Brightline Trains Florida update

[Brian_tampa]

December ridership hits record 184,000 with Polar Express, 142,000 without counting the special trains. An early investor update was released today. Thanks for The Next Miami for breaking this news. They also moved two trainsets south from Orlando last month sometime for increased service. I did not know that. When were they moved? In the middle of the night? LOL

Attached is the investor monthly report.

Link to TheNextMiami article:

Brightline Gets Big Boost In Traffic From Aventura & Boca, New Trains Added

 

[joelkfla]

December ridership hits record 184,000 with Polar Express, 142,000 without counting the special trains. An early investor update was released today. Thanks for The Next Miami for breaking this news. They also moved two trainsets south from Orlando last month sometime for increased service. I did not know that. When were they moved? In the middle of the night? LOL

Attached is the investor monthly report.

Link to TheNextMiami article:

Brightline Gets Big Boost In Traffic From Aventura & Boca, New Trains Added

"Joel Franco reported that he sat in the aisle of a train due to some seats from Aventura being double booked."

Well-l-l-l, not exactly.

He sat on the bench outside the restroom, not in the aisle.

And the seats were double-booked for Boca passengers, not Aventura, reportedly because Aventura did not open as scheduled, and Brightline inadvertently deleted bookings for Boca as well as those for Aventura.

 

[west point]

IMO a bette comparsion will be revenue passenger miles (RPM) vs. revenue seat miles (RSM).

We kow construction trains have traveled Orlado <> Cocoa so maybe these trainsets going to Palm beach could also have some testing equipment.

 

[Brian_tampa]

Correction to my comment yesterday about Brightline moving trains from Orlando. It was only 1 train and it used the new tracks along SR528. Speed was limited to 10mph. The second train was previously delivered from Siemens directly to WPB earlier last year.

 

[Cal]

Haven't been keeping up with this thread, so apologies if this is repetitive.

Will Brightline have a stop in Melbourne? It looks like their ROW goes directly past the walkable downtown. I can't say this for a fact, but it seems like the downtown sprang up because of the railroad and therefore is perfect for a train stop.

Edit:

Looking more along the ROW, it looks like there are a handful of towns with perfect, walkable downtowns that are right by the tracks just begging for a transit stop. Seems better than the Boca Raton stop which (looking from outdated Apple Maps) has no quick or convenient way to get from the station to the mall.

 

[joelkfla]

Looking more along the ROW, it looks like there are a handful of towns with perfect, walkable downtowns that are right by the tracks just begging for a transit stop. Seems better than the Boca Raton stop which (looking from outdated Apple Maps) has no quick or convenient way to get from the station to the mall.

Did you mean Aventura? That's where the big mall is. There are plans to build a pedestrian bridge from the station to the mall. In the meantime, there's a free shuttle van running every 30 minutes.

 

[Cal]

Did you mean Aventura? That's where the big mall is. There are plans to build a pedestrian bridge from the station to the mall. In the meantime, there's a free shuttle van running every 30 minutes.

Mizner Park is the mall I was talking about, it seems to close to the Boca Raton station.

 

[Intercity]

Mizner Park is the mall I was talking about, it seems to close to the Boca Raton station.

The City of Boca Raton added a pretty wide sidewalk on NW 1st Street and NW 2nd Avenue to create a walkable route to Mizner Park. Brightline also runs free electric golf carts from the station to Mizner/Downtown.

 

[BlazeRip]

The City of Boca Raton added a pretty wide sidewalk on NW 1st Street and NW 2nd Avenue to create a walkable route to Mizner Park. Brightline also runs free electric golf carts from the station to Mizner/Downtown.

Looking at the map it would seem a foot bridge could be built across the track, Dixie, and Federal Hwy to Mizner Park Garage A. It would have to cross a small parking lot between Dixie and Federal.

 

[jis]

Haven't been keeping up with this thread, so apologies if this is repetitive.

Will Brightline have a stop in Melbourne? It looks like their ROW goes directly past the walkable downtown. I can't say this for a fact, but it seems like the downtown sprang up because of the railroad and therefore is perfect for a train stop.

No. The Brevard County stop, after a long site selection process run by the County TPO, has been determined to be at Cocoa near where the Orlando line veers off to the west from the old FECR alignment. It will mostly be a Park and Ride with a huge parking structure, and possibly an attached TOD in what is mostly undeveloped space. Brightline has acquired the necessary land in the area. It is mostly a green field construction site with excellent access to several highways, including one to Port Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. Of course being adjacent to US 1 gives good access from all of the populated area of Brevard County.

Brevard County has a long term plan for a Commuter Service along the FECR, involving adding a third track most of the way in the county. It will be from Mico to Mims which covers the populated portion of the county. Extension south to Sebastian in Indian River County from Mico across the St. Sebastian River should be easy provided IRC decides to play along. There is significant distance from Mims to the next population center at New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County Tentatively, the station locations reflect the location of stations in the FECR passenger service days.

Edit:

Looking more along the ROW, it looks like there are a handful of towns with perfect, walkable downtowns that are right by the tracks just begging for a transit stop. Seems better than the Boca Raton stop which (looking from outdated Apple Maps) has no quick or convenient way to get from the station to the mall.

Stations generally tend to go where the local communities and TPOs want them unless Brightline has a significant real estate interest in a particular location.

 

[Touchdowntom9]

Fantastic to see how the ridership numbers are beginning to pop after staying somewhat flat for a lot of 2022. Really seems to bode well for the entire project and any future expansion plans Brightline has. So great to see a new brand new railroad succeeding, and one with competent management too.

 

[Qapla]

Cheapest Seat On Florida's New Train Brightline ️ Newest Stations Boca Raton To Aventura Roundtrip

 

[jis]

Cheapest Seat On Florida's New Train Brightline ️ Newest Stations Boca Raton To Aventura Roundtrip​

There is one glaring error. It is stated in the Video that the Select seats are the same as in Premium. This is not true. The Premium seats are 2" wider than the Select seats and they are arranged 2x1 in each row, not 2x2 as in Select.

What is the same between the two I think is the seat pitch which is 39" IIRC

 

[Anderson]

No. The Brevard County stop, after a long site selection process run by the County TPO, has been determined to be at Cocoa near where the Orlando line veers off to the west from the old FECR alignment. It will mostly be a Park and Ride with a huge parking structure, and possibly an attached TOD in what is mostly undeveloped space. Brightline has acquired the necessary land in the area. It is mostly a green field construction site with excellent access to several highways, including one to Port Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. Of course being adjacent to US 1 gives good access from all of the populated area of Brevard County.

Brevard County has a long term plan for a Commuter Service along the FECR, involving adding a third track most of the way in the county. It will be from Mico to Mims which covers the populated portion of the county. Extension south to Sebastian in Indian River County from Mico across the St. Sebastian River should be easy provided IRC decides to play along. There is significant distance from Mims to the next population center at New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County Tentatively, the station locations reflect the location of stations in the FECR passenger service days.

Stations generally tend to go where the local communities and TPOs want them unless Brightline has a significant real estate interest in a particular location.

This is the first I've heard of Brevard looking at FECR-based (or really, anything-based) commuter rail, especially since they're a bit detached from the South Florida segment (which has a certain troublemaking county in the middle), though Jupiter-Stuart is also a bit of a gap in terms of population.

However, it's the Mims-New Smyrna gap and the other gap(s) north of Ormond that likely mostly prevent just running a through commuter system on the whole line. Miami-Vero was, IIRC, a proposed Amtrak run when they were trying to talk their way onto FEC in the late 90s; Mims-Miami is honestly a plausible run (especially if Brightline can allow for smooth, closely-timetabled cross-transfers to allow the non-BL stops to provide pax feed).

 

[jis]

Brightline sets monthly records; announces partnership with Uber - Trains

MIAMI — Aided by its seasonal Polar Express promotion and discounted $10 rides celebrating the opening of stations at Boca Raton and Aventura, Brightline’s Miami-West Palm Beach service carried 183,920 passengers in December 2022, generating $5.1 million of ticket revenue. Both are monthly...

www.trains.com

 

[jis]

This is the first I've heard of Brevard looking at FECR-based (or really, anything-based) commuter rail, especially since they're a bit detached from the South Florida segment (which has a certain troublemaking county in the middle), though Jupiter-Stuart is also a bit of a gap in terms of population.

However, it's the Mims-New Smyrna gap and the other gap(s) north of Ormond that likely mostly prevent just running a through commuter system on the whole line. Miami-Vero was, IIRC, a proposed Amtrak run when they were trying to talk their way onto FEC in the late 90s; Mims-Miami is honestly a plausible run (especially if Brightline can allow for smooth, closely-timetabled cross-transfers to allow the non-BL stops to provide pax feed).

The agreement entered between Amtrak and FECR was just for a couple of through Amtrak service between JAX and Miami(Hialeah) Amtrak station using FECR upto the Northwood Connection near West Palm Beach, which Amtrak would use to transfer to/from the Tri-Rail West Palm Beach Line. The Northwood Connection has been built but then Brightline happened. In any case that Amtrak plan did not include Amtrak running any service just between Miami and Vero other than the through service to JAX.

The big ultimate plan for the Trirail Coastal Link (PDF) is to extend it all the way to Jupiter. That would most likely be a Trirail operation, but first it needs to reach West Palm Beach, though some have mooted the idea of extending some of the current Trirail WPB service via the Northwood Connection at least to Palm Beach Gardens as a starter.

Extending a passenger service north of the proposed Cocoa station would be quite expensive since there is no trackage to reverse a train at Mims. The Brevard proposal, which is at least 20 years away if that, involves a third track most of the way from Mico to Mims. Fortunately there is real estate for it but will require the construction of a third track bridge across numerous creeks.

 

[jis]

MODERATOR'S NOTE: A number of posts on Uber/Lyft rider preference and experience and Driver experience have been moved to its own thread:

Uber/Lyft discussion

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/brightline-sets-monthly-records-announces-partnership-with-uber/ Uber would not be my first choice. :( I hope Brightline provides some way to resolve issues, as Uber absolutely refuses to engage in a conversation with consumers.

www.amtraktrains.com

Please continue the Uber/Lyft discussion in this new thread and leave the Brightline Florida thread to discuss Brightline in Florida.

Thank you for your understanding, cooperation and participation.

 

[jis]

According to Brightline's posts on various media outlets, Brightline service was suspended this morning (1/19/23) between Fort Lauderdale and Miami due to failure of the New River bridge in Fort Lauderdale to close properly. Service has been restored as of about 10:30am.

This bridge is slated for replacement possibly by a high level fixed bridge or even a tunnel. At least those are among the alternatives in the EIS work. AFAIK as of this date no final alternative selection has taken place yet.

 

[Tlcooper93]

I have a friend in Jupiter Fl who was asking if there are any plans to build a station there? Even if just discussion - Anyone know anything?

 

[jis]

I have a friend in Jupiter Fl who was asking if there are any plans to build a station there? Even if just discussion - Anyone know anything?

Eventually TriRail Coastal Link Service is supposed to be extended to Jupiter. Haven't heard of any plans for a Brightline station there. It seems unlikely since a Martin or St. Lucie County station is more likely than yet another station in Palm beach County.

 

[cirdan]

According to Brightline's posts on various media outlets, Brightline service was suspended this morning (1/19/23) between Fort Lauderdale and Miami due to failure of the New River bridge in Fort Lauderdale to close properly. Service has been restored as of about 10:30am.

This bridge is slated for replacement possibly by a high level fixed bridge or even a tunnel. At least those are among the alternatives in the EIS work. AFAIK as of this date no final alternative selection has taken place yet.

Do you know whether Brightline has contingency plans for such situations (such as a bus shuttle maybe) or is it just everybody to themselves?

 

[VentureForth]

Do you know whether Brightline has contingency plans for such situations (such as a bus shuttle maybe) or is it just everybody to themselves?

From the Brightline messages I saw, it seemed everyone was out of luck this morning. Fortunately, the service was restored today after only a couple of hours. But great question for the future replacement effort or for disruptions in the meantime.

 

[jis]

Do you know whether Brightline has contingency plans for such situations (such as a bus shuttle maybe) or is it just everybody to themselves?

Didn't see any mention of any contingency plan put in place for today's outage. I understand that they did run service between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale and suspended service from Fort Lauderdale to Miami.

 

[railiner]

Do you know whether Brightline has contingency plans for such situations (such as a bus shuttle maybe) or is it just everybody to themselves?

I know that in West Palm Beach, you can walk over to the Tri Rail station. I am not sure how far they are in Fort Lauderdale…

 

[west point]

Wasn't the FEC Bascule bridge a replacement. It has been many years but it certainly seemed very new late 1999.