SpaceX Signs First Rail Customer Agreement for Starlink With Florida’s Brightline

Brightline passenger rail company signs on for Starlink internet service. Photo: Brightline

SpaceX has signed its first customer agreement for Starlink with a rail line, as Brightline announced Tuesday that it is offering free Starlink connectivity to passengers. 

Brightline is an inter-city rail company that serves part of Florida — Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach. It is the only privately owned and operated inter-city passenger rail service in the United States. The company plans to begin service to Orlando this summer and expand to connect Las Vegas and Southern California. 

Starlink’s low-latency internet connectivity is available on Brightline’s fleet of five trains servicing South Florida between Miami and West Palm Beach, and will be rolled on the upcoming new, five-train fleet to Orlando. 

“Brightline will be the first train sets in the world to use the Starlink system. This really speaks to what we represent – an innovative passenger rail provider paving the way for high-speed rail in the U.S.,” commented Kevin T. McAuliffe, chief technology & digital innovation officer at Brightline. “Brightline is working with some of the best tech teams around the globe and our partnership with Starlink will elevate our brand to the stars.”

This is Starlink’s first customer in the railroad and passenger rail industry — after SpaceX has announced a slew of new customers in aviation and cruise industries in the past few months including Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Corporation, and Royal Caribbean Group and Hawaiian Airlines.  

SpaceX recently announced that Starlink has reached 1.5 million subscribers — after just hitting 1 million at the end of 2022.