the project’s future at this point.
Asked whether the letter from FEC has any implication for the project in Martin County, County Administrator Don Donaldson said, “We don’t believe it has.”
Brightline officials, for their part, reiterated its commitment to a station in Stuart.
“Brightline has reviewed FECR’s (Florida East Coast Railway’s) objections and determined they lack merit,” Brightline said in a statement to TCPalm. “The proposed station will remain fully compliant with Coast Guard regulations. Brightline remains committed to collaborating with Martin County to deliver this important community asset.”
City records show the letter was received May 5.
“Brightline cannot unilaterally build anything on FEC without FEC’s express written approval,” Ledoux wrote.
FEC’s letter comes following correspondence the Stuart City Commission sent April 3 to FEC, Brightline, Martin County and the Federal Railroad Administration about a potential parking deficit at the Stuart station if it is built.
The parking deficit, FEC said, is now moot because it has denied its approval for a station.
The potential project
Stuart city commissioners in September 2024 rescinded an agreement with Brightline for a station at 500 Southeast Flagler Ave. in Stuart.
But then Brightline and Martin County signed an agreement in November 2024 to build a station at the same location, pending receipt of grant money to help construct the station.
The project cost has recently ballooned to $87 million. Martin County is seeking nearly $70 million in federal grant money to build the station.
FEC owns the railroad tracks from Miami to Jacksonville, which Brightline uses to take passengers between Miami and Orlando.
Letter backs up decision
Asked whether the station is dead, Stuart Mayor Sean Reed said it’s hard for him to make that assumption.
But “we made the right choice to protect taxpayers’ hard-earned money and having fiscal responsibility for their money,” Reed said May 6, regarding the commission’s decision to rescind the agreement with Brightline in September 2024. “I was right in the end.”
The letter backs up his decision, he said.
Likewise, Collins said, “The letter further vindicates the decision of the Stuart City Commission to rescind the bad deal that would have put taxpayers on the hook for a $30-$45 million loan to pay for Brightline’s station.”
Brightline heavily subsidized, lawsuit says
Indeed, in a pending lawsuit against Brightline, FEC says, “In the face of soaring debt obligations, Brightline turned to taxpayers to fund infrastructure improvements and maintenance.”
The lawsuit claims “Brightline’s train stations have been heavily subsidized by public funding.”
Local governments in Miami paid $43 million of the $70 million for a station, according to the suit. And Miami-Dade County paid the entire $76 million for the station in Aventura, the suit says. Boca Raton received $16.4 million in grant money to build a station there and provided a local match, according to the lawsuit.
Brightline declined to provide any money to build a station in Stuart, which is what prompted the City Commission to rescind the agreement.
Keith Burbank is a watchdog reporter for TCPalm, usually covering Martin County. He can be reached at keith.burbank@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Latest Florida Brightline station might be dead, FEC denies approval
Reporting by Keith Burbank, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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