A Less Than Perfect Premium Ride - Miami to Orlando With Brightline!

[@Bertie_Ahern]

Not being able to see out of the windows must be infuriating - it's one of the best things about the journey, and Brightline would have been fully aware of that when they stuck it all over the windows anyway.

[@MEATYOKERRable]

I bet its irritating and little tacky... but considering that they are a private company. Is Brightline getting paid by the City of Orlando to promote it since their trains are going there? Its a very visible traveling billboard would make a strong impact to every body stopped at the grade crossings or able to hear the trains then see them as they pass. Its Florida... the them park capital of the world. Why wouldn't they do something like this?

[@sailorman8590]

I used Brightline for the first time ever yesterday and was definitely annoyed by the window coverings on both trains to Orlando and back to south FL.

[@tricebornfreethinkersonly5303]

You can see out the windows you just can’t see in

[@d0lph1n63]

What irritates me is that you have to use cards just to get into the market, there’s no cash option and what they sell is such that I’d rather go to the nearby CVS or Walgreens outside and pick up my train snacks and drinks, and motion sickness medicine there plus I didn’t see anything different about the Brightline merchandise.

[@d0lph1n63]

Part of the window coverings I can understand as it’s supposed to block intense sunlight. If you’ve ever flown out of Doha or Abu Daubi their terminal windows have the same coverings without the advertising.

[@exoressdelivers70]

One of the main selling points about traveling by rail is that you can see the countryside rather than fly over it. They need to remove that wrap from the windows because it takes away a main advantage of traveling by train that is that you could see the countryside.

[@johniii8147]

True but there isn't really much to see on the route.

[@Knightowl1980]

It’s Florida there’s no country side. It’s flat as fk and nothing to see

[@werewolflover8636]

@@johniii8147Well anything is better than nothing!

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Aventura station exists for the Aventura Mall, which is one of the biggest malls in the US with 2,800,000 square feet of total retail floor area. The station will have a pedestrian bridge to go across to the mall but in this video, they provide shuttle service. It's interesting how at one point in time, you could've gone all the way to Key West by train, there was once a route called the Havana Special that ran from NYC to Key West and had connecting ferry service to Havana. The Overseas Railroad is an engineering feat, not only for the fact it's 113 miles but while 40 miles of track was washed away by a 1935 hurricane, every bridge survived it! However, the then already bankrupt Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the destroyed sections and the roadbed and remaining bridges were sold to the State of Florida, which built the Overseas Highway to Key West. Many of the original bridges were replaced during the 1980s. The Overseas Highway (U.S. 1, which runs from Key West to Fort Kent, Maine) continues to provide a highway link to Key West. Many old concrete bridges of the Overseas Railroad remain in use as fishing piers and pedestrian paths called the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail!

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

The fountain depicted on the train wrap at 6:14 is Lake Eola Park. The lake is actually a sinkhole that is over 7 meters deep. The creation of the park and its fountain was advocated by wealthy Orlando resident Jacob Summerlin in 1883 after he donated a large tract of land to establish such. He offered the land around the lake on the condition that it be beautified and turned into a park. His sons named it Lake Eola after Eola J Allen, the niece of John Howard Allen, second mayor of Orlando. A fountain was first installed there in 1912 at $10,000 (or nearly 324K in 2023 money), and the rest is history as it became the official symbol of the city and has since been replaced and repaired. That said, the views of the relaxation of not having to worry about driving is part of the experience of riding a train, and whenever advertisement wraps the windows of a bus or a train, it makes the passengers inside feel like an afterthought. It's dehumanizing. For buses, it makes riding the buses more difficult since you can't easily see your surroundings and tell where you are, even if it announces the stops, so it's especially bad for first timers.

[@journeyswithj246]

17:25 some masterful reversing by those drivers😂

[@LonestarTrips]

Yeah lol 😂 I had to use footage from the southbound trip, as the northbound was ruined by the window film.

[@journeyswithj246]

@@LonestarTrips ah okay. 😊

[@tedharrison4109]

I hate windows that are rapped too. It is especially bad as it gets dark. It makes it impossible see anything at night.

[@SalmanMentos]

At least you don't have to be flashbanged.

[@cooltwittertag]

@@SalmanMentoswindowblinds are a better solution

[@bp-ob8ic]

I am hopeful for Brightline's success. I've seen several 'first-day' videos of the premium service. What will make or break them will be the standard service 6 months from now.

[@Ken_in_Wisconsin]

You don't often see vehicles going backwards on the highway like @17:18

[@LonestarTrips]

It’s just a Florida thing lol

[@simonhicks5222]

Least dangerous Florida driver

[@jre617]

ha, yeah, what was that?

[@jre617]

@@stevenstrain283 Depends where. I've ridden and admired HS trains in Europe, Japan, China, and they are impressive. But IMO, California's HSR project is a massive waste of huge money. The NEC is the only route in the US that can justify that kind of investment. I'd like see that happen.

[@ericgage8254]

Probably because he has a rear facing seat

[@finleyfendt3750]

Well done, thank you. It is about time to have an opinion other than airlines, and high speed trains. Look at Europe, trains everywhere. 👍👍👍. 10-15-2023

[@ChatGPT1111]

Europe is also far denser populated with large cities packed close to each other.

[@ChatGPT1111]

Of course it also helps that Europe takes the money the US spends on Defense (of both us and them) and spends it on transport 😂😂😂

[@foxylady1048]

I’m from the U.K.,And even I can’t stand the windows in that train. For goodness sake BrightLine get that wrap off and let us Brits see some Florida landmarks and the SUN.

[@jessicaburdell7779]

I definitely get you completely about the window wrapping. Unrelated visibility wise thankfully, from a crew standpoint, but a minor gripe I have about working the Polar Express holiday train schedules on my road, is when we wrap both the cars and locomotives in Xmas lights, which I feel just turns our Alcos engines into somewhat of an eyesore and depreciates some of the natural beauty of them.

[@PMX]

I took the Brightline train from Miami to Fort Lauderdale in late October, and a few days later from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando. Luckily neither train had livery covering the windows but to be honest, from my seat on the right side, which I chose thinking I'd get some nice ocean views... I didn't get any interesting views at all, the train travels too far from the sea and for the most part all I could see were parking lots and semi-abandoned warehouses. The stations at Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando were pretty nice, and the one in Fort Lauderdale is right near the center of the city, which is very convenient, unlike the one in Orlando that's at the airport, far from the city. The trains were nice, but I found the seats to be a bit too hard for the long trip to Orlando.

[@enjoystraveling]

I rodeon the train four times and never received a train with wrapped windows and I didn’t notice the seats were too hard from Orlando however, the good thing about train since you can get up and stretch and walk around if you feel like it not like on airplanes, you have to wait till seatbelt light is off and then take a chance you might hit turbulence and fly up and hit the ceiling !

[@flipsolo]

Let's not use perfection as cudgel to stop progress. This is an incredible achievement, in Florida no less! Floridians are flocking in droves in using it. This proves w/out a doubt that there is a pent-up demand for fast, frequent, and reliable train service. It is far from perfect ... there is way too many at-grade RR-xing along the route in direct conflict with vehicles and pedestrians forcing Brightline trains to slow down.

[@enjoystraveling]

I would hate driving from Orlando to Miami or Fort Lauderdale so I happily took the train!

[@stephenkeever6029]

I guess you could say the bloom is off this Bright Pink rose... judging by your trip experience.

[@jre617]

Hey, Brightline, I want to look out the window on a train. Not a very Bright decision to partially cover them. I guess this is technically "high speed rail." According to UIC, 155 mph is the minimum for dedicated track, 124 mph for upgraded existing track. So part of this line is HSR, but it ain't no TGV, Eurostar, or Shinkansen.

[@londo776]

From my UK perspective brightline frequency is woeful, London to Edinburgh which is a five-hour journey has about 71 trips a day

[@AlanKSimulations]

Thats not just brightline, Amtrak only operates 1 train per day on its long distance routes and between 3 and 5 services per day on its state supported corridors, and most commuter services outside of New York generally have timetables designed to provide frequent service at both rush hours, infrequent service during the day with no early hours or late night services. Amtrak's NEC services and Long Island Rail Road commuter services to operate an all day frequency that would be acceptable outside of the states.

[@acelakid94]

Just a shot in the dark, but on the NEC if the if there's a problem with PTC (which explains the penalty stop) the train isn't allowed to go faster than 79 MPH in ABS territory regardless of the speed limit. "Speed restrictions" sounds less complicated than explaining the intricacies of railroad signaling for the average passenger. I don't know the rules down there so that's just a hunch.

[@TohaBgood2]

The reality is that almost no sections on that "110 mph nominal track speed" sections will ever have 110 mph trains running on them. The right of way has too many twists and turns and there are no sections that are sufficiently straight. There are also 50 mph draw bridges and apparently even 25 mph bridges on the route. Brightline is really good at marketing, but running an actual railroad is not their strong suit. They're after all those government subsidies and real estate that was also incidentally made possible by the government.

[@Skeet284]

Wraps=Welcome to Florida! I know for a fact SunRail has wraps as well. Also they aren't advertising the route they are advertising Visit Orlando that's ad rev. And I guarantee you once that wrap is off another wrap is going on.

[@EvanescentIcee]

I'll be going premium to Orlando from miami on Saturday! Thank you for posting!❤

[@mackjsm7105]

We went to Orland and back.. yeah the windows need to be fixed.. but everything was amazing.. they just started. Give them some time.

[@Hgshelby]

Best guess is the train came across a WILD detector (Wheel Impact Load Detector) which would explain the E-Stop and then a speed restriction.

[@robertherman1146]

Wow those seats are really tight! Holy smokes! We just got back from Europe- the trains and service is WAY better and MUCH MUCH faster!

[@johnjones4426]

I don't know what brightline was thinking covering the windows like that

[@samtrak1204]

Thank you for your comprehensive and honest review. I hope you share your comments with Brightline management so serrvice will be improved before I take Premium Class round trip from Orlando to Miami and back on December 27.

[@pindiwentuli3913]

The windows are the deal breaker for me, no way!

[@enjoystraveling]

I rode on the train four times and the trains I happen to ride on didn’t have any wrapped windows

[@josephnjuguna1986]

Awesome..brightline will compete with Amtrak

[@syrax101]

13:22 Amfleet 1 are the best! Brightline need to take away the wrap… it really does mess up the experience…

[@rgruenhaus]

Hope that the MRKT only charges as you are leaving, or you may not want to pull any item from the shelf or fridge to see the size or ingredients.

[@jimpern]

I suppose that riding the first day of any new service is bound to uncover some problems, but starting with a flat wheel is unforgiveable. I think the advertising wrap is a fine idea, but they need to uncover the windows. And that short stop in the middle of nowhere is a puzzle. You should go back after several months and give them another try.

[@lassepeterson2740]

I support the "private" running of Brightline and wanna hope it becomes a big success . The flat wheel is an employee forgetting to rellease a hand brake ( just next to the locomotive ) . Unacceptable . Wrap covered windows is enough to never use the train for me sadly .

[@scottgreenway9963]

You are right! The livery covering the windows HAS got to go! The thing that I think about is every review of Brightline I have seen has had reviews of the fantastic stations and the lounges as well as the trains themselves.....but they all seem relatively....empty. Considering the investment, it should be interesting to see if Brightline will be able to maintain service at present levels in the future including maintenance of it's trainsets as your video demonstrates. And if 125 mph is "high speed", well, you already know what they are doing in Europe and Japan. Having said all that, the masterstroke of Brightline are the mostly dedicated rails they run on. It is the ONLY way that the US will ever hope to see a "high speed" railway system of any kind. And the ONLY way that will happen is through private investment that Brightline has. Will it be profitable? People are still holding their breath on Brightline's future. I would love an opportunity to try them out, though. Nothing else in the US can compare! Amtrak, are you paying attention????

[@richardperhai8292]

Trains have been running about 75% full. On weekends a couple have sold out.

[@scottgreenway9963]

I hope they try to expand to other parts of the country. Many areas would benefit.

[@areguapiri]

It is impossible for Amtrak to change. Still not enough competition.

[@flarrfan]

@@scottgreenway9963 I think the LA to Vegas train will be more successful than this one.

[@tpajay]

@@richardperhai8292I have been trying to find data about the load factors between Miami & Orlando; but no luck. Please let me know where you read that. I was in premium from Orlando to West Palm on Oct 8 & it was no where close to 75% & I'm taking the same route on October 29th. With many more flights to choose from to Orlando than West Palm, it's easier to fly into MCO & take the train. I notice that the fares on some of the trains are pretty expensive. My upcoming trip is $229.00 (Premium) while my First Class/Business fare from Akron/Canton Airport is $179.00. I'm all for options but one train fare was $189.00 Smart fare (economy) one way Orlando-Miami. That kind of fare will cause a lot of families of 4 to go ahead & drive. Filling 16 trains each direction of 240 passengers on an hourly basis seems like a big task. It will be interesting to see if it can be done because I would think an airline would provide that kind of shuttle service like they do in the Northeast Corridor between DCA-NYC-BOS. Again, let me know where to find the data. Thanks.

[@gb9727]

Brightline needs to build more passenger railways in America and acquire california high speed rail

[@maestromecanico597]

There have been multiple wraps of Brightline sets since the beginning of service. Someone is paying for that rolling advert and Brightline is more than happy to take their money. It ruins the view, yes, but they are selling transportation not a view of SoFlo sprawl.

[@wacomarshal]

Nice to see an honest review...

[@Nizo1]

the stations are really good looking.

[@stevee4636]

They should remove the Wrap from the Glass at least, they would still get the same benefit of the advertising without loosing the View, come on Brightline, should be a quick fix, nobody likes trying to see thru the dots...loose it...

[@jesusthatspotsfans4898]

Those are not called Livery's those are called Wrap's they go on buses and trains I mean they do later on take off the wraps from the windows few weeks later

[@Retiredtraveler1961]

It would be nice to see bright rail, expand its service not only to Tampa, but south to Naples Fort Myers area. Then across from Naples back to Miami in a circuit. It’s also nice to see Amtrak have some competition since they are so pathetic.

[@susanlea7759]

It's Bright Line not rail

[@seprishere]

Enforcing non-flexible tickets is extremely regrettable. What if coming off a flight or cruise and don't know precisely when you'll be able to travel? I know there is the lounge but it would be IMHO much better to not have to hang around!

[@thomasrudder9639]

Buy your ticket when you get there.

[@seprishere]

@@thomasrudder9639Except that is also useless, the same way you don't buy air tickets that way. You might get there and it will be $500 one-way.

[@thyagarajannatarajan6234]

Hey @LonestarTrips I am very excited to see this video finally come out. This is one that I have been waiting for to come out. The content that you are putting out is amazing. I love Brightline. I feel that you make the most iconic Brightline vids. Not the dots! Congrats on 18k subs. Now the road starts to 20. I have loved your content from day one, so it makes me happy to see your channel growing. Here is some content I would love to see: Commuter Rail: Music City Starr Train--WeGo Transit (Nashville) West Coast Express (Vancouver) SunRail (Orlando) South Shore Line eBART Amtrak: Berkshire Flyer (NYP-Pittsfield) Palmetto/Silver Service (NYP-SAV/TPA/MIA) Empire Builder + California Zephyr City of New Orleans Aviation: Alaska Airlines Content *I'm not sure if any of these are in the pipeline so I apologize if any of these ideas are to be filmed.

[@ncard00]

Please share your video with Brightline, so they can fix all the issues you have, otherwise your video is useless and benefits nobody and accomplishes nothing…

[@LonestarTrips]

Thanks for being a long time supporter! It’s been quite the ride so far, and we’re only just getting started. As for coming content, I definitely want to cover everything you listed, but it’ll take a while. That being said, expect videos on the Empire Builder, Silver Star, Cardinal, and Southwest Chief in the near future.

[@gb9727]

Brightline should build a cross-USA railway

[@intesaralam]

Oddly I was on the train before your's and had the same issue with the sudden stop, I was told it was due to a signal failure.

[@supakat1835]

Not having a dedicated right of way has likely caused damage to those train bogeys due to excessive emergency braking. It's unfortunate that it was designed to be unreliable, & slow it should not be called high speed. The only tradeoff to removing the livery off the glass is that the extra light will heat up the cabin.

[@stuartrubin5730]

Unbelievable that the windows were wrapped. They have got to fix that.

[@michmat77]

So cool ❤

[@AlanKSimulations]

At 125mph, Brightline is not high speed. High Speed rail is generally considered to be 155mph or higher. At 125mph, Brightline operates at the same speed as Amtrak's NEC services which are considered to be a standard speed intercity service. While not being a high speed service, Brightline does look like a decent standard intercity service between Miami and Orlando.

[@journeyswithj246]

2:43 Reminds me of Amazon GO stores

[@johnburke1317]

Nice video 😊

[@LonestarTrips]

Thanks as always!

[@Seawiz21]

Brightline is going to need a proper Amtrak name when like the San Diegan it’s rightfully take over. I think “The Atlantic Brightliner”

[@CaradhrasAiguo49]

3:16 I would think people who can afford Brightline fares probably are banking customers anyway, since the bankless are overwhelmingly lower income Nice job showing the market's image recognition technology!

[@gstevens6948]

Those windows would be a deal breaker for me, I have to be able to see out.

[@sammydavis991]

You can still see out.

[@AlanKSimulations]

@gstevens6948 im guessing the increased travel costs would be a deal breaker if they removed the wrap so i wouldn't be worrying about it since your never going to use the service with your current attitude. Rail operators, both private and state ran, all across the world frequently use wraps to generate ad revenue which in turn allows operators to A. Offer services at lower affordable prices and B. Allows an operator to operate services with around 30% capacity and break even, where as operators who dont use wraps required trains to be at 65% capacity before braking even. In short, no wraps = less frequent service at a higher cost to the passenger.

[@samtrak1204]

Homecoming CANCELLATION I canceled my Brightline trip to Miami at the last minute and got a refund after learning all trains today are wrapped in crap that blocks the view and makes photgraphing Florida's less than spectacular scenery damn well impossible. Brightline Customer Service told me the wrap is coming down in January so maybe I'll fly down to the Sunshine State later next year to ride Florida's fastest train.

[@izzieb]

Been waiting for this since you replied to my comment on the last Brightline video 😁. The emergency braking situation was very odd. Perhaps the existing wheel flat(s) caused a hot axle or two, setting off a warning on the Train Management System or a track side detector?

[@LonestarTrips]

That’s possible. Though it didn’t seem like the wheel situation got any worse.

[@izzieb]

@@LonestarTrips Probably would have cooled off while stopped and limiting the speed would have stopped it getting so hot. Just a theory though.

[@ELAlcoRS3]

The FRA has also restricted them to 90 in the 110 zone.

[@robertdeltiempo4411]

The number 1 train crashes in the world in 2222!!!! What an impressive stat, what say you Brightline!!

[@John_259]

For brand new stations, I was surprised how narrow some of the platforms are. BTW although 125mph is regarded as high speed rail in the USA, in mainland Europe and southeast Asia it definitely isn't.

[@cherryjuice9946]

@@stevenstrain283 Did you consider the stops in Boca, WPB, Ft. Lauderdale, etc.?

[@robertherman1146]

And it only travels at that speed for a few minutes

[@robertherman1146]

@@cherryjuice9946Which makes it even slower

[@mathewmclean9128]

When riding a bus or a train, nothing irritates me more than having the whole vehicle wrapped like that and views obstructed because of the wrap. I love photographing and filming scenery on long trips so this completely ruins that experience.

[@Big-4]

This just isn’t for me. We live in Tampa so if they’re going to expand service to Tampa that Hass to go through Orlando and to the east coast before heading south I don’t see how that could be time effective or cost effective. I certainly don’t see the return on investment based on the cost of services, equipment and payroll these days. Just my opinion

[@TheBadCivilServant]

I haven't seen a Brighrline train with the windows "wrapped" in quite a while. I wonder if they got the memo? Still, you have to ask yourself. Are the dateless wonders the bizness skrools turning out so ignorant that they can't see (pardon the pun) that maybe covering uo the windows isn't such a great idea?

[@JoanneCounelis]

Kudos.thank you.

[@tedharrison4109]

It would be nice to see what to do, once you arrive in Orlando. Is there sowhere to rent a car at the station or do you have to go into the airport terminal ? Are there taxi's, shuttles or buses waiting for you or do you again have to go to the airport ?

[@AL5520]

A check shows that, although the train station is in the "Intermodal Terminal" there is nothing there apart from the APM to terminals A and B. You can book an Uber or a Mears in Orlando shared shuttle or luxury private rides, non of those is free. At the adjacent terminal C you'll find car share services, taxis and car rentals. For buses you'll need to take the APM to terminal A. There is a future plan for a SunRail service from the same Brightline station (which is not their station).

[@tedharrison4109]

Thanks, that is most informative.

[@dante6563]

Stop drinking Celsius. That shit is going to give you a heart attack.

[@LonestarTrips]

I woke up at 4:30 that morning after going to bed around 11:30 the previous night.

[@dante6563]

​@@LonestarTrips well, i want you around, so please stay away from those my uncle died because he drank shit like that and Monster.

[@pegasuswinterguard5818]

What?? I could easily see out lol I’m glad it’s shaded a bit so I don’t get sunburned Nothing to see anyways lol Trains are fab

[@ExtremeRecluse]

I spent $40 on average for highspeed rail in Italy. Purchase over 2 weeks in advance and save big.

[@AdurianJ]

You don't take your bags with you on the train AND you have security checks ? Is that a US thing ? That's one thing we thankfully don't have in Europe yet.

[@jre617]

That flat wheel was unfortunate. I've noticed that on freight trains, about every 10th or 12th car has a flat wheel. I don't know how the RRs identify that. Is the east-west section to Orlando completely new RoW? The north-south sections are freight railroad owned? What do you mean "expansion tracks"? Newly built? If so, why the 110 mph limit? It would be helpful to see a map of what sections are what.

[@richardperhai8292]

Orlando to Cocoa is all new track. From Cocoa south its existing FEC track that was double tracked. The 110 is a combination of track and crossings, which drops to 75 south of WPB

[@AdurianJ]

There are microphone sensors along the tracks. In the old days these went back to speakers in break rooms and control centres, these days I it's mostly computers that are listening.

[@Andrew54123]

I thought that this was suppose to be high speed rail

[@GavinRailfans]

16:03 maybe a trespasser? I mean it’s Florida so I would guess but idk ,like you said it may have been the flat wheel

[@samtrak1204]

What is the distance between Cocoa Junction and Orlando Airport Train Station? I think you say it is 20-something miles but Google search says 35 miles. (Brightline officials say their trains are the fastest in the Southeast after a test run accelerated up to 130 mph along the private company's rural 35-mile rail corridor between Cocoa and Orlando International Airport.

[@TohaBgood2]

Only about 20 miles of the Cocoa to Orlando section are actually at 125 mph. And that whole section is single-tracked to boot. The rest of the 35 miles is composed of slow turns from the freight mainline to join the highway right of way. There is another section of 30-90 mph speeds through Orlando to the airport. Overall, under 8.5% of the route is at highER speed rail speeds and the rest is 80-90 mph actual speed, even though the track speed is technically 110 mph on a few of those sections.

[@samtrak1204]

@@TohaBgood2Brightline PR is misleading. 3-hour running time was advertised between Orlando and Miami whereas in reality the trip takes close to 4 hours.

[@RobertSmith-wf9te]

Good explanation. People need to know what a small part of the route is actually 125 mph speed limit.@@TohaBgood2

[@Ken_in_Wisconsin]

How did the windows suddenly clear up @11:09?

[@LonestarTrips]

I used footage from the southbound run earlier that day

[@mrxman581]

​@LonestarTrips So, then, not all the trains have their windows wrapped. So why cover the windows at all? Can you request a train that doesn't have the windows wrapped? Or, at least know ahead of time which trains have their windows covered so you don't get on that train.

[@jre617]

Interesting, thanks. Are you using a robot voice? Sounds like it.

[@ExtremeRecluse]

If you purchase tickets in advance in Europe they get much less expensive. Trains reach 200MPH in Europe and Asia

[@lalakerspro]

CAHSR in california will reach 220 MPH, also only some places in europe reach 200MPH

[@samtrak1204]

Are there passing sidings between Cocoa and Orlando?

[@markyank1927]

I'm flying into Orlando international airport in January, 2024. Is the brightline station inside the airport or do you have to take an Uber to reach the station?. Please help

[@LonestarTrips]

To get to the station, take the airport people mover to Terminal C/Train Station. There are signs around the main concourse to help you find your way.

[@robertolebron2296]

It’s in the airport, i flew in July before they opened and when we arrived, i wanted to explore with my siblings to get the idea of when the future (now opened) station of Brightline os

[@jean-claudelol563]

I have to wonder how successful this is going to be. For a fraction of the cost for a single rider and only an hour longer journey you can take your whole family by car. Realistically by the time you factor in the travel time to the departure station, the wait time at the station and the travel time from the destination station to your final destination, it probably takes a good hour or two longer than just driving.

[@rorypaul153]

On average there’s 1.5 people per car, not a family of 4

[@jcspotter7322]

Brightline has been recently updating their wrappings to not cover the windows anymore, they should all be changed before the end of the year

[@samtrak1204]

Some of your window views like the St.Lucie River crossing are clear. Is that another train?

[@willcox4561]

A highspeed train from Miami to Orlando in an hour would have been very successful.

[@flickr4jazz]

What was the cost of the train vs. cost of flying?

[@josephschwarten6468]

I miss Stats for Nerds!

[@LonestarTrips]

Sorry there haven’t been any for a while! I’ll bring it back in the near future.

[@pleappleappleap]

A security check? To get on a train?

[@potooleftl]

You complained they were serving breakfast when it was still breakfast hours.

[@LonestarTrips]

It was 11:45am??? That's certainly not breakfast hours.

[@gb9727]

15:57 Is that Truck driving backwards?

[@LonestarTrips]

Maybe... I used window footage from the ride south, so it's reversed to appear as if it's heading north.

[@stuartlee6622]

IS THERE REALLY GOING TO BE A BRIDGE FROM THE AVENTURA STATION TO THE MALL??? I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!

[@549BR]

High speed rail doesn't technically occur until 155 mph, so this high speed talk from Brightline has been nothing but hipe or blarney; take your pick.

[@ACLTony]

It's likely that the train crew reported the flat-spot wheel issue. Hopefully it was taken care of after the trip.

[@ebf82234]

The stupid onboard crews they employ aren't the least bit savvy about railcar mechanics...nothing but diversity-bliss robots with perfect teeth to smile through.

[@ACLTony]

@@ebf82234 Bummer. But I'd like to hope that, at least, the conductor must be trained and may have come from a Class 1 railroad. He must have noticed the flat wheel, which was noticeable.

[@baseballfan99]

@@ebf82234You do realise that the catering crew are different to the engineering crew who are responsible for the safety of the train. I have no idea why you mention diversity at all? You you clearly don’t understand rail operations.

[@kennethritchie2166]

Not paying that kind of money and not be able to see out of the window are they crazy😮😡😳

[@jonowee]

DOTS!

[@rgruenhaus]

So sad that the only stretch that really gets high speed is from cocoa Beach to Orlando! The long journey from Miami could have benefited from 125mph!

[@TohaBgood2]

20 miles of 125 mph track out of a 240 mile route is pretty pathetic though. Only 8% of the route is anywhere near highER speed rail with the rest of the route staying at conventional speeds.

[@tonyburzio4107]

It's running. With the collapse of Acela 2 and California's no show, this is very good!

[@lwilton]

The problem is that to get 125 MPH permission from the FRA, they would have to do a complete track realignment on the mainline. This would require grade separation at all street crossings (grade separation = bridge or underpass), as well as dedicated fenced right-of-way. They could get that on the new section because it was, um, new, and they could build what they want. The existing route is already there and already in use.

[@rgruenhaus]

@@lwilton or put the express up in the air!

[@lwilton]

​@@rgruenhaus Yea. Think about that. You have to build a bridge over 200 miles of track that is constantly in use, without disrupting that use for more than a few hours at a time. Possible, but not cheap or easy. You have to get permits from cities to build bridges thru downtown, which may require buying up buildings on each side of the track and demolishing them. Right thru the middle of downtown. The City Council may not be pleased with the idea, and put roadblocks in your way. You now have a city with a big bridge thru downtown, dominating the skyline and dividing the city. A whole lot of cities have rejected elevated freeways thru downtown, because they don't want the ambience of the town destroyed. This would be much the same. There are rules on how sharp curves can be for a given track class. The current track right of way probably has curves here and there that are too sharp for 125 MPH travel. So you have to buy up more land, possibly demolishing more businesses along the way. You have to build all-new stations for the second-level train tracks, if you even have the space to build a new station without buying up more land. All of that is theoretically possible, but none of it is cheap, and in many cases you would never get permission from planning commissions and town councils to do it.

[@alfredo8a336]

Brightline is anything but a bullet train.

[@SharperTravel]

That food hall has been closed for over a year for some reason

[@Qazwsxedc165]

Whenever I went there when it was open, it was never crowded. Probably didn't make enough money.

[@thyagarajannatarajan6234]

@@Qazwsxedc165 sounds about right

[@LonestarTrips]

Interesting. The last time I was here in January of 2022, it was open and operating, but maybe they finally closed up for good.

[@markyank1927]

Help. Trying to reach brightline by telephone is terrible. Tried 3 different times. Gave up each time after 15 minutes

[@ScottRothsroth0616]

Did anyone else notice the car honk at timely timestamp 0:18 ?

[@MrWilsonbw]

That crap they put on the windows would be a deal breaker for me. Dumb move, Brightline!

[@jonesyokc]

Has that flat wheel seriously not been fixed? There was a train on opening day of the route that had the flat wheel. I don't remember if it was the train from or to Orlando. You could hear it in the video. I think a spotter had gotten a video of the train passing and the sound was very obvious. I am thinking it is the same train.

[@newestchannel8399]

7:39 left side right seat is spider man/ peter parker

[@timbacchus]

Interesting security check for train. I kind of like it.

[@bl00dkillz]

Florida + guns so gotta check for that

[@timbacchus]

so sad@@bl00dkillz

[@robertherman1146]

@@bl00dkillzIsn’t it legal to open carry a handgun or AR-15 on a train in Florida?? Thought it was…

[@AlanKSimulations]

​@@robertherman1146its only legal to open carry in Florida if you are going hunting, fishing or camping as far as i am aware. Given that brightline operates from Miami to Orlando and only stops at large towns/cities along the route i would say no open carry weapons are allowed onboard.

[@robertherman1146]

You have to scan your ticket?? And go through security?? What the..

[@luigianchondo7241]

17:17 Is it me, or are the cars going backwards?

[@redstone5149]

Brightline needs to get that wrap off the windows. That would drive me nuts. So disappointing.

[@rgruenhaus]

They should have provided an express track for those going direct from Miami to Orlando.