S&P Cuts Brightline Trains Florida Bonds by Two Notches to BB-

S&P Global Ratings lowered its rating for some of the bonds issued on behalf of Brightline Trains Florida by two steps to BB- from BB+, dropping the bonds issued by the Florida Development Finance Corp. further into junk territory.

• The downgrade reflects Brightline’s lower-than-expected ticket revenue for long- and short-distance trips, which was about 28% under analyst’s forecast for the 12 months leading up to June 2025
  • S&P had forecast a 12% increase in long-distance fares in 2025 over 2024. Instead, fares have declined by 2.4%
• Brightline’s “ability to raise prices despite year-over-year ridership increases has stalled, particularly for long-distance ...