brightline update

[Lewisc]

Why on earth did she turn onto the tracks???

Sometimes it's a suicide. Some motorists claim they followed their GPS directions. For some technology trumps common sense.

 

[bumbershoot]

Why on earth did she turn onto the tracks???

People get confused.
Watch the reddit "idiotsincars" a few times and you'll see how incredibly questionable people's judgment can be.

 

[JimMIA]

Sometimes it's a suicide. Some motorists claim they followed their GPS directions. For some technology trumps common sense.

True, but most of the suicides walk onto the tracks. This lady had her 1 year-old securely fastened in a child seat. Not a suicide attempt.

I'm sure she just got confused, and they were very lucky that neither of them got badly injured.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

The Miami Orlando expansion hits 70% completion

https://www.thenextmiami.com/brightlines-miami-to-orlando-rail-line-now-70-complete/

 

[Earningmywings]

Website says the Orlando expansion will complete in 2022. Anyone heard if there has been a delay with the pandemic (low staffing, supply chain, etc)? Could be a great option for our September trip. Thinking of taking the MCO to Disney Springs connection, then bus to BCV. We get to MCO so early that we have time to take a more interesting transportation option.

 

[Random Ninja]

Website says the Orlando expansion will complete in 2022. Anyone heard if there has been a delay with the pandemic (low staffing, supply chain, etc)? Could be a great option for our September trip. Thinking of taking the MCO to Disney Springs connection, then bus to BCV. We get to MCO so early that we have time to take a more interesting transportation option.

The Orlando Expansion is the airport station for travel to/from South Florida. That line is supposed to open some time this year.

The Disney Springs line isn’t starting until MUCH after that. Last news I heard about it locally was that they still needed approval for the route. It’s not scheduled to be open for several years. Not going to be an option this year.

 

[Earningmywings]

The Orlando Expansion is the airport station for travel to/from South Florida. That line is supposed to open some time this year.

The Disney Springs line isn’t starting until MUCH after that. Last news I heard about it locally was that they still needed approval for the route. It’s not scheduled to be open for several years. Not going to be an option this year.

Oh no, oh well maybe future trips will workout.

 

[EACarlson]

I understand that too many stops makes it too slow to be worthwhile, but I would really appreciate a stop in Melbourne. I would avoid renting a car on my business trips if I could get a train from MCO to MLB. The price difference and inability to get a non-stop flight makes flying into MLB prohibitive.

 

[JimMIA]

I understand that too many stops makes it too slow to be worthwhile, but I would really appreciate a stop in Melbourne. I would avoid renting a car on my business trips if I could get a train from MCO to MLB. The price difference and inability to get a non-stop flight makes flying into MLB prohibitive.

If our experience in South Florida is any guide, you may see another station or two along the East Coast, and MLB would be a logical choice.

When Brightline first opened, we had stations in West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami -- all of them in generally downtown areas. We currently have an additional station under construction in Aventura (N. Dade, about halfway between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami) and one planned at Port Miami. They are also building another station in Boca Raton, which is between Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

Of course, South Florida has a lot more potential for local traffic than the Space Coast, but I still think an intermediate stop makes sense.

 

[JimMIA]

Also, we recently (last week) traveled along 528 between 417 and I-95 (between Orlando and Cocoa, for those who aren't familiar) and the work is proceeding nicely. Some track has been laid along the western end and quite a few signals have been added since our last trip in December.

 

[EACarlson]

Also, we recently (last week) traveled along 528 between 417 and I-95 (between Orlando and Cocoa, for those who aren't familiar) and the work is proceeding nicely. Some track has been laid along the western end and quite a few signals have been added since our last trip in December.

It looked like quite a bit of it was done when I drove through in October, I'm interested to see what it looks like when I'm there next week.

 

[fla4fun]

True, but most of the suicides walk onto the tracks.

I personally know someone who committed suicide by train, and they walked onto tracks away from any crossings. Having spent a lot of time driving by the tracks between Cocoa and Melbourne, there isn’t anything preventing a person on foot from accessing the tracks at any point. Unfortunately, if someone wants to die in that way, crossing gates aren’t going to be a deterrent.

I am looking forward to riding the train just because I like riding trains. I agree that The Roaming Railfan does some excellent videos of the route and construction. I hope they get video of any test trains in the Brevard County area.

 

[JimMIA]

In South Florida, we have a few geniuses who try to drive around the gates...I guess because they are just too busy to wait. They are frequent reminders that you just can't fix stupid.

We had one a week or so ago just north of Downtown Miami who drove around the gates and got stuck on the track. Fortunately, the train was going very slow. The car was destroyed but none of the four occupants were injured. Only one of the four had the presence of mind to jump out of the car and run for their life.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/l...rlando-airport-facility-in-stations-1st-test/

Starting testing this week

 

[OKW Lover]

Just drove along 528 between MCO & Port Canaveral and there is still much work still to be done on this stretch of track.

 

[Capt_BJ]

yep - very misleading news report this week when BL said first train had visited the airport station.

Failed to mention the train went from the airport maintenance facility to the airport station ..... not as far as the length of a runway. I'm not sayin' they implied the train came up from the south . . . WELLLLL they did say it 'returned to' ........



track from MCO to Cocoa still has LARGE areas with nothing but leveled ground and gravel.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

yep - very misleading news report this week when BL said first train had visited the airport station.

Failed to mention the train went from the airport maintenance facility to the airport station ..... not as far as the length of a runway. I'm not sayin' they implied the train came up from the south . . . WELLLLL they did say it 'returned to' ........

View attachment 670779

track from MCO to Cocoa still has LARGE areas with nothing but leveled ground and gravel.

It might seem like it's insignificant but it's an impart part of the test and adjust period and is why the train is at the airport maintenance facility so that ty can make sure that it lines up with the platforms and that the track is aligned properly

 

[CarolynFH]

This Blog Mickey article re Brightline popped up on the News & Rumors forum. Is the MCO to Tampa route still being disputed i.e. whether it will run to DS or to UOR?

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

This Blog Mickey article re Brightline popped up on the News & Rumors forum. Is the MCO to Tampa route still being disputed i.e. whether it will run to DS or to UOR?

The last I saw somewhere is that it is going to be a joint corridor with Sunrail from MCO through downtown Orlando to Disney Springs. From Disney Springs it will be back to Brightline only to Tampa

 

[sethschroeder]

I have to laugh a little when people thought this would be done by this year and Disney was pulling DME because they wanted people using the train.

Where are we at right now? Maybe 2026 we will see a train from MCO to Disney? Likely stopping at Universal on the way?