Feds Let Florida Trains Run with Broken Crash-Prevention Computers
Published Date: 12/11/2025
Notice
Summary
Brightline Trains Florida and Florida East Coast Railway hit a temporary snag when their safety tech, called Positive Train Control (PTC), went offline on December 5, 2025. They got the green light from the Federal Railroad Administration to keep running trains with some safety rules in place while fixing the issue. The public can share their thoughts by December 19, 2025, so everyone stays in the loop and safe on the rails!
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Trains Operate During PTC Outage
On December 5, 2025, Brightline Trains Florida and Florida East Coast Railway experienced a temporary outage of their Positive Train Control (PTC) back office servers. The Federal Railroad Administration authorized them to continue operating without the I-ETMS PTC system until 11:59pm EST on December 8, 2025, but required speed limits and other safety restrictions during that period. This affects passengers and FECR's tenant railroad on the impacted Florida networks while the systems were being repaired.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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