Brightline Trains Florida discussion

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Qapla said:
Brightline Orlando International Airport Passenger Rail Construction Update - December 2021
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So it looks like, at least for now, everything is outside TSA. I can see a time where they may add it somewhere between Brightline and the APM. Wish I had time last weekend when I was there to explore this!

For anyone interested in an aerial view, Bing has more recently updated maps than Google.
 
VentureForth said:
So it looks like, at least for now, everything is outside TSA. I can see a time where they may add it somewhere between Brightline and the APM. Wish I had time last weekend when I was there to explore this!

For anyone interested in an aerial view, Bing has more recently updated maps than Google.
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Seems unlikely. The APM station at the main terminal is outside security. They potentially could reconfigure it to be inside security for Airsides 2 & 4, but travelers going to Airsides 1 & 3 would then need to go thru security twice, as would anyone wanting to shop or eat in the unsecured area before going to the gate. It would also make it difficult to access the in-terminal hotel from the Multimodal Facility.
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joelkfla said:
Seems unlikely. The APM station at the main terminal is outside security. They potentially could reconfigure it to be inside security for Airsides 2 & 4, but travelers going to Airsides 1 & 3 would then need to go thru security twice.
View attachment 26295
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Trying to recall - I just don't remember. I thought security was already separated by gates, one for terminals 1/3 & and the other for terminals 2/4. When I came home last weekend, I came into A but my wife drove to B, and it wasn't anything to switch over to the B side before leaving the secure area. So, I think as it is now, you would already have to go through security again if you transferred from 1/3 to 2/4.
 
VentureForth said:
So these platforms were made exclusively for Tri-Rail at the Brightline Miami Central station, right? Interestingly, and really irrelevant, the Siemens cars Brightline use are 8 inches wider than the Bombardier Bi-Level coaches (10'6" vs 9'10"). Just weird. And, yeah, I don't see Tri-Rail taking the torch to reduce the width of their coaches. Is Michael Reininger that thick?
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Yeah the widths are indeed irrelevant since the platforms are at completely different heights.

If it was LIRR they'd probably just say <expletive> it, and then kncok the platform edge back six inches and then screw the necessary number of appropriately cut wood planks to fill a bit of the gap and then dare ADA to sue them etc. :)

VentureForth said:
Trying to recall - I just don't remember. I thought security was separated by A/B. But when I came home last weekend, I came into A but my wife drove to B, and it wasn't anything to switch over to the B side before leaving the secure area. So, I think as it is now, you would already have to go through security again if you transferred from B to A - or - 1/3 to 2/4.
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You do not have to cross any security barriers to go from the A side to the B side of the terminal building, and also you do not have to cross any security barrier to go from A-B to C or Brightline. All of that is on the land side. 1-3 APM station is in one secure area and 2-4 APM station is in the other. So you have to cross two security barriers to go from the 1-3 APM station to the 2-4 APM station.

There is no plan to place the APM connection to terminal C within any secure area.
 
VentureForth said:
Trying to recall - I just don't remember. I thought security was already separated by gates, one for terminals 1/3 & and the other for terminals 2/4. When I came home last weekend, I came into A but my wife drove to B, and it wasn't anything to switch over to the B side before leaving the secure area. So, I think as it is now, you would already have to go through security again if you transferred from 1/3 to 2/4.
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You would if you were arriving on a flight on one side and departing on one on the other side, but that's no different than transferring between terminals at most airports that don't have some sort of airside shuttle or walkway. It's still just once thru security at each airport.

Landside A & Landside B are in the same building, and you can just walk across on the top level. On the lower levels, they're separated by the baggage handling area, so you have to go upstairs to cross over.

But the secured areas are not segregated by A & B; each secured area has 1 airside on the A-side and 1 airside on the B-side. If I've got my directions right, A & B are on the north and south sides of the terminal, while the secured areas are divided by east and west.
 
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Are there any functions/attractions that were a part of the Florida Fun Train that you could see being incorporated onto Brightline? I'm thinking like a 50's diner or the TikiBarCar, kids space, etc.

At first, I thought to myself that would be ridiculous, seeing FFT went under barely when they got started. But the short time I rode last month, there are a ton of kids that seem to ride. Anything more for kids to do...
 
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VentureForth said:
Are there any functions/attractions that were a part of the Florida Fun Train that you could see being incorporated onto Brightline? I'm thinking like a 50's diner or the TikiBarCar, kids space, etc.
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—A cafe and bar would be ideal for the Orl-Mia segment. Utilize that car to its maximum with a kids area. Everyone wins. The fun car.

—Ok y’all…I am confused about this platform issue. The Brightline platforms are high level. Obviously their trains fit perfectly. Tri Rail is low. This issue Tri Rail has stated is that their steps from their cars can’t fit into the platform. But the platforms are low 🤔 Am I missing something here? Is it the approach? Are the steps so low that it interferes? Are the platforms not low enough? Is this a width issue or a height issue? 🙃

The article says “some spots” at one point, but later says the entire platform.
 
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Scott Orlando said:
—A cafe and bar would be ideal for the Orl-Mia segment. Utilize that car to its maximum with a kids area. Everyone wins. The fun car.

—Ok y’all…I am confused about this platform issue. The Brightline platforms are high level. Obviously their trains fit perfectly. Tri Rail is low. This issue Tri Rail has stated is that their steps from their cars can’t fit into the platform. But the platforms are low 🤔 Am I missing something here? Is it the approach? Are the steps so low that it interferes? Are the platforms not low enough? Is this a width issue or a height issue? 🙃

The article says “some spots” at one point, but later says the entire platform.
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The article also says the viaduct is strong enough to handle bi-level cars.

That this should even be an issue sounds strange to me as surely that should be a given.

Maybe something was lost in translation here and the steps of the bi-level cars foul something on the ground while transitioning from the flat bit to the ramp on the viaduct because the vertical curvature of said transition is too extreme, and this can maybe be fixed by shaving a little bit of metal off those steps. Which sounds like a better solution than rebuilding the viaduct. Just an idea.
 
VentureForth said:
Are there any functions/attractions that were a part of the Florida Fun Train that you could see being incorporated onto Brightline? I'm thinking like a 50's diner or the TikiBarCar, kids space, etc.

At first, I thought to myself that would be ridiculous, seeing FFT went under barely when they got started. But the short time I rode last month, there are a ton of kids that seem to ride. Anything more for kids to do...
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I don't think they'll do anything on an ongoing basis, but they are running the Polar Express, and I think they have run other special event trains in the past, so they might run other kid-targeted special trains from time to time.
 
As newcomers to the area and having used OIA recently, I'm still trying to understand all the access routes and terminals. The new terminal C sounds like it will be big quite nice. Does anyone know which airlines will use it. I was interested in the OIA website description of the new intermodal terminal. I knew it would have space for Brightline and Sunrail, but this suggests there may be a third option.
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The Intermodal Terminal Facility (ITF) consists of approximately 1.3 million square feet of terminal space accommodating the South APM and up to three regional rail systems (SunRail commuter rail, BrightLine inter-city rail, and possibly a third system serving the International Drive/Convention Center area). It will also support ground transportation activity including taxis, shuttle buses and public bus operations.
Interior View of the Intermodal Terminal Facility
Intermodal Terminal Facility Interior
 
Palmland said:
As newcomers to the area and having used OIA recently, I'm still trying to understand all the access routes and terminals. The new terminal C sounds like it will be big quite nice. Does anyone know which airlines will use it. I was interested in the OIA website description of the new intermodal terminal. I knew it would have space for Brightline and Sunrail, but this suggests there may be a third option.
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The Intermodal Terminal Facility (ITF) consists of approximately 1.3 million square feet of terminal space accommodating the South APM and up to three regional rail systems (SunRail commuter rail, BrightLine inter-city rail, and possibly a third system serving the International Drive/Convention Center area). It will also support ground transportation activity including taxis, shuttle buses and public bus operations.
Interior View of the Intermodal Terminal Facility
Intermodal Terminal Facility Interior
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It is designed to have space for a airport to downtown I-Drive LRT/Monorail/Maglev/Hyperloop/Gadgetbahn (you name it). There have been three vaporware attempts to get it going so far, but to no avail. The original plan called for an LRT, but these days, specially in a place like Orlando, that is too 20th century or 19th century or something in the minds of some, and Disney style Monorail is way too slow. :D
 
jis said:
It is designed to have space for a airport to downtown I-Drive LRT/Monorail/Maglev/Hyperloop/Gadgetbahn (you name it). There have been three vaporware attempts to get it going so far, but to no avail. The original plan called for an LRT, but these days, specially in a place like Orlando, that is too 20th century or 19th century or something in the minds of some, and Disney style Monorail is way too slow. :D
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It seems to me that the classic application of any fixed transit system (regardless of the technology platform adopted) is in a densely built type area in which driving is not attractive and that is large enough to justify some internal transit system, and can then also have tentacles extending some way into adjoining lower density areas and/or connecting outlying park and ride facilities.

Orlando doesn't really fit into that template, and I think if a downtown type circulator ever gets built it will be a vanity project rather than one driven by hard demand.
 
Brightline is a classier operation than Florida deserves. (I expect a friendlier reception in Nevada and California.) I wonder if they will consider moving into a third location where they might be appreciated, perhaps in the Northeast or Northwest.
 
In the Northeast everything seems to get bogged down in politics even when they are able to avoid the federal aspect of it. At least the last time I talked to anyone at Brightline I got the impression that they would not touch the Northeast with a ten foot barge pole. But of course things can change over time.
 
neroden said:
Brightline is a classier operation than Florida deserves. (I expect a friendlier reception in Nevada and California.) I wonder if they will consider moving into a third location where they might be appreciated, perhaps in the Northeast or Northwest.
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I get what you're saying.
Every time I turn around, there is some facebook comment on Brightline related news with someone (from FL) exclaiming some silly, unresearched, thoughtless anti-rail mantra that really doesn't even make sense in the first place: "our tax dollars wasted on something I'll never use" is the usual one, as if what they think they'll use is the final judgement of waste vs. usefulness (also ignoring that Brightline is only partially government funded).

The Northwest makes a lot of sense to me. The Cascade corridor seems like a great choice, as they aren't at capacity, and there is a need of additional service.
 
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Tlcooper93 said:
Every time I turn around, there is some facebook comment on Brightline related news with someone (from FL) exclaiming some silly, unresearched, thoughtless anti-rail mantra that really doesn't even make sense in the first place: "our tax dollars wasted on something I'll never use" is the usual one, as if what they think they'll use is the final judgement of waste vs. usefulness.
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I love this argument. They probably will never use I-5 in Los Angeles but their tax dollars are going for that. For that matter, this person may not ever travel on I-10 in Northern Florida. And technically Bightlie isn't tax supported. There are hundreds of thousands of such exaples.
 
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