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Originally Posted by Busy Bee
I guess I'm in the camp that isn't particularly impressed with Brightlines "product" in Florida but at the same time doesn't have a problem with a private company taking at stab at a market that didn't exist before. Do i think they've made a decent attempt at a stylish experience in the trains and facilities - yes. Do I think those things are also a bit half-assed as well as the undeniable reality that the entire service is basically just dressed up conventional speed rail with a fun paint job - also yes. I think the grade crossings are doomed to be widow makers until the state agrees to the quad-gate investment. Blah blah blah... I could keep talking but it doesn't really matter. Ultimately the state was robbed of a true electrified HSR by the same quack rightwing ilk that run the place now in favor of a private sector "solution" and Brightline is what they got. It's not great, but it's not horrible. Maybe it's just what Florida deserves.
I just hope the company's attempt in the desert at true HSR will be the real deal.
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Amtrak's user experience is so terrible. This is partly an issue of branding and stations/railcar design, but also the piss-poor reliability of trains and schedules.
Brightline's real superpower is their close alignment with FEC to run reliable service, and it's not easy to replicate because FEC runs very unusual freight patterns (almost entirely double-stack container service on a very predictable schedule from Miami to Jacksonville). It's pretty easy to slot passenger trains onto those tracks, whereas other freight railroads just run trains whenever they feel like it.
The public HSR that was proposed awhile back would have been faster, it's true, but it would have run mostly along expressways in South Florida with little integration to existing urban centers in Miami, Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, etc. Brightline is set to become pretty well-integrated with those existing downtowns which is a huge advantage, and it may even lead to more walkable development in sprawl hellscapes like Aventura.