Amtrak crash raises safety concerns about Brightline's high-speed trains

By: Wayne K. Roustan, Sun Sentinel

The fatal Amtrak train derailment in Washington state this week has led Brightline critics to renew their safety warnings.

Brightline trains, which are supposed to start service in the near future, are expected to go 79 mph between West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. They will hit 110 mph going to Cocoa and up to 125 mph to Orlando.

The Amtrak train derailed going 80 mph in a 30 mph zone, according to federal investigators who recovered the data recorder from the crash site over Interstate 5 near Seattle. The train was on its inaugural trip on a new service from Seattle to Portland, Ore., when it derailed Monday while crossing an overpass, killing at least three people and injuring about 100…