The Transport Workers Union of America is demanding a federal investigation into an incident on Friday night during which two Brightline train cars filled with smoke and three crew members went to the hospital for nausea and headaches.
The Miami to Orlando train should have been taken out of service after smoke started emanating from beneath the rear of the train, but Brightline kept it in passenger service, TWU officials say. The union is filing an incident report with the Federal Railroad Administration.
“Brightline’s actions here are nothing short of despicable,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said. “They recklessly put the safety of passengers and workers at risk. This is completely unacceptable on many levels.”
The 10-car train departed at 7:20 p.m. The train halted before reaching its first station stop, Aventura, when smoke started entering the second-to-last car. Crew members evacuated passengers from the last two cars to other parts of the train.
The train then continued and made stops at Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach.
At West Palm, other workers from Brightline arrived and checked the train. It then continued to Orlando. It arrived at 12:20 a.m., which is two hours late. Three Onboard Attendants went to the hospital due to headaches and nausea.
The TWU represents Onboard Attendants and Lead Attendants employed by Brightline.