The Brightline Thread

[dave8721]

Trains killed 5 just this month after resuming service. I think that makes 53 deaths with cars/pedestrians since service began in 2017. It holds the title for the most fatalities along its route of any railroad line in the US. The problem is the at-grade crossings at virtually every block with little to no fencing along its route and running on a line that was built for cargo trains.
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2...on-in-a-month/

The recent deaths have all occurred in the last month, continuing a trend that shows Brightline to have the worst fatality rate among the country’s approximately 800 railroads since it began test runs in mid-2017, according to an Associated Press analysis of Federal Railroad Administration data.

[Busy Bee]

And you can't grade separate with underpasses because the geology is essentially a swamp. There kinda between a rock and a hard place, or if you prefer soft limestone and a wet soggy place.

[ardecila]

Full fencing of the ROW plus 4-quadrant gates at each crossing. This should be paid for by the state DOT, not the railroad. Not sure why Brightline should be responsible for a driver intentionally going around the gate. The pedestrian fatalities are more unclear, it doesn't say whether this happened at a crossing or whether the pedestrians were trespassing at an illegal location.

The first of the latest spate happened Dec. 7, when a pedestrian was struck in North Miami Beach. Four days later, a pedestrian was struck in Hollywood. On Dec. 30, a 68-year-old driver and his 58-year-old sister died when he drove around warning gates into the path of a Brightline train.

[202_Cyclist]

Brightline to mark a milestone Tuesday with its first test train through the Treasure Coast

Lina Ruiz
Treasure Coast Newspapers
Jan. 16, 2022

"Brightline's first test train from West Palm Beach to Brevard County — which is set to roll though the Treasure Coast Tuesday — will mark another milestone in the higher-speed railroad's completion of its 168-mile extension from South Florida to Orlando.

The Tuesday run — postponed from Monday — will mark the first time a Brightline train travels north of Palm Beach County. The entire $4.5 billion project between Miami and Orlando was first announced in March 2012, and was to be completed by 2014.

Now, the $2.7 billion extension is to be completed late this year, with service set to begin in early 2023, connecting downtown Miami and Orlando International Airport. Construction is more than 70% complete, according to Brightline..."

https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/20...st/6510355001/

[TowerDude]

Brightline is such a corrupt company and should be taken over by Amtrak to correct Rock Scott's corrupt behavior.

[202_Cyclist]

I don't know about that but this is a bit of reality for all of the people (including on this forum) who say California can't do anything right with their high speed rail investment. Train service (operating at half the speed of California high speed rail) was supposed to open in 2014 and now it won't start until 2023 at the earliest.

"A little more than a year later, in March 2012, All Aboard Florida first revealed its plans to build the Orlando-to-Miami line without public money. “This privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail service will be running in 2014, at no risk to Florida taxpayers,” its materials said at the time."

https://www.governing.com/archive/go...rightline.html

As of December 2021, at least 50 people have been killed by Brightline trains, the highest number of fatalities of any railroad in the United States. Additionally, unlike the substantial topography challenges of building high-speed rail in California, the land in Florida is completely flat and Florida East Coast Industries already owns much of the right-of-way.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/b...%2050%20people.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by TowerDude

Brightline is such a corrupt company and should be taken over by Amtrak to correct Rock Scott's corrupt behavior.

Yes Comrade! FORWARD!

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

And you can't grade separate with underpasses because the geology is essentially a swamp. There kinda between a rock and a hard place, or if you prefer soft limestone and a wet soggy place.

There are two underwater tunnels in South Florida one in Fort Lauderdale https://goo.gl/maps/o9pgQF1wQR4VR16g8 and one in Miami https://goo.gl/maps/tL5ddVMZrFkzfaqXA , so it can be done. However, it would be hella expensive. Fort Lauderdale is considering either a high bridge or tunnel under the New River for the Bightline tracks that currently cross the river in downtown using a bascule bridge that has to open frequently. Also, Fort Lauderdale has an awful proposal to use the Boring Company to construct a traffic tunnel from downtown to the beach.

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by TowerDude

Brightline is such a corrupt company and should be taken over by Amtrak to correct Rock Scott's corrupt behavior.

Have you taken the Brightline? It's actually really awesome. Idiots/crackheads need to learn not to cross the tracks when the gates are down.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

Have you taken the Brightline? It's actually really awesome. Idiots/crackheads need to learn not to cross the tracks when the gates are down.

Sorry mate, this is Florida we´re talking about. Idiocracy isn´t a comedy here, it´s a documentary.

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by TowerDude

Brightline is such a corrupt company and should be taken over by Amtrak to correct Rock Scott's corrupt behavior.

He should be too ashamed for what he did. He didn’t listen at all. Terrible Governor. He is no longer Governor. Let’s move on!

[bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by TowerDude

Brightline is such a corrupt company and should be taken over by Amtrak to correct Rock Scott's corrupt behavior.

What?



Rick Scott isn't the Governor anymore and Amtrak already serves the Miami to Orlando market it just takes the 6-7 hours to travel 300 Miles.
A Greyhound Bus is still faster.

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by bobdreamz

What?



Rick Scott isn't the Governor anymore and Amtrak already serves the Miami to Orlando market it just takes the 6-7 hours to travel 300 Miles.
A Greyhound Bus is still faster.

That is correct. Soon Brightline will extended to Orlando in early 2023. It will take 3 hours to get there. Isn’t too bad at all. Brightline is much better than Amtrak.

[TowerDude]

The Obama Administration set aside money to dramatically improve the Orlando to Miami Amtrak corridor but Rick Scott declined to spend the money the Feds allocated for Florida and right when Rick left office he invested in the company that would eventually become Brightline to replicate this service Amtrak was going to provide.

Brightline should be shut down for that and turned over to Amtrak.

To hell with Brightline.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

There are two underwater tunnels in South Florida one in Fort Lauderdale https://goo.gl/maps/o9pgQF1wQR4VR16g8 and one in Miami https://goo.gl/maps/tL5ddVMZrFkzfaqXA , so it can be done. However, it would be hella expensive. Fort Lauderdale is considering either a high bridge or tunnel under the New River for the Bightline tracks that currently cross the river in downtown using a bascule bridge that has to open frequently. Also, Fort Lauderdale has an awful proposal to use the Boring Company to construct a traffic tunnel from downtown to the beach.

This is insane... building a tunnel in Florida's geology to carry not just Brightline passenger trains but double-stack containers. Oh, and if you want a passenger station in downtown Ft Lauderdale, that has to be built as a huge and costly subway station. JFC. The estimated cost is $1.8B for the tunnel option.

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by ardecila

This is insane... building a tunnel in Florida's geology to carry not just Brightline passenger trains but double-stack containers. Oh, and if you want a passenger station in downtown Ft Lauderdale, that has to be built as a huge and costly subway station. JFC. The estimated cost is $1.8B for the tunnel option.

The other option is a huge bridge that would dominate the skyline and require an elevated station.

Either way the Fort Lauderdale Brightline station ( https://goo.gl/maps/Vx73SYVAkiSyACww6 ) will have to rebuilt. Here is the bottleneck: https://goo.gl/maps/ZPazbUVUGVztfkW79

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

The other option is a huge bridge that would dominate the skyline and require an elevated station.

Either way the Fort Lauderdale Brightline station ( https://goo.gl/maps/Vx73SYVAkiSyACww6 ) will have to rebuilt. Here is the bottleneck: https://goo.gl/maps/ZPazbUVUGVztfkW79

It's a range of options. You could build a mid-level bridge that allows yachts and other boats through in the closed position. Sailboats would need to wait, but what percentage of the boats are sailboats? I imagine over time that anyone with a sailboat would gradually shift their boats from inland marinas to ones closer to the ocean and the intracoastal.

Or you could keep the existing bridge in place for freight trains, with the bridge closed mostly at night for trains and open for boats the rest of the time. Then you could build the new tunnel to fit smaller passenger trains only. This still requires a underground passenger station for megabucks, but it could be shallower and smaller tunnel diameter, and have shorter approaches.

Musk is unfortunately involved in this somehow and is pressuring the city to do the tunnel option, but there's no way he can build a tunnel any cheaper than the traditional approach IF the tunnel needs to accommodate double-stack containers.

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by ardecila

It's a range of options. You could build a mid-level bridge that allows yachts and other boats through in the closed position. Sailboats would need to wait, but what percentage of the boats are sailboats? I imagine over time that anyone with a sailboat would gradually shift their boats from inland marinas to ones closer to the ocean and the intracoastal.

Or you could keep the existing bridge in place for freight trains, with the bridge closed mostly at night. Then you could build the new tunnel to fit smaller passenger trains only. This still requires a underground passenger station for megabucks, but it could be shallower and smaller tunnel diameter, and have shorter approaches.

There's a lot of boat traffic because much of the boat traffic passes through to get to the marinas, boat factories, and maintenance facilities that are west of the bridge. Land east of the bridge is expensive and used for housing. Fort Lauderdale is the Yatch Capital of the world and those companies are very anti any new traffic on the current bridge.

[bobdreamz]

Brightline First Train Test Sebastian River Bridge
Jan 19, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Injtce2ylXQ&t=45s

[lrt's friend]

There has been talk about the large number of deaths on the Brightline corridor. How much of the line has been fenced to reduce the number of people accessing the tracks?