Brightline Trains

[Alleri459]

On 4/12/2021 at 8:58 PM, dcluley98 said:

Awesome vid. Really shows the scale of this project!  This is huge for Orlando/Florida in general. 

I agree! Seeing these in video and in person along the expressways and airport makes this exciting.  Having the maintenance facility, and what may be a more central terminal for the Florida region is a big deal! An all-around important hub of transportation, especially with a Sunrail extension in the works for OIA.

With the multiple additional stops being added in South Florida (PortMiami, Aventura, Boca Raton) I hope they consider an additional stop on the Space Coast. Their Instagram has indicated the uses of express and local trains, so I don't see an issue with adding a Northern Brevard County stop that would actually generate additional ridership.

[codypet]

Brevard County stop can't happen from Orlando.  Probably would from Jacksonville and Miami.

[gibby]

3 hours ago, codypet said:

Brevard County stop can't happen from Orlando.  Probably would from Jacksonville and Miami.

Is that due to a Beachline agreement issue?  I was looking forward to taking it to Cocoa someday.

[IAmFloridaBorn]

If bright line wants to extend to Tampa and doesn't do so through the 528, I hope they fail. 

Why would they skip Convention Center area? 

[WAJAS]

33 minutes ago, IAmFloridaBorn said:

If bright line wants to extend to Tampa and doesn't do so through the 528, I hope they fail. 

Why would they skip Convention Center area? 

Is this sarcasm?

[IAmFloridaBorn]

6 hours ago, WAJAS said:

Is this sarcasm?

Why would I post sarcasm????

[codypet]

12 hours ago, IAmFloridaBorn said:

If bright line wants to extend to Tampa and doesn't do so through the 528, I hope they fail. 

Why would they skip Convention Center area? 

As soon as they widened 528, any hope of the rail corridor running along 528 died.  Because Brightline is heavy rail and not the electric train proposed in the old High Speed Rail days, running the train on anything other than on the ground is incredibly incredibly expensive.  Also none of us know how the agreement works with Disney, but I'm sure they want exclusive access to the train from the airport.  Disney doesn't want to make it easy on people to stay at the Convention Center Hilton and go to the parks when they can get money for people staying at the Disney hotels.

[Uncommon]

12 hours ago, IAmFloridaBorn said:

If bright line wants to extend to Tampa and doesn't do so through the 528, I hope they fail. 

Why would they skip Convention Center area? 

There’s a good chance the 528 route is not chosen. Brightline doesn’t want it, and it’s not advantageous for them (or their responsibility) to fix Orlando’s transportation problems on their own. I doubt they double their expenses and choose that route when it doesn’t really benefit them.

If I’m not mistaken, MCO has built or is building a terminal that allows for light rail to i-Drive if/when it comes to fruition. Another entity really should propose LRT specifically for the convention center area. Or who knows? Maybe Biden’s transportation plan will earmark some funds for an I-Drive train.

[aent]

15 hours ago, IAmFloridaBorn said:

If bright line wants to extend to Tampa and doesn't do so through the 528, I hope they fail. 

Why would they skip Convention Center area? 

They want to skip the convention center because it will add several billion dollars to the cost, and significant time to construction, and generally make the project infeasible, especially considering the powers that be want them paying for lost toll revenue and rental car revenue. The only chance for a 528 route is if someone steps up with money and stops saying Brightline needs to not only pay for everything (which I'm good with), but also needs to cover any losses to any competitive form of transportation (what the f?)

[IAmFloridaBorn]

2 hours ago, Uncommon said:

There’s a good chance the 528 route is not chosen. Brightline doesn’t want it, and it’s not advantageous for them (or their responsibility) to fix Orlando’s transportation problems on their own. I doubt they double their expenses and choose that route when it doesn’t really benefit them.

If I’m not mistaken, MCO has built or is building a terminal that allows for light rail to i-Drive if/when it comes to fruition. Another entity really should propose LRT specifically for the convention center area. Or who knows? Maybe Biden’s transportation plan will earmark some funds for an I-Drive train.

I know the route is going to go via 417 to Disney. I guess just as a resident of Orlando since I've been born I really want to see Universal and international drive thrive. 

I was simple enough to believe mag love what happened. But looking at other metros our size and then factoring in the tourist population every day I really want Orlando to be better for 2050 and on. So I'll be hopeful that Bright line helps sunrail which if both have continued success we will see more lines. 

I'm just being a youngsters. I don't actually hope bright line fails lol.

 

What I also take from it looking at projections is that lake Nona is poised to be another employment hub in southeast Orlando and general which that's basically the Orlando international airport area so it is all a good thing. I'm just voicing my opinion of the tourist area being left out for transportation

[dcluley98]

 

[spenser1058]

Hunter’s Creek is not amused by Brightline’s plans for FL417 (they’re gonna sue):

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-hunters-creek-fights-brightline-20210513-wd6j4crxzzehbpcztvtjyjcuki-story.html 

From The Sentinel 

Edited May 13, 2021 by spenser1058

[Uncommon]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

Hunter’s Creek is not amused by Brightline’s plans for FL417 (they’re gonna sue):

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-hunters-creek-fights-brightline-20210513-wd6j4crxzzehbpcztvtjyjcuki-story.html 

From The Sentinel 

Hmm I wonder if the 528 route would run into similar issues. To be fair, if I lived in Hunter’s Creek, I wouldn’t want a loud train barreling through my neighborhood either. NIMBYism is always easy to sneer at when it’s not your backyard. I wouldn’t sue, but I would definitely be annoyed enough to move, and this is coming from a very pro-train proponent.

[KnightBay]

1 hour ago, Uncommon said:

Hmm I wonder if the 528 route would run into similar issues. To be fair, if I lived in Hunter’s Creek, I wouldn’t want a loud train barreling through my neighborhood either. NIMBYism is always easy to sneer at when it’s not your backyard. I wouldn’t sue, but I would definitely be annoyed enough to move, and this is coming from a very pro-train proponent.

Honestly, how much louder would the occasional passenger train be compared to the 24/7 noise of the 417? Not to mention all of the pollution from the 417. Also, they complained about dust, really?! 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Hunter’s Creek is not amused by Brightline’s plans for FL417 (they’re gonna sue):

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-hunters-creek-fights-brightline-20210513-wd6j4crxzzehbpcztvtjyjcuki-story.html 

From The Sentinel 

Good for Hunters Creek. Keep Bright line from connecting with Disney. 

[Uncommon]

2 hours ago, KnightBay said:

Honestly, how much louder would the occasional passenger train be compared to the 24/7 noise of the 417? Not to mention all of the pollution from the 417. Also, they complained about dust, really?! 

Good point. All of the ricers and racers speeding down 417 might be just as loud as the trains, but Brightline may compound the problem. I live close to Curry Ford and the amount of loud cars I hear from my house at all hours of the day from sport bikes, dirt bikes and idiots in their Honda Civic lawn mowers drives me absolutely crazy Friday and Saturday nights until 3am.

If Brightline is anywhere near as loud as the unbelievably obtrusive Sunrail which would infuriate me at 6am as I’m trying to sleep, then Brightline plus the incumbent fart can burners might be the straw that snapped the camel’s back. 

[dcluley98]

The sport bikes are the worst. I have a freight train go by my apartment most nights at like 1 or 2 am and it shakes the whole building but it doesn't even wake me up any more. Got used to it. The packs of sport bikes on I-4, however. . . 

Edited May 14, 2021 by dcluley98

[orlandocity87]

Hidden in the Sentinel article: "Brightline tracks along the expressway would encounter no road crossings where train horns would be used."

Additionally, from  CityLab's Debunking 5 Myths About Texas High-Speed Rail: "Texas Central has gone on record saying that train noise might reach 65 decibels, whereas diesel trucks routinely reach 85 decibels, and tractors hit close to 100."

From the US DOT: "Levels of highway traffic noise typically range from 70 to 80 dB(A) at a distance of 15 meters (50 feet) from the highway."

I definitely prefer the International Drive alignment,. But I can't stand when a lawyer is quoted in an article misconstruing information that literally takes 4 minutes to Google. Once construction is done, nobody would even know there was a train going by--faster and quieter than the cars.

[Alleri459]

Weren't there discussions about including a sunrail line along this route for local traffic with a Hunters Creek stop?  that would be a good compromise.

[uncreativeusername]

32 minutes ago, aleonrivera said:

Weren't there discussions about including a sunrail line along this route for local traffic with a Hunters Creek stop?  that would be a good compromise.

Exactly. The argument seems unfounded - running a train down a highway that already exists is not going through anyone's backyard...and if Hunter's Creek ends up being serviced by SunRail as a result, that is a huge benefit to the community.  

Not saying this is the perfect route, but the complaint seems to ignore the facts of the proposal.

[codypet]

@orlandocity87When have facts gotten in the way of filing a frivolous suit?  Indian River County has for years touted that Brightline was a front to bring freight trains (particularly LP trains) into Orlando.  For various reasons, that's patently false, but they continue to harp on that lie.  I wouldn't be surprised if someone was trying to say the same about the alignment through Disney as well to stoke fear.

[jgardnerucf]

Aren't all the street bikes and rice burners in hunters creek anyway? Lol

[Uncommon]

10 minutes ago, jgardnerucf said:

Aren't all the street bikes and rice burners in hunters creek anyway? Lol

Kissimmee. Close enough.

[Urban Mail Carrier]

On 5/14/2021 at 10:51 AM, orlandocity87 said:

Hidden in the Sentinel article: "Brightline tracks along the expressway would encounter no road crossings where train horns would be used."

Additionally, from  CityLab's Debunking 5 Myths About Texas High-Speed Rail: "Texas Central has gone on record saying that train noise might reach 65 decibels, whereas diesel trucks routinely reach 85 decibels, and tractors hit close to 100."

From the US DOT: "Levels of highway traffic noise typically range from 70 to 80 dB(A) at a distance of 15 meters (50 feet) from the highway."

I definitely prefer the International Drive alignment,. But I can't stand when a lawyer is quoted in an article misconstruing information that literally takes 4 minutes to Google. Once construction is done, nobody would even know there was a train going by--faster and quieter than the cars.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was orchestrated to pressure Brightline to build along international drive. The preferred route of most Orlando Urban planet aficionados.  In my mind at least it should be built along the 528 and international drive, but it seems like our leaders may need to put up some more skin the game(money) in construction costs to have leverage.

Edited May 16, 2021 by Urban Mail Carrier

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, Urban Mail Carrier said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was orchestrated to pressure Brightline to build along international drive. The preferred route of most Orlando Urban planet aficionados.  In my mind at least it should be built along the 528 and international drive, but it seems like our leaders may need to put up some more skin the game(money) in construction costs to have leverage.

I’ve been fascinated by just how aloof Universal has been over the years in its relationship with the local community. Disney started out that way, but over the years had local folks (and even the ultimate Californian, Dick Nunis) mingle with the hometown crowd. It’s all the more amazing given how much further from town Disney is than Universal and that Uni’s “investment” in Tallahassee pales in comparison to the Mouse’s. 

Given that Harris Rosen isn’t getting any younger and that OC is unlikely to have a totally co-opted mayor like Rich Crotty or even Jerry Demings again (we saw what happened when they tried to play the old game in a county commission race), they need to up their game to change the trajectory. As for Brightline, all they’re going to do is follow the money.
 

Edited May 16, 2021 by spenser1058