Brightline marks its first anniversary of connecting Orlando and South Florida with plans for expansion and new services.

A Brightline train leaves the Miami Central station to Orlando for the first time, fulfilling the private company’s goal six years after it began operation, Sept. 22, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier).

Time flies when you are traveling by rail. Next week will mark the first-year anniversary of Brightline, the high-speed passenger-rail service, of its train service between Miami and Orlando.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Brightline is celebrating its one-year anniversary of service to Orlando. Channel 9 anchor Alexa Lorenzo boarded the train this week for a trip to South Florida and learned more about Brightline’s future.

Brightline prepares to expand its rail service with extra train cars and a new loyalty program after a successful year of Orlando-South Florida connections.

For the first seven months of the year, Brightline had more than 900,000 long-distance passengers — those traveling to and from Orlando.

Now that Brightline has activated its 170-mile extension between South Florida and Orlando, the higher-speed rail line is turning its attention to laying foundations for a commuter line in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, a new stop along the Treasure Coast, and expansion to Tampa.