Brightline, owned by Fortress Investment Group, began running trains between Miami and West Palm Beach in 2018, the first private intercity passenger service to begin U.S. operations in a century.

Brightline, the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger rail system in the United States, is owned by Brightline Holdings LLC, which is itself a subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries (FECI). FECI is a major infrastructure and real estate investment platform managed by Fortress Investment Group, a global investment management firm based in New York. The visionary behind the project is Wes Edens, a co-founder of Fortress Investment Group and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, who has been instrumental in the company's expansion from its initial Florida corridor to the upcoming Brightline West high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to Southern California. As of 2026, the company is led by CEO Nicolas Petrovic, a former Eurostar executive who was appointed to drive the next phase of growth. While it shares a historical name with the Florida East Coast Railway (FECR), the two companies are operationally distinct, with Brightline focusing exclusively on passenger rail while FECR handles freight.