Brightline, America's deadliest railroad, has fallen into further trouble as the company faces bankruptcy with little respite in sight after the deaths of nearly 200 people. A financial audit by Ernst & Young on Brightline, a high-speed railroad that launched in 2017, revealed that the company reported a net loss of over $230 million in 2025, raising red flags for the railroad's future. The previous year, the company reported a loss of roughly half a billion dollars. According to the firm, the company's mounting $5.5 billion debt has left Brightline in need of drastic action to avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
There is 'substantial doubt' from the auditors that the railroad, which connects Orlando International Airport to South Florida, will be able to find the funds to recover. 'The company requires funds to service its debt and meet such other obligations as they become due and has stated that it does not currently have the liquid funds necessary to service its debt,' the audit obtained by the Daily Mail stated. 'Substantial doubt exists about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.' Brightline said in the documentation that, while it does not currently have the liquid funds, 'management is working to consummate one or more additional capital raises.'
These, the company said, may come in the form of newly issued senior secured indebtedness, subordinated secured indebtedness, unsecured indebtedness and/or additional equity contributions. Bloomberg reported that the company is looking at bringing on new investors, securing further financing, or rejecting a chunk of their debt without entering court proceedings. The outlet reported that Brightline is expected to hand over $117 million in interest in 2026, but delayed payments earlier in the year. Brightline made $214 million last year, which is an increase of around 14 percent, but the company projected around twice as much, WLRN reported.
In March, credit ratings agency S&P Global cut its low grade on its Brightline bonds and withdrew its ratings completely. The company warned that the restructuring of Brightline's financial borrowing is 'a virtual certainty in about six months,' the outlet reported. 'Brightline Trains Florida continues to significantly underperform our original expectations,' S&P Managing Director Trevor D’Olier-Lees wrote in a debt rating cut. The struggling railroad company saw a 25 percent increase in 2026 from the year before in riders between South Florida stations, but the average fare fell by 16 percent, WLRN reported.
In late December 2025, an investigation by the Miami Herald found that the trainline had killed at least 196 people since 2017. All of those killed by the high-speed trains, except 26 victims, were found to have been on foot or bicycle as the trainline faced massive backlash over its safety precautions. More than half of those killed were walking across the tracks where there were no bells, gates or fences, the outlet reported. What was dubbed the Brightline Corridor then became infamous for the number of deaths that occurred, and the company began to consider more safety features. The death toll documented by the outlet ranged from as young as 17 to 84 years old.
The news comes after the ambitious railroad announced plans to build a line connecting the West of the country across California and Nevada. Brightline had hoped to have the line operational for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but Brightline West's Executive Director Michael Reininger told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the estimated end goal is now more likely in 2029. The first two of eight train sets for the West Coast line are already under construction, according to Reininger. Despite financial concerns, Brightline will continue to operate in Florida. The company had already faced troubles over the years following its designation as the deadliest railroad in the nation. The Daily Mail reached out to Brightline for comment.
