To my fellow Brightline (train that will run from Orlando Airport to Miami ) Geeks

[Weedy]

This guy modes videos of the Brightline train tracks. He can get a little long winded but still very interesting.

 

[JimMIA]

Yeah, we drove by there this week taking DD back to UCF after a weekend trip home. The progress was noticeable all along 528 since our last trip in January.

But I think they're still talking about late 2023 to open all the way to MCO.

 

[fla4fun]

I have watched some of his videos and enjoy them. I would like to just ride the train for a round trip just to ride the train, when it is finished. I do wish they were putting in a station in Cocoa though.

 

[JimMIA]

I have watched some of his videos and enjoy them. I would like to just ride the train for a round trip just to ride the train, when it is finished. I do wish they were putting in a station in Cocoa though.

They don't show any stops between West Palm Beach and MCO currently.

However, in South Florida, they appear to be building kind of a hybrid commuter/long distance service. We currently have stations in downtown Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, but they have 3 additional stations planned -- PortMiami, Aventura (under construction), and Boca Raton.

Whether they will carry that up the coast is anybody's guess. It seems like additional stations would slow the train down considerably, but we'll see. Of course eventually they plan to expand all the way to Tampa, with a stop at Disney Springs.

As far as I know, they have not resumed service since the Covid shutdown, but I don't follow Brightline closely.

 

[lucas]

Thanks for the video! We live in South Florida in beautiful downtown Boca Raton and the trains go by right us. I am very excited about the planned station that is coming to Boca Raton. We will practically be able to walk to the station from home. Can't wait to be able to take the train from right here to Orlando!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Out of curiosity, what's the purpose for the train to go from Miami to MCO? Is that going to be a transfer point or something? There's no reason for those of us in South Florida to fly out of MCO. Likewise, it wouldn't make sense to fly into MCO, if you were going to Miami. Obviously, I'm missing something.

 

[JimMIA]

Out of curiosity, what's the purpose for the train to go from Miami to MCO? Is that going to be a transfer point or something? There's no reason for those of us in South Florida to fly out of MCO. Likewise, it wouldn't make sense to fly into MCO, if you were going to Miami. Obviously, I'm missing something.

The general idea is to connect Tampa, Orlando, and Miami by high-speed rail.

One benefit of that is that it will open up opportunities for people to add South Florida to Disney trips, fly into South Florida for WDW trips (maybe better fares or flight options), add cruises from Port Everglades or Port Miami to WDW trips (which many already do), etc. Don't forget, Port Miami is the busiest cruise port in the world and rapidly expanding.

Also, before the pandemic, Virgin was the big partner to Brightline. Brightline was actually going to be called Virgin Trains, and they were planning to start Virgin Cruises from Port Miami. But all that went away with the pandemic. It could well come back in a couple of years.

There is also a good bit of business travel between South Florida and both Orlando and Tampa and you'd be able to Brightline to Orlando almost as quickly as you'd take to fly. Miami to MCO is estimated at 3 hours.

I think one of the keys is going to be direct MIA access. The line already exists and is currently used by Tri-Rail. They could also just bus from MIA to the downtown terminal (all expressway to within 3-4 blocks of the terminal), but a direct rail link would be better.

 

[jmenjes]

Brightline is aiming to restart service down here later this year.

I take Amtrak on my trips to WDW, but I am looking forward to trying out Brightline when it's running all the way up there.

 

[bcla]

Out of curiosity, what's the purpose for the train to go from Miami to MCO? Is that going to be a transfer point or something? There's no reason for those of us in South Florida to fly out of MCO. Likewise, it wouldn't make sense to fly into MCO, if you were going to Miami. Obviously, I'm missing something.

Airports make for excellent intermodal hubs. They would make it convenient to fly into an airport and then transfer to go to an intermediate stop along the train route. Or someone on an intermediate stop going to an airport. It would also make it convenient to come in from Miami and then rent a car at MCO or take a shuttle from the airport to downtown or perhaps WDW.

 

[bcla]

They don't show any stops between West Palm Beach and MCO currently.

However, in South Florida, they appear to be building kind of a hybrid commuter/long distance service. We currently have stations in downtown Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, but they have 3 additional stations planned -- PortMiami, Aventura (under construction), and Boca Raton.

Whether they will carry that up the coast is anybody's guess. It seems like additional stations would slow the train down considerably, but we'll see. Of course eventually they plan to expand all the way to Tampa, with a stop at Disney Springs.

As far as I know, they have not resumed service since the Covid shutdown, but I don't follow Brightline closely.

It's still desirable to have more stops for more utility. Some places don't like that a train just goes through but it's hundreds of miles to the closest station. Acela has quite a few stops. Sure it does mean losing a few minutes at each stop, but there's going to be a balance between absolute speed and making it useful to more riders.

 

[fla4fun]

Out of curiosity, what's the purpose for the train to go from Miami to MCO? Is that going to be a transfer point or something? There's no reason for those of us in South Florida to fly out of MCO. Likewise, it wouldn't make sense to fly into MCO, if you were going to Miami. Obviously, I'm missing something.

I am thinking that people who take a cruise out of Miami and want to combine it with a theme park vacation will benefit most. The train will eventually go to Tampa as well, so you may see people comparing flights between TPA, MCO, and MIA for the best price on a WDW vacation. I have read several threads about people flying into Tampa and then renting a car to drive to Orlando. With the train, they wouldn’t need the car.

 

[JimMIA]

I am thinking that people who take a cruise out of Miami and want to combine it with a theme park vacation will benefit most. The train will eventually go to Tampa as well, so you may see people comparing flights between TPA, MCO, and MIA for the best price on a WDW vacation. I have read several threads about people flying into Tampa and then renting a car to drive to Orlando. With the train, they wouldn’t need the car.

Not only MIA and TPA, but also PBI and FLL. The more options, the better.

But I agree the biggest benefit will be people combining a cruise from Port Miami with a WDW vacation. A LOT of people do that now, and that number will grow when it gets easier -- especially with bundled deals.

The other group that doesn't get talked about much is the South Florida WDW visitors who don't want to drive or fly. There are several bus services that do a robust business right now busing from South Florida to MCO, where the visitors take DME to their Disney resort. I have several friends/acquaintances who now take Red Coach from MIA-MCO several times a year for short WDW visits.

DME is going away, but there will be some replacement -- and a nice train ride would be much more enjoyable that even a nice bus ride.

 

[bcla]

Not only MIA and TPA, but also PBI and FLL. The more options, the better.

But I agree the biggest benefit will be people combining a cruise from Port Miami with a WDW vacation. A LOT of people do that now, and that number will grow when it gets easier -- especially with bundled deals.

The other group that doesn't get talked about much is the South Florida WDW visitors who don't want to drive or fly. There are several bus services that do a robust business right now busing from South Florida to MCO, where the visitors take DME to their Disney resort. I have several friends/acquaintances who now take Red Coach from MIA-MCO several times a year for short WDW visits.

DME is going away, but there will be some replacement -- and a nice train ride would be much more enjoyable that even a nice bus ride.

Doesn't it connect with other transportation services like Amtrak? I know around Southern California they've got lots of places where different trains (Amtrak, Metrolink, Coaster) can connect. Not necessarily any convenient airport connections though.

All along the East Coast there are convenient connection points, such as several airport stops along the Northeast Corridor.

I like how they came up with a cool acronym for this station:

 

[JimMIA]

Doesn't it connect with other transportation services like Amtrak?

Not currently. Amtrak's Miami terminus is in one of those "They put it WHERE?" spots a couple of miles north of MIA. Pretty bizarre location, actually -- like they ran out of track or something.



MIA's Intermodal Center has several bus services, Tri-Rail, MetroRail, and of course car rentals -- but neither Amtrak nor Brightline (yet). It's connected to the terminals by a People Mover.

 

[bcla]

Not currently. Amtrak's Miami terminus is in one of those "They put it WHERE?" spots a couple of miles north of MIA. Pretty bizarre location, actually -- like they ran out of track or something.

View attachment 566845

MIA's Intermodal Center has several bus services, Tri-Rail, MetroRail, and of course car rentals -- but neither Amtrak nor Brightline (yet). It's connected to the terminals by a People Mover.

That's not all that unusual. Some of the terminus locations for Amtrak service are just oddball locations. Maybe connections to bus lines. It's bus lines that make Amtrak workable around here. The end of the line for the Amtrak California Zephyr is in Emeryville. That's in a suburban/industrial/office neighborhood. More suburban these days because of all the condos that sprouted up where there used to be warehouses and industrial businesses. The train station was built in response to damage to the Oakland 16th St station during the 1989 earthquake. They actually built a new station in Oakland, but that couldn't be used as a terminus because of where it is in relation to the Amtrak yard. It would require a backup. But the Amtrak "Thruway" buses make for convenient connections to San Francisco. There are also convenient spots where one can transfer to public transit such as at Richmond, California.

I can't really imagine any convenient train service to San Francisco since it's at the tip of a peninsula. They're not going to put trains on the Golden Gate bridge.

Still - this looks interesting in Miami. Are there going to be any sort of shuttles? Around here I've seen Amtrak buses that connect between Amtrak stations and other services. They even work with some services such as the bus service that goes to Yosemite. I see Amtrak's Palmetto and Silver routes have thruway buses at Daytona Beach and three Amtrak stations near Orlando. Doesn't make much sense.

 

[JimMIA]

That's not all that unusual. Some of the terminus locations for Amtrak service are just oddball locations. Maybe connections to bus lines. It's bus lines that make Amtrak workable around here. The end of the line for the Amtrak California Zephyr is in Emeryville. That's in a suburban/industrial/office neighborhood. More suburban these days because of all the condos that sprouted up where there used to be warehouses and industrial businesses. The train station was built in response to damage to the Oakland 16th St station during the 1989 earthquake. They actually built a new station in Oakland, but that couldn't be used as a terminus because of where it is in relation to the Amtrak yard. It would require a backup. But the Amtrak "Thruway" buses make for convenient connections to San Francisco. There are also convenient spots where one can transfer to public transit such as at Richmond, California.

I can't really imagine any convenient train service to San Francisco since it's at the tip of a peninsula. They're not going to put trains on the Golden Gate bridge.

Still - this looks interesting in Miami. Are there going to be any sort of shuttles? Around here I've seen Amtrak buses that connect between Amtrak stations and other services. They even work with some services such as the bus service that goes to Yosemite. I see Amtrak's Palmetto and Silver routes have thruway buses at Daytona Beach and three Amtrak stations near Orlando. Doesn't make much sense.

There are no current plans for connecting bus routes between the Miami Amtrak terminus and Yosemite. Other than that, Miami is not California so what you have there doesn't matter here.

The current situation is that Brightline will terminate in downtown Miami (already operational) and there will be a terminal at Port Miami which will make use of existing lines for the 2 miles between the two stations.

There is an existing MetroRail connection between MIA and the downtown station, and there are also numerous existing bus/shuttle services between MIA and Port Miami.