With Brightline hoping to launch service in early May, the trains will start to become a familiar sight on the FEC Railway tracks running south to Miami.

Brightline on April 28 started simulating service by running trains without passengers from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. It’s already running trains from Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach. Eventually, trains will run from Miami to Orlando International Airport.

Brightline is tweaking its existing Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach schedule to accommodate the testing. Here is the new schedule:

• On weekdays, Brightline operates an hourly schedule. Trains depart from West Palm Beach on the hour, except for the first train that departs at 5:30 a.m., and from Fort Lauderdale at 37 minutes past the hour, except on Fridays when there is an additional departure at 11:57 p.m.
• On weekends, Brightline operates 90-minute intervals between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
• This new schedule will begin on Saturday and is already available for booking.
• The new departure times will remain the same when service opens to Miami.

Guests are encouraged to check the Go Brightline app or the website to book a ticket or get more information.

Click here for previous SFBW stories on Brightline, which is significant as the first national, privately funded high speed train service.