Several parent companies of Brightline, Florida’s high-speed rail system connecting Miami and Orlando, will soon file for Chapter 11 as part of a restructuring agreement with several stakeholders.
The restructuring support agreement was announced September 25 and will secure $490 million for Brightline Trains Florida in new long-term capital from supporting stakeholders. The company says the funding boost will deleverage its balance sheet and improve liquidity.
Seventeen of Brightline’s affiliate companies will fall under the bankruptcy filing, which will remove $3.3 billion in company debt and leave the company with $2.2 billion in bond debt, according to Reuters. The bankruptcy filing lists Brightline as having over $1 billion in assets but also over $1 billion in liabilities.
Despite the changes, Brightline says its Miami-Orlando rail operations will not be impacted and that the rail’s managing entity, Brightline Trains Florida, will not file Chapter 11 and will not change its leadership team.
In a press release, Brightline named two of its associated companies — Brightline Florida Holdings (which indirectly holds the rights to develop commuter service in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties) and AAF Operations Holdings (which indirectly holds the Tampa development rights) — as among its affiliated companies that will not file Chapter 11.
Powered byBrightline also reported a 14% year-over-year increase in total revenues for the first eight months of 2026 and said it will “continue to pursue multiple growth initiatives including the development of additional stations.”
The path to bankruptcy can be traced to July 2025, according to Vero News, when Brightline failed to make interest payments on over $1 billion in bonds, and in August 2025, the company’s Miami station entered foreclosure following a lawsuit from U.S. Bank over missing interest payments.
Brightline first opened in 2018 between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. It began building an Orlando expansion in 2019 and, in 2022, opened stations in Boca Raton and Aventura.
Meanwhile, Brightline West is working on an all-electric, high-speed train between Las Vegas and Los Angeles set to wrap up in 2029. Brightline West was not among the affiliate companies filing for bankruptcy.
