Mast wants Brightline shut down for safety review; Nelson calls for federal investigation

By: Andrew Atterbury, Treasure Coast Newspapers

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast on Thursday called for Brightline to shut down its passenger railroad until its "safety flaws" are fixed.

Mast, R-Palm City, weighed in on Brightline safety after a bicyclist was hit and killed by a passenger train Wednesday afternoon. It was the third fatality — and the second death by a Brightline train — on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks within a week.

On Wednesday, just hours after the death of Jeffrey D. King, 51, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, called on U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to launch an investigation into the safety of higher-speed railroad crossings…