Virgin Trains ends 2019 “ramp up” year nearing 1 million South Florida riders
Virgin Trains finished November with almost 900,000 riders — less than half its initial projected estimate. But the company says it is still on track to its goal of 2.9 million riders by 2021.
Total ridership through November climbed above 885,000, with 100,627 riders for the month. It was the first time ridership topped six figures in a single 30-day period since Brightline began South Florida operations in May 2018. The company is changing the Brightline name to Virgin Trains USA.
More arrivals and departures for Brightline in major South Florida cities
That falls far below the 2.1 million riders that the company had projected for 2019 in financial filings.
But Virgin says it continues to project reaching 2.9 million riders over the next three years in what it is calling its “ramp up” period. It said it intended to reach 80% of its target ridership in 2020, and 100% by the conclusion of 2021.
“We’ve nearly doubled our ridership from 2018 and are pleased with the momentum and positive trends we are seeing, including repeat ridership,” Virgin Trains said in a statement. “If you look at rail utilization around the world, it takes about three to four years to achieve stabilization.”
Annual passenger-based revenues, meanwhile, were on pace to hit more than $20 million for 2019, a figure also far short of initial projections of about $56 million. Virgin expects to see ridership and revenues further increase this year with the addition of at least three new stops, at PortMiami, Aventura and Boca Raton.
In its November filing, the company said commuter pass subscriptions have doubled since the beginning of the year, while enrollment in its corporate travel program now exceeds 5,000 individuals — up from 2,520 in September.
The company continues to face safety concerns along the rail line — a situation that has brought scrutiny from Tallahassee. Virgin has not been found formally at fault in any of the incidents and says it is working on beefing up safety at grade crossings, including using drone technology.
Meanwhile, investors continue to back the project. Virgin is set to borrow $4 billion to fund its Palm Beach-to-Orlando leg through issuing debt that the Wall Street Journal reported in May is oversubscribed. The Journal said demand for risky but lucrative bonds is making projects like Virgin viable.
Virgin is also planning to build a high-speed rail connecting Las Vegas with Southern California; it has received clearance to go to market for another $4 billion for that project.
