Seventeen companies connected to Florida’s Brightline railway have entered Chapter 11 under a restructuring agreement that promises $490 million in new financing and a substantial reduction in parent-company debt.
Brightline announced the agreement on Friday after affiliated entities filed petitions in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Brightline Trains Florida, the company that operates passenger service between Miami and Orlando, is not a debtor. The railway said trains, tickets and customer operations will continue normally.
The proposed restructuring would eliminate about $3.3 billion of debt while leaving untouched roughly $2.2 billion in construction bonds. The new capital is expected to include $350 million of junior debt and $140 million of additional senior debt after the companies emerge from bankruptcy.
Brightline has reported higher ridership and revenue, but it also carries heavy financing costs from a network whose construction exceeded $6 billion. The petitions list assets and liabilities above $1 billion.
The plan is not self-executing. The bankruptcy court must approve the restructuring process and related financing, and creditors retain the procedural rights available in Chapter 11.
Brightline restructuring announcement
