Brightline Trains Florida discussion

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A tunnel might imply placing the station in a deep trench, which might not be a good idea in Florida's swampy and flood-prone environment.
The station would be in the tunnel, which would be of course designed to withstand expected water situations. Not like this has not been done all over the Netherlands even in land that is below sea level. Heck, even Miami has an underwater road tunnel.
 
The station would be in the tunnel, which would be of course designed to withstand expected water situations. Not like this has not been done all over the Netherlands even in land that is below sea level. Heck, even Miami has an underwater road tunnel.
US-1 goes under the same river in a tunnel in Ft Lauderdale. No need to look at Miami.
 
The station would be in the tunnel, which would be of course designed to withstand expected water situations. Not like this has not been done all over the Netherlands even in land that is below sea level. Heck, even Miami has an underwater road tunnel.
Perhaps the platform would be in the tunnel, with the boarding lounges above at ground level. That seems more in keeping with the Brightline aesthetic.
 
Brightline has new washing equipment. They wash a train after every trip iirc. I saw an article about this somewhere but I don’t remember where.
Not every trip surealy. More accurately whenever they go back to the yard. So they don;t get a wash at Miami where they turn at the platform. They do get a wash at WPB if they do not run at the platform. I suppose it will be the same in OIA.
 
Not every trip surealy. More accurately whenever they go back to the yard. So they don;t get a wash at Miami where they turn at the platform. They do get a wash at WPB if they do not run at the platform. I suppose it will be the same in OIA.
Roaming Railfan, in his in-depth tour of Basecamp, said each train would be washed nightly when it was put to bed.
 
Roaming Railfan, in his in-depth tour of Basecamp, said each train would be washed nightly when it was put to bed.
Right. Not after each trip. It is logistically impossible to do that. That was my point. Since mostly they turn trains at platform AFAICT.
 
Right. Not after each trip. It is logistically impossible to do that. That was my point. Since mostly they turn trains at platform AFAICT.
I am mistaken in my original statement. I’m not sure what I was thinking. Iirc the washing facility is at the Orlando yard. In any event having ridden bright line in and out of Miami I should know that it’s impossible to wash trains or do anything else except prepare for the return trip.
 
Perhaps the platform would be in the tunnel, with the boarding lounges above at ground level. That seems more in keeping with the Brightline aesthetic.
I guess typically platforms are built on the level and not on an incline, so the presence of a station would further add to the overall length of the tunnel approach ramp. This could be quite a huge thing.
 
Did they paint over the numbers on the added cars with a "5"?
They use Vinyl printed stickers for everything these days anyway, so they are easy to modify without worrying about the complexities of painting.

When I worked at HP, my colleagues in the Printers and Ink Division once took me on a tour of the facility where industrial printers for printing huge sheets of Vinyl and the drums of Ink used for such printers were manufactured. Quite impressive stuff.
 
I guess typically platforms are built on the level and not on an incline, so the presence of a station would further add to the overall length of the tunnel approach ramp. This could be quite a huge thing.
Not necessarily, The WMATA platforms in the underground stations are on a 0.35% grade. You cannot see that it is there when standing on the platform. No vertical curves, however. The intent was to prevent standing water in the trackbed area.
 
If I'm not mistaken the second track would be added later for much of the Orlando route but is very much planned for int he construction, has there been any talk of when it would be needed?
 
If I'm not mistaken the second track would be added later for much of the Orlando route but is very much planned for int he construction, has there been any talk of when it would be needed?
The time horizon on that is substantial (and the turnaround would probably be fairly quick). If I had to guess, it would come probably after the Tampa extension if the ridership numbers keep rising. I don't think you need a second track until you're past 2tph (and you can probably make a bit more work with "fleeting").
 
If I'm not mistaken the second track would be added later for much of the Orlando route but is very much planned for int he construction, has there been any talk of when it would be needed?
"IF" passenger demand is ever greater than what 8 - 10 coach trains cannot handle during peak travel times on many days of the week then Brightline might then consider the need. If only maybe certain days, then might fleet and use the siding to fleet 2 trains each way to pass together.
 
I wonder to what extent the track and capacity improvements are also able to benefit FEC freight.

Can intermodals, for example, travel faster thanks to the improved track and raised speed limits?

And can such speed boosts translate into any tangible operational or even financial benefits for FEC?

For example because turning equipment around faster leads to higher equipment and staff productivity.
 
I wonder to what extent the track and capacity improvements are also able to benefit FEC freight.

Can intermodals, for example, travel faster thanks to the improved track and raised speed limits?

And can such speed boosts translate into any tangible operational or even financial benefits for FEC?

For example because turning equipment around faster leads to higher equipment and staff productivity.
From what I have heard at FECRS Meetings, there is no significant change in seed limits for Intermodals/freight, which according them were already running at optimal speed on their already excellent track
. The higher speed limits are entirely a passenger thing.

What has greater impact is the double tracking which eliminates the need for arranging crossings which involves holding on train in a siding. The flip side is, some freights may have to hold for a Brightline to overtake them.

I guess typically platforms are built on the level and not on an incline, so the presence of a station would further add to the overall length of the tunnel approach ramp. This could be quite a huge thing.

We could more firmly ground this discussion in reality by taking a look at this FDOT document:

New River Crossing Feasibility Technical Memorandum (FDOT) (PDF)
 
From what I have heard at FECRS Meetings, there is no significant change in seed limits for Intermodals/freight, which according them were already running at optimal speed on their already excellent track
. The higher speed limits are entirely a passenger thing.

What has greater impact is the double tracking which eliminates the need for arranging crossings which involves holding on train in a siding. The flip side is, some freights may have to hold for a Brightline to overtake them.



We could more firmly ground this discussion in reality by taking a look at this FDOT document:

New River Crossing Feasibility Technical Memorandum (FDOT) (PDF)
It would be hard to justify the huge construction, maintenance, and operating costs of the tunnel option.
 
From what I have heard at FECRS Meetings, there is no significant change in seed limits for Intermodals/freight, which according them were already running at optimal speed on their already excellent track
. The higher speed limits are entirely a passenger thing.

What has greater impact is the double tracking which eliminates the need for arranging crossings which involves holding on train in a siding. The flip side is, some freights may have to hold for a Brightline to overtake them.



We could more firmly ground this discussion in reality by taking a look at this FDOT document:

New River Crossing Feasibility Technical Memorandum (FDOT) (PDF)

After Thursday's small flood the possibility of the tunnel needs more thought. Just remember what Sandy did to the north river tunnel tubes.
 
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