Brightline (All Aboard Florida) Orlando - Miami FL FEC fka Virgin Rail

I was able to register for free & read the article; Didn't require subscription. You can also set up a separate gmail or other account if you don't want them to spam your primary email

This page of the Congressional Record makes what I would call "interesting reading":

https://www.congress.gov/congressional- ... page/H3891" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(scroll to Page H3891)

Fair Use:

Mr. POSEY. Mr. Chairman, All Aboard Florida was presented as a
private passenger rail project that would run from Miami to Orlando,
and vice versa, along Florida's east coast.
The project was initially sold to the public as the first privately
funded and operated passenger train. However, that story soon changed,
as All Aboard Florida decided to pursue a $1.6 billion loan from the
Department of Transportation. Apparently, because the loan requires a
strict Environmental Impact Statement to be completed, All Aboard
Florida decided to also apply for $1.75 billion in tax-exempt private
activity bonds from the Department of Transportation.

Now I realize there is a lot of optimism regarding this initiative around here, and who knows, it just might turn a wheel (and maybe I'll still be of sound body to take a joyride, which I'll do). But it will be highly questionable that the project is, as first advertised, funded solely by the private sector. Now what will be interesting will be an authoritative answer to the question; will it subsidized to any greater extent than is other private sector commercial transportation?

Enquiring mind wants to know.

I usually enjoy going to the source material, but that is as clear as mud to me; Are they switching loan programs to avoid lengthy paperwork? Nothing wrong with that. I assume the row was originally double tracked? If so, putting back a second track doesn't harm the environment. Are they using government loans to finance construction of their mall/office tower? If so, that would be wrong.

Gilbert B Norman wrote:This page of the Congressional Record makes what I would call "interesting reading"..........................................
Now I realize there is a lot of optimism regarding this initiative around here, and who knows, it just might turn a wheel (and maybe I'll still be of sound body to take a joyride, which I'll do). But it will be highly questionable that the project is, as first advertised, funded solely by the private sector. Now what will be interesting will be an authoritative answer to the question; will it subsidized to any greater extent than is other private sector commercial transportation?

Enquiring mind wants to know.

You're suggesting using a political argument made on the House floor as a source for fact, instead of a partisan political speech for which it is. On the same page, another congressman expressed a favorable view for All Aboard Florida and more revenues for all trains. Which political view is the truth?

The political assumption that allowing All Aboard Florida to access pre-existing low interest loan programs automatically means government subsidizing future operations is wrong. There's no such pre-existing program in place to subsidize private enterprise. Either a future Congress would have to pass such a program, and/or a future Congress would have to allocate funds yearly to do so - like they do for Amtrak. It's not automatic.

Either loan program All Aboard Florida plans to use to build new transportation infrastructure open for all the public to use already exists, where other private enterprises have accessed in the past. It's not a brand new program put in place for just All Aboard Florida to use. Denying All Aboard Florida access to it without cause would be the opposite of past practices.

Too many nimbys try to use environment impact reviews as a means to kill projects they dislike. They don't understand the purpose of environment impact reviews. The purpose is to identify impacts, identity ways to minimize the impacts, and arrive at measures to minimize the effects of those remaining impacts. The purpose of environmental impact reviews isn't to kill new projects.

I have yet to see any train project to date get an unfavorable environmental review, or get cancelled by an environmental review. What has been successful killing trains in the past has been very, very bad economics. Yet we see almost every train being subsidized by governments world wide in one way or another. So even bad economics haven't always killed trains.

Instead of trying to kill the train, these nimbys should have been asking for reliefs from as many impacts as possible; more sound walls, more grade separations at crossings, faster lift bridges at navigable waterways, etc, and i.e. make the train better!

You can never satsify the nimbys (inherent in the term)- they say they fear more blocked grade crossings due to frequent trains, preventing emergency services getting through, so you propose elevated lines- they scream BERLIN WALL, when in fact an elevated ROW will actually improve access between both sides (not to mention vastly improve safety for all), and provide space underneath for revenue-producing (and tax-generating) businesses.

Kudos to these communities and their pols that are actually thinking about the future rather than the next election:

With construction underway on three new train stations in South Florida and one at Orlando International Airport, we're about two years away from seeing regularly scheduled passenger trains passing through Brevard County for the first time in years.

But the Brightline express trains operated by All Aboard Florida will only be passing through — not stopping. And that's something Space Coast officials hope will change at some point.

Four Brevard County communities — Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay and Rockledge — have submitted proposals to the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization, detailing where they believe the ideal site for a passenger train station in their communities would be. Cocoa submitted four sites, and the others one apiece.

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/ ... /76575490/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure what this portends for the project: TCPalm.com

Difficulty selling the bonds. Just a poor financial market? Quality of the bonds? Lack of confidence?

All Aboard Florida seeks more time to sell its $1.75 billion of tax-exempt bonds

Apparently uncertain whether it can sell $1.75 billion of tax-exempt bonds this year, All Aboard Florida has asked the federal government to extend a Jan. 1 bond-sales deadline.

It's the second time the Miami-to-Orlando passenger railroad has requested an extension from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which allocates private activity bonds. The department granted a first extension in June, pushing back an original July 1 deadline to Jan. 1.

It has yet to approve or deny this second extension.

All Aboard Florida President Michael Reininger initially said it could market and sell its bonds "within days" after a state agency approved the tax-exempt financing in August, but bond sales continue to be delayed, according to the company.

Interest rates are increasing...

It's being reported via Facebook that Brightline is considering building up to Jacksonville

BTW. It's interesting to read posts back on the first few pages of this thread and people's predictions about what would happen--or not.

Serious construction is taking place here in Fort Lauderdale. The siding has been taken out of service and broken just north of Broward Blvd. and the siding is not in use between the crossover at close to SE 17th Street and Wilton Manors. The station platform is going to occupy a space where the siding exists north of Broward Blvd. crossing and there is a large amount of rock in connection with this project. Much work is also taking place in Miami, I was down there a couple of weeks ago. There is track material all over the place and several crossings have had the second track installed over them although not between these crossings. Sure is nice to see construction rather than destruction along railroad tracks. Over my years I have seen a lot more destruction rather than construction in this industry so this is very refreshing to see and passenger construction at that.
Here is a video of a NB through Hollywood not long ago, note the new rail along side the existing single track for the second track through this area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG_Ds7s ... e=youtu.be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Noel Weaver

Both construction and marketing related:

All Aboard Florida isn’t leaving much to chance in the construction of its Brightline cross-state rail system — to the point of weeks’ worth of testing how light illuminates concrete.

On Wednesday night, the company completed testing light colors, tones and brightness in the lighting that will ultimately shine at its stations from Orlando to Miami, including West Palm Beach. Brightline even hired a lighting firm out of New York, Domingo Gonzalez Associates, to help make decisions.

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/bus ... ons/npmDX/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

kaitoku wrote:Both construction and marketing related:

All Aboard Florida isn’t leaving much to chance in the construction of its Brightline cross-state rail system — to the point of weeks’ worth of testing how light illuminates concrete.

On Wednesday night, the company completed testing light colors, tones and brightness in the lighting that will ultimately shine at its stations from Orlando to Miami, including West Palm Beach. Brightline even hired a lighting firm out of New York, Domingo Gonzalez Associates, to help make decisions.

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/bus ... ons/npmDX/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As a life-long resident of the New York area, where the station lighting choices are either the yellow of mercury-vapor or the blue of sodium-vapor, all I can say is: wow.

Ridgefielder wrote:As a life-long resident of the New York area, where the station lighting choices are either the yellow of mercury-vapor or the blue of sodium-vapor, all I can say is: wow.

“We all worked for Disney so there is a particular passion for attention to detail,” said Scott Sanders, Brightline executive vice president for development and construction.

Remember that part about how the private sector always used to do such a nice job when they ran their own trains? I think this is what it could look like in the 21st century.

Of course this is Florida after all. You really expect them not to color everything in tropical pastels?

Bring on the pink flamingos and blow up palm trees. "Feliz Navidad" ... "Brightline brought to you by Corona Light"

Ridgefielder wrote:As a life-long resident of the New York area, where the station lighting choices are either the yellow of mercury-vapor or the blue of sodium-vapor, all I can say is: wow.

As a retired electrician, I have to report you got those lights reversed. Sodium vapor lamps emit yellowish light and mercury vapor lamps emit bluish light. And I agree with you that it's unusual for businesses to be concerned with light colors, wow!

Fantastic. Probably less expensive than painting the station! LED street lights have been going in at breakneck pace recently. Changeable bridge colors are all the rage. I notice that LED lights are usually unnecessarily brighter than what they replace and usually lack diffusers & create lots of glare, but the quality of the light is better than anything else used these days for commercial lighting.