BREVARD COUNTY, Fla — Drivers are urged to use caution over the next few days as Brightline trains will be testing speeds up to 79 MPH.

As trains begin to pass through the Cocoa area, enthusiast Mike Wheeler said the tests were a must-see event.

“I’ve always enjoyed them," says Wheeler. "I’ve been to Europe and up in England. They’ve got rail transportation down, and we could learn a lot from them.”

Brightline’s high-speed testing corridor ranges from Sharpes, through Cocoa, down to Rockledge along a 13 mile section of track that spans 18 railroad crossings.

Flaggers will man all crossings through Saturday, Nov. 5.​

“We have crews on the ground communicating with the train crews doing these runs, about 20 a day, to get this work done,” says Katie Mitzner, Brightine Director of Public Affairs​. “This is continuing progress to Orlando.”

The completion of construction on the new high-speed rail line has taken longer than planned, and is now expected to go into 2023. Originally, officials had hoped it would be done by the end of this year.​ Once complete, the maximum speed of trains from Miami to West Palm Beach will be 79 MPH.

From West Palm to Cocoa speeds increase to 110 MPH. And from Cocoa to Orlando, maximum speed will be 125 MPH where there are no crossings along that route.

“You can see the progress just driving along 528, the rail is complete, the track is getting ready for the test trains to come through.,” says Mitzner.

Wheeler hopes one day the trains will make a stop in Brevard. “I’ve got family in Jupiter, so I’d love to take the train down there,” he says.

Brightline will begin carrying passengers in 2023. They have ​updated all 50 railroad crossings in Brevard County spanning north to south.

Trains are expected to increase to 110 MPH on the Space Coast​ in February 2023.