Celebrating a Milestone in West Palm Beach

By GERRY BARKER
North Palm Beach Life

​WEST PALM BEACH -- Brightline rail service in South Florida took another major step forward on Sept. 30 with the official "topping out" ceremony for its West Palm Beach station.

To mark the occasion, Brightline employees, Palm Beach elected officials, construction workers from Moss and Associates and others gathered in the bright Florida sunshine to sign and raise the Brightline yellow flag over the station structure.

“Just two years ago we unveiled the design of the Brightline station, and today we are celebrating the topping out of the structure,” said City of West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio in the Brightline press release. “The City of West Palm Beach is excited to celebrate yet another milestone with Brightline, which will transform the way we move people in and out of our city. I look forward to welcoming the first train to West Palm Beach and the launch of service next year.”

Brightline President Mike Reininger shared his excitement as well: “We are thrilled to reach another important milestone and appreciate the continued support and excitement for Brightline from officials and community leaders in West Palm Beach,” he said.. “We continue to progress at a rapid pace on the development of our stations and trains and look forward to a more connected South Florida that has a new and brighter transportation alternative starting next summer.”

Another significant result of Brightline's launch will be the addition of over 130  jobs in West Palm Beach -- welcome news for the local economy.

Brightline noted the downtown West Palm Beach station, located between S. Rosemary and S. Quadrille, east and west, and between Datura Street and Evernia Street, north and south,  will offer a variety of options to get riders to the stations and to their final destinations. Those include ride-sharing/taxi options, rental cars and shuttle services, as well as the ability to connect to the Palm Tran, Tri-Rail, and downtown trolley system.

​ Brightline express train service launches in mid-2017, connecting West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, with future service planned to Orlando.

Audio from the Topping Out Ceremony:
Remarks by Brightline President Mike Reininger and Moss CEO Bob Moss

The yellow Brightline flag was raised above the station structure