Brightline: Orlando high-speed rail extension will be fully American-made

ORLANDO, Fla. — Brightilne says it’s not just connecting a high-speed rail service from South Florida to Central Florida, it’s also creating jobs.

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The first train for their Orlando extension arrived at Orlando International Airport last month.

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Brightline officials say that everything inside and outside of one of their trains is 100 percent made in America.

Construction of the Orlando extension is approximately 75 percent complete, thanks to more than 1,000 local workers, with more jobs to come.

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Brightline’s vehicle maintenance facility, located just south of Orlando International Airport, for example, is where the trains will go to be serviced.

“It will be home to about 175 jobs for highly-skilled workers who will be maintaining the trains, and also the people who maintain our track will be in this facility as well,” Brightline Executive Vice President Michael Cegelis explained.

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“We were the first to say,100 percent, if you’re going to build on our train, it’s going to be here in America,” Brightline Chief Mechanical Officer Tom Rutkowski said. “In the end, we felt that it was part of our story of Brightline. We were born an American company and we want to continue it on.”

Construction on Brightline’s Orlando extension is set to be completed this year. It will start carrying the first passengers sometime in 2023.

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