Brightline Orlando to Miami in 2024 | Checking-in on Brightline's Train 6 Months after Orlando Start

Рет қаралды 5,271

Күн бұрын

Join me as I ride Brightline's train service from Orlando to Miami about six months after the Orlando launch. I cover some new station news and Brightline's financial performance as well.
00:00 Brightline Orlando Station and Premium Lounge
01:13 Boarding, seat tour, and departure
02:29 Brightline route from Orlando to Miami
03:00 Reaching top speed of 125mph
03:15 How is Brightline doing?
04:02 Planned new stop at Cocoa, FL
04:31 Breakfast
04:47 Planned new stop at Stuart, FL
05:37 Restrooms
05:52 West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Aventura stops, all on time
06:27 Arriving in Miami
The Roaming Railfan's channel: ‪@RoamingRailfan‬
Cocoa station video: • Brightline Cocoa Stati...
Stuart station video: • A Brightline Station f...
Thanks to Brightline and staff for the great trip!

Пікірлер: 34

@enjoystraveling 3 ай бұрын

I’ve taken Brightline to Southern Florida three times and I enjoyed the relaxed experience. I could read my e-book and talk with my friend.

@enjoystraveling 3 ай бұрын

Also, the ride was smooth and comfortable, and I enjoyed eating empanadas in my coffee in the Orlando station.

@SightlinesTravel 3 ай бұрын

Brightline definitely is a smooth experience. Thanks for sharing!

@tomjones6777 Ай бұрын

WOW !! Love it !!

@SightlinesTravel Ай бұрын

Thank you!

@m3lgar582 3 ай бұрын

No way you went to Vice City in real life 😲

@SightlinesTravel 3 ай бұрын

Miami has some great buildings.

@TheRailwayDrone Ай бұрын

Great video. Personally, while I'm extremely excited for Brightline West, I think they're doing everything wrong which will lead Amtrak to eventually take over. Brightline Florida: Railway built with road crossings which are extremely prone to accidents, slow speeds from West Palm Beach to Miami, and only just a little faster up to Orlando; stations built with no sidings to allow for express trains which then leaves people only saving only about 30 minutes on the train as opposed to driving from Miami to Orlando (on a good, no-traffic day, which I understand is VERY rare). Brightline West: Single-track high speed railway (not sure how that's going to work out, especially IF demand increases); Vegas Terminal south of the strip with no "last-mile" transportation to the strip; California Terminal in Rancho Cucamonga which then leads people to have to take metrolink to LA allowing for little time-savings and inconvenience to passengers; The only saving grace to Brightline West in my opinion is that the trains are supposed to travel at 180mph (but I know there are some curves within the median which will force the train to have to slow down). I wish the best for Brightline but I feel like they're not doing these things the right way to get Americans out their cars.

@SightlinesTravel Ай бұрын

Thank you for the comment! The only Brightline West deep dive I've watched so far is from @LucidStew (kzbin.info/www/bejne/nompkJqVltZrrMU). It shows the issues you've raised: lots of single-tracking, curves and grades in the route that limit speed, and terminal stations outside of city centers (a little outside in LV, a lot outside in LA). It's a 215 mile trip they plan to make in just over 2 hours, so at least the average speed of around 100mph is faster than driving. Hopefully it turns out, but we'll see...

@mrxman581 2 ай бұрын

Interesting. I've read their ridership numbers are way lower than what they had projected. Their decision to not run the train faster due to their decision to not better grade separate the route and have it be fully double tracked, is the primary reason for more people not using it. The train only averages about 67 mph. That's not fast enough to complete with cars let alone flights. If they can get that average speed up to around 100 mph, it would be a game changer.

@SightlinesTravel 2 ай бұрын

Those are both good points. Their ridership is below their initial long-term projections and they've subsequently lowered those projections a few times. So those were clearly too optimistic. But ridership is growing rapidly now, and it will be interesting to see how it goes when they add more coaches and have trains longer than four cars later this year. I agree that better grade separation for faster speeds would be great. I believe they're working on that between West Palm Beach and Cocoa especially, trying to get government grants for it, as it also improves safety. It will be expensive and difficult to do further south as development gets more dense. I thought it was already competitive with cars time-wise, given traffic in South Florida? But I don't live there and don't know for sure. It does still seem slower than flying based on a couple KZbin "train vs plane" videos out there. The train is a better experience though. Not having to deal with TSA is a big advantage alone. 😊

@Shytot-1 2 ай бұрын

For every station they add, it will mean another stop, which is great, however, if there are too many stations it will take forever to get to Miami.

@SightlinesTravel 2 ай бұрын

It's a good point. As they add more stations, I'm guessing they won't have every train stop at all stations. Right now, only every other train stops at Boca Raton, for example. But we'll see.

@Shytot-1 2 ай бұрын

@@SightlinesTravel If more people start using it they are not going to make people wait because we are talking about money here. If they are looking to make a profit without government backing they will be the first train company in the world to achieve it. It's a vicious circle, if the numbers start to drop they will put up the fares, which in turn will make the numbers drop further, and if they are not making a profit they will go out of business. Every other country runs their trains for the overall benefit of the people, some lines make a profit but most don't.

@TheRailwayDrone Ай бұрын

I don't understand why they don't have track sidings at the stations so they could have express trains between Orlando and Miami.

@Shytot-1 Ай бұрын

@@TheRailwayDrone That costs money, they are not in it to spend money they are in it to make money, that's the difference between private and government money, the government can afford to look long term, with private you are there while it's making money, as soon as it looks as if it's coming unstuck the investors are gone. The difference between the USA and other 1st world countries is they are run for the benefit of the people, while in the US things are only run for profit, it's why the military and the health businesses are so huge, the people come second.

@TheRailwayDrone Ай бұрын

@@Shytot-1 Well as the guy in the video pointed out, they're LOSING money. Most people would take trains if it were faster. There are clear examples of this on the Northeast Corridor. It may not be high speed rail by definition, but I still get to NYC from DC MUCH quicker than driving. Additionally, given the many accidents they've had caused by stupid drivers, they have to spend money to repair those engines. So while they're in it for the money, doesn't seem as though the decisions they've made is going to make them much money. I really hope they succeed, but I think things could have been better with Brightline (Florida primarily). But then again, thank Rick Scott for it.

@shechshire 2 ай бұрын

Can't you take a direct line with no stops?

@SightlinesTravel 2 ай бұрын

From Orlando to Miami? No, there aren't any non-stop trains now.

@shechshire 2 ай бұрын

@@SightlinesTravel They ned to make that happen. Imagine getting their faster than you can in a car? I thought they would have figured that out by now.

@SightlinesTravel 2 ай бұрын

It would be great if they could shorten the 3 hour 25 minute train trip, but I think it's often faster than driving when south Florida traffic is factored in. Right now, Google Maps is showing 4 hours to drive from Orlando to Miami due to traffic.

@shechshire 2 ай бұрын

@@SightlinesTravel Yeah dude, but the train also has delays as short as they may be. There's videos of people experiencing almost that. Apple Maps iOS telling me 3:38 right now using the turn pike. That's not bad either way not having to drive. I like that but we need a direct trip & wouldn't mind paying the extra charge for it. It's not like anyone rides this thing to save money.

@SightlinesTravel 2 ай бұрын

Fair enough. It would be great if the train trip was always significantly shorter than driving to justify the higher cost. Hopefully they can speed it up.