Brightline Trains Florida discussion

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joelkfla

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Brightline again delays start of service from South Florida to Orlando

Same info as above, original source (no paywall):

 
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jis

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Does this mean another round of free ride vouchers?
I am not aware of any free ride vouchers. Full refund of the original purchase and a free upgrade vouchers and discount on Avis IIRC. I am one of those that fall in that category from the first round. My current plan is to hold off on buying anything until they actually start commercial operations. I am not crazy about being the first one on the the first train.
 

frequentflyer

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Brightline getting some positive attention. Shame they have so much on their plate, still wished they took over the DFW-HOU project.

 

joelkfla

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Brightline getting some positive attention. Shame they have so much on their plate, still wished they took over the DFW-HOU project.

"Although not a true high-speed operation, the Brightline Florida service will surpass speeds of 125 mph in some areas"

Did they increase the max operating speed beyond 125 while I wasn't looking?
 

pennyk

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Last night, I received 4 emails from Brightline with the subject "your trip is delayed for booking xxxx." My trip is a round trip from Orlando to West Palm Beach in early October. It appears that the changes are a 12 minute later arrival in WPB and a 4 minute earlier departure from WPB. I will check more carefully later.
When I first saw the email, I assumed the date was changed, but it appears my date is still good.
 

VentureForth

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Looking at the site, I'm just thinking.... Kinda weird that the seats don't swivel. Shinkansen resets all seats to direction of travel, but they can also be turned to accommodate club seating. I don't particularly mind sitting 'backwards' but I don't think that's the opinion of many.

Pricing also seems to match flying for premium. $149 on Brightline from Orlando to Miami vs $159 on Delta. Delta is a 1h 10m ride vs Brightline's 3h 16m. Heck. Throw in an hour for TSA and you're still up an hour. If you have Pre-Check, reduce that to 30-45 min. The real difference is where you're going when you get to Miami. If you need to go downtown, that remaining hour and a half can get eaten up quick. Now, arguably, you can get a lot more free booze in 3 hours than you can in one, BUT you can also get free booze in Delta's Comfort+ for $119.

When we look at economy, the mainlines run at $79, but you can get a flight on Spirit for as low as $32. So there's that...

So I see it as a viable option, but I don't think it's going to be a huge game changer. It'll really depend on schedule for many.

Look forward to the first travel vlogger to take Brightline Premium one way and return by first class air.
 

joelkfla

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Looking at the site, I'm just thinking.... Kinda weird that the seats don't swivel. Shinkansen resets all seats to direction of travel, but they can also be turned to accommodate club seating. I don't particularly mind sitting 'backwards' but I don't think that's the opinion of many.
Seems like 50/50 fixed seating is the standard for modern railcars. Probably less maintenance, no staff time to reverse, and no risk of Workmen's Comp claims for wrenched backs.
 

jis

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Seems like 50/50 fixed seating is the standard for modern railcars. Probably less maintenance, no staff time to reverse, and no risk of Workmen's Comp claims for wrenched backs.
I don't know about standard for all modern railcars everywhere. But it is certainly a trend in Western Europe. In the Indian subcontinent the trend is to move away from fixed seats towards rotate and lock in position type of seats similar to what is standard in Japan and China apparently. And surprisingly those clever Chinese and Pakistanis and Indians have no problem putting charger connections on rotatable seat arm rests. 😎 Brightline had used the argument that charger sockets cannot be placed on rotatable seats as an argument for using fixed seats. 🥴
 

eldomtom2

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Brightline has informed the state of Florida about its plans to relocate 66 workers from West Palm Beach to Orlando by October 4th, which is presumably good news for a start of service by that date.
 

bonzoesc

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Look forward to the first travel vlogger to take Brightline Premium one way and return by first class air.
My experiences with Brightline between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale (both classes) have been nicer than any Miami airport experiences, including transoceanic first class or the AA flAAgship service, both because of the essential terminal design pushed by airplane geometry and the logistics of boarding a train. The walk from the gates AA uses at MCO to ground transportation isn’t short, while the Brightline terminal is an escalator ride away.

I did get an upgrade to AA domestic first on my flight Tuesday, so I was able to enjoy one drink on the ground and one in the air, but the flight wasn’t even long enough to justify much more than playing on my phone.
 

jis

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The walk from the gates AA uses at MCO to ground transportation isn’t short, while the Brightline terminal is an escalator ride away.
This appears to be a somewhat strange claim. Could you elaborate on how you get from an AA Gate to Brightline by a single escalator ride at MCO please?
 

bonzoesc

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This appears to be a somewhat strange claim. Could you elaborate on how you get from an AA Gate to Brightline by a single escalator ride at MCO please?
It's a misphrasing on my part; it seems like you get from Brightline to ground transportation at MCO via one escalator (didn't get a great look Tuesday night).
 

jis

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It's a misphrasing on my part; it seems like you get from Brightline to ground transportation at MCO via one escalator (didn't get a great look Tuesday night).
Yes,the "AA Gate to Brightline" is probably not what you actually wanted to say, since that would involve exactly the same amount of walking almost as getting from an AA gate to ground transport and then some after riding the APM.

The other minor twist is that all ground transportation, is not directly available at Terminal C specially during off hours. One may have to take the APM to Terminal A/B to access them. But that will eventually get fixed as more of Terminal C opens.
 

joelkfla

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The other minor twist is that all ground transportation, is not directly available at Terminal C specially during off hours. One may have to take the APM to Terminal A/B to access them. But that will eventually get fixed as more of Terminal C opens.
Will any ground transportation be at the train station, or will one need to walk to Terminal C via the garage/future skybridge, making it more than just an escalator ride?
 

jis

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Will any ground transportation be at the train station, or will one need to walk to Terminal C via the garage/future skybridge, making it more than just an escalator ride?
I am sure Brightline tied ground transport like their last mile service will be at the station end. But pickups connected primarily to air transport, for general rental cars and long distance shuttles will probably be only at the Terminal C end. The walk is not all that long, and it will even be quite convenient once the actual connecting walkway is built thus not requiring a walk through a parking lot.

The Lynx connection may be at the Brightline end. Eventually the SunRail station will be on the side of Brightline away from Terminal C. That is where space is reserved for it.
 

pennyk

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Will any ground transportation be at the train station, or will one need to walk to Terminal C via the garage/future skybridge, making it more than just an escalator ride?

I am sure Brightline tied ground transport like their last mile service will be at the station end. But pickups connected primarily to air transport, for general rental cars and long distance shuttles will probably be only at the Terminal C end. The walk is not all that long, and it will even be quite convenient once the actual connecting walkway is built thus not requiring a walk through a parking lot.

The Lynx connection may be at the Brightline end. Eventually the SunRail station will be on the side of Brightline away from Terminal C. That is where space is reserved for it.
I am planning to take SunRail/Lynx to Brightline for my early October trip (assuming it happens). I have not taken Lynx to the airport in over 20 years so it will be a "new" experience for me. I plan to allow myself plenty of time to get lost and then find my way to terminal C. Once Brightline starts running, I hope detailed directions for SunRail/Lynx riders will be available.
 

George Harris

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Looking at the site, I'm just thinking.... Kinda weird that the seats don't swivel. Shinkansen resets all seats to direction of travel, but they can also be turned to accommodate club seating. I don't particularly mind sitting 'backwards' but I don't think that's the opinion of many.
Seems like 50/50 fixed seating is the standard for modern railcars. Probably less maintenance, no staff time to reverse, and no risk of Workmen's Comp claims for wrenched backs.
Maybe true in much of the US where we seem to in way too many cases follow, "THIS IS THE WAY THEY DO IT IN EUROPE", but it is not true in much of the rest of the non-European world. Case in point: In my one trip in Japan, on one regular line train, at some point it the route it reversed direction. At that location, everyone in the car got up, rotated their seat and sat back down. South Korea's first high speed trains equipment was essentially French TGV, including fixed seating, only having a different paint job. Initial ridership was much lower than expected, one major reason appears to have been a near rebellion of the female component of the population on the basis of, "I will not sit knee to knee with some man I do not know." I have heard that they ultimately tore the seats out and replaced them with Korean standard rotating seats.
 

Railroad Bill

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I am planning to take SunRail/Lynx to Brightline for my early October trip (assuming it happens). I have not taken Lynx to the airport in over 20 years so it will be a "new" experience for me. I plan to allow myself plenty of time to get lost and then find my way to terminal C. Once Brightline starts running, I hope detailed directions for SunRail/Lynx riders will be available.
Looking forward to your report on transport from Sunrail; Lynx to Brightline terminal since we will be departing Amtrak at ORL and needing to get to Brightline for our ride to FTL. With luggage it might be better to take a cab or Lyft ride??
 

Caesar La Rock

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I am planning to take SunRail/Lynx to Brightline for my early October trip (assuming it happens). I have not taken Lynx to the airport in over 20 years so it will be a "new" experience for me. I plan to allow myself plenty of time to get lost and then find my way to terminal C. Once Brightline starts running, I hope detailed directions for SunRail/Lynx riders will be available.

If you plan on taking Lynx, download their bus tracker app so you'll know where the bus is. The app can be found on Apple store or Google Play. I haven't carried a bus schedule since that app was implemented system wide years ago.
 
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With luggage it might be better to take a cab or Lyft ride??
Maybe so if there are two of you. Carting luggage to Sunrail to a Lynx bus to the airport may be worth springing for the $25 Uber quotes (on a Saturday). But we’re still planning on Sunrail/bus to the terminal when Sunrail service starts next year to Deland.
 
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