How Amtrak’s crumbling monopoly could finally mean more high-speed rail in America

In the land where the car is king, the only private operator of intercity passenger trains is about to launch a new service in Florida. Next? Trains at 186mph between Las Vegas and Southern California, writes Luz Lazo

A Brightline train heading north from Miami (Thomas Simonetti/The Washington Post)

Amtrak’s decades-old monopoly on intercity passenger rail travel will fall in the coming weeks when Florida becomes home to the fastest American trains outside the Northeast Corridor.

Brightline, the only private passenger railroad in the country, is slated to open its newest station later this year, providing a train connection between Orlando International Airport and South Florida in three hours. Meanwhile, work is progressing on high-speed projects in Western states and Texas, while Amtrak is eyeing its biggest expansion in 52 years.

Two years after the infrastructure law began pumping $66bn (£52bn) into the nation’s ageing rail network, domestic passenger railroads are showing their greatest signs of strength in generations. Amtrak’s singular grip on transporting US rail passengers is slipping as private companies, states and the federal government look to fast trains as environmentally friendly alternatives to traffic-clogged highways, while developers promise speeds rivalling those in Europe and Asia.