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Brightline Trains to Run to Port of Miami from Orlando, etc.


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On 1/4/2020 at 3:37 PM, bobroo said:

This comes from the mouth of an idiot but on a serious note, why doesn't RCL create a gondola-like mode of transportation (just like a ski lift) to/from an airport to a cruise terminal??? In a circumstance where they are very close together like Fort Lauderdale or San Juan or Tampa.

Explain it off to the public that RCL is taking responsibility for it's passengers, reducing traffic congestion, eliminating chaos at the cruise terminal, and they are Saving Waves by reducing emissions on a meaningful scale. 

In comparison to other recent RCL projects like making their pier in Miami 200' longer, their new corporate headquarters, or "amplification" of an already existing revenue generating ship; some gondolas, some cable, and some access to public ROW would be comparatively cheap. At this point in time RCL spends hundreds of millions of dollars on each of many infrastructure improvements. A guy would like to think they wouldn't bat an eye to a cheap one that took responsibility for their passengers.

Of course RCL would charge for the ride, just please God don't make it more than the cost of my flight.

 

But I'm not very bright.... 

In Fort Lauderdale it would be more cost effective to pay the aliens to deliver passengers from FLL to the port in their flying disc. The only conceivable route would be the Dania cut off canal but there are 2 major obstacles with fixed bridges at US1 and also the FEC railroad fixed bridge rendering it unnavigable to anything of significance (especially at high tide). Taking into consideration Fort Lauderdale’s premium on land located near water it would cost billions not millions to replace a $6 Uber ride.

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  • 2 months later...
50 minutes ago, twangster said:

Brightline board approves Orlando to Tampa.

https://www.wesh.com/article/brightline-board-approval/37081637

If it is ever built that puts all the major Florida cruise ports a train ride away.  

 

 

Check back in 2031 to see if they've even broken ground yet

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Wow I actually didn't know this existed and was pleasantly surprised watching the videos. I like trains so this is a nice, inexpensive way to get around FL.

 

@smokeybandit I totally agree. In Chicago they have been working on the Blue Line train stop that is along the way to my job. A project they started in 2019 and still not have finished. It adds 15min to my commute and they were working during the pandemic.

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12 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Usa is a wonderful country  but we really really suck at transportation projects 

I kind of felt this when I was on the train to Barcelona and another one to Toledo from my hotel in Madrid.  My friends and I were able to go from city to city without ever renting a car.

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On 5/3/2021 at 9:18 AM, Matt said:

I think they are, or at least, it's going really close.

I drove from Orlando to Port Canaveral this weekend, and the rail line follows the highway (Route 528) east from Orlando International Airport to the coast, before turning south.

Not sure if they are building a station or not, but it comes very close to the area that it could save time and money if they added a Cocoa Beach/Merritt Island stop.

At one point they were planning on having a stop in Cocoa off US1 at the old train station that is there, but the last I read they decided against it. 

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34 minutes ago, LovetoCruise87 said:

At one point they were planning on having a stop in Cocoa off US1 at the old train station that is there, but the last I read they decided against it. 

Recommended site for a station is off Clearlake Rd next to the Walmart and 528  https://spacecoasttpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/AAF-Station-Report-final.pdf 

Which is the closest point to the port, without actually building a new railroad directly to the port.  (Although technically a railroad already exists and hooks up to Florida east coast railway north of Titusville, semi close to the port, it just comes in through KSC from the north and ends in Canaveral Air Station aka NASA Railway, it just goes by the launchpads.)

There's a neat YouTube channel with a guy that updates on the Brightline construction with on site video a few times a week https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRoamingRailfan/videos  if you haven't been keeping up you'd probably be surprised at how far along they are.

 

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16 minutes ago, Atricks said:

Recommended site for a station is off Clearlake Rd next to the Walmart and 528  https://spacecoasttpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/AAF-Station-Report-final.pdf 

Which is the closest point to the port, without actually building a new railroad directly to the port.  (Although technically a railroad already exists and hooks up to Florida east coast railway north of Titusville, semi close to the port, it just comes in through KSC from the north and ends in Canaveral Air Station aka NASA Railway, it just goes by the launchpads.)

There's a neat YouTube channel with a guy that updates on the Brightline construction video a few times a week https://www.youtube.com/c/TheRoamingRailfan/videos

 

For me getting to the port is easy as I only live about 20 minutes away. It would be nice for those who fly in for cruising to be able to take a train to the port. 

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12 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Usa is a wonderful country  but we really really suck at transportation projects 

The secret to a great, modern transportation system is to first have your entire country annihilated in a world war such that you need to rebuild everything from the ground up.

Then, you have the perfect canvas to design thoroughfares that make sense given modern transportation needs!

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1 hour ago, Matt said:

The secret to a great, modern transportation system is to first have your entire country annihilated in a world war such that you need to rebuild everything from the ground up.

Then, you have the perfect canvas to design thoroughfares that make sense given modern transportation needs!

While true, that was 70 years ago now. Other countries get new railways, highways, airports (except Germany, they're not good at airports), etc, done in far less time than in the USA. 

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The West Palm to Orlando section would likely be a lot farther along if it wasn't for lawsuits that delayed construction.  

The West Palm to Fort Lauderdale section also endured legal action causing delays.

The Central Florida Expressway Authority is already throwing a wrench in the Orlando to Tampa section:

 https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/transportation/os-ne-brightline-universal-cfx-route-20210720-3d7p4xnxyfenflzkvqa7qvj3dm-story.html

  • The Central Florida Expressway Authority agreed unanimously Tuesday to delay indefinitely a decision over whether to allow Brightline Trains to build passenger rail beside the agency’s State Road 417 on the way from Orlando’s airport to Walt Disney World and Tampa.

It seems competing interests want the track in another corridor and are invoking "wetlands" to support their cause.  

Revising my previous estimate from 2040 to 2050.  

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1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

While true, that was 70 years ago now. Other countries get new railways, highways, airports (except Germany, they're not good at airports), etc, done in far less time than in the USA. 

Our transportation system is built around working around what's already here.  Railways got set up in the 1800s, and since then urban sprawl has made adding new networks of mass transportation in today's age nearly impossible.

Name a country that has a really good mass transportation system that wasn't decimated by a world war (and not subject to an totalitarian regime that can just emanate domain entire cities at will).

I'd also point out those countries spend a fraction of their annual budget on national defense like the US does.  If we could take billions from defense, mass transportation projects would be fully funded quite quickly!

In short, there isn't enough cheap land to rethink what we have, in my completely unprofessional opinion.

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29 minutes ago, Matt said:

Our transportation system is built around working around what's already here.  Railways got set up in the 1800s, and since then urban sprawl has made adding new networks of mass transportation in today's age nearly impossible.

Name a country that has a really good mass transportation system that wasn't decimated by a world war (and not subject to an totalitarian regime that can just emanate domain entire cities at will).

I'd also point out those countries spend a fraction of their annual budget on national defense like the US does.  If we could take billions from defense, mass transportation projects would be fully funded quite quickly!

In short, there isn't enough cheap land to rethink what we have, in my completely unprofessional opinion.

I don't really mean the comprehensiveness of transportation infrastructure in the USA, just when  new projects come up, just how long and painful of a project it is. Not really because of budget, but pre-construction approvals (environmental studies, right of way, NIMBYs), political fighting over funding and scope (you're not my party, therefore you can't have the money), union limitations, contractual failures (if anyone's in the DC area, you know the massive problems the Purple Line and Silver line have seen).

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11 minutes ago, twangster said:

Could you imagine trying to accomplish something like the Panama Canal in current times?  

It would never happen.

Possible in 2 steps:

Step 1- Cede the land to China

Step 2- wait 18 months for project to be completed

disclaimer- some animals/workers may perish during construction and equipment used will not be compliant with latest emissions standards.

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29 minutes ago, twangster said:

Could you imagine trying to accomplish something like the Panama Canal in current times?  

It would never happen.

I mean, technically, they did the Panama Canal in current times with the expansion project. Though it wasn't done in America obviously, but I can't imagine it'd have gotten done in 10 years from proposal to opening if it was an American project.

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50 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I mean, technically, they did the Panama Canal in current times with the expansion project. Though it wasn't done in America obviously, but I can't imagine it'd have gotten done in 10 years from proposal to opening if it was an American project.

It's taking Brightline that long to lay parallel track within the existing railway roadbed down the coast from Cocoa to West Palm.  

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On 7/21/2021 at 10:15 AM, smokeybandit said:

While true, that was 70 years ago now. Other countries get new railways, highways, airports (except Germany, they're not good at airports), etc, done in far less time than in the USA. 

OMG. Smokey, my family almost cries when remembering the craziness in the Frankfurt airport connecting from Rome to ATL. We were coming back from a trip to Italy and a 4 night cruise on Jewel OTS to the French Riviera which was beyond awesome. But the “bonus” day we spent in Frankfurt due the inefficiencies there almost stripped the joy from our trip memories for weeks afterwards....

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  • 2 months later...
On 10/9/2021 at 2:41 PM, smokeybandit said:

"I'll take 'Projects that will be 2-3 years late and hundreds of millions over budget' for $400, Alex"

You can thank “business leaders” for that.

https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2021/10/07/i-drive-tourism-leaders-raise-stakes-on-brightline.html

Apparently it’s a “threat to the community “   

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, jticarruthers said:

Construction is visible along the side of the expressway between Port Canaveral and Orlando ... will be interesting to see how frequently the trains run, etc. Might be an option to drive over from Tampa, do a disney day and then train down to Miami.

They had a train on the new track last week, delivering rail to expand it from that point  It's pretty amazing when you realize each rail runs the entire length of all the cars and bends along with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHMKfRuJGA0

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  • 1 year later...
2 hours ago, Snotarni said:

Having a station at or near the curve (from 528 where it meets the North South)  in Cocoa would be a great add...  I think there are plans, but nothing started yet.

Agreed but I don't think that's their target market.  

They want to cash in on getting Miami area residents and tourists to the theme parks in Orlando.  Everything else, including the central coast is of little interest to them.  

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18 hours ago, twangster said:

Agreed but I don't think that's their target market.  

They want to cash in on getting Miami area residents and tourists to the theme parks in Orlando.  Everything else, including the central coast is of little interest to them.  

Makes a ton of sense...  but it's still unfortunate; Selfishly, I'd love to pop down to Cocoa and take the train to the Airport (and back)...  oh well, Beachline it is.  😉

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