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

mmi16 wrote:Make Mexico Great Again!

Too funny to delete! Who says we don't have a sense of humor here at railroad.net

Gilbert B Norman wrote:Here's video of the second set's, Bright Pink, delivery:

https://youtu.be/dcNSwdR5ogY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Even if I envision this equipment in the not too distant future liveried Amtrak, I remain astounded the project has come this far.

Is it me or is the yellow stripe on the side of the cars purposely wavy?

161pw165 wrote: IIs it me or is the yellow stripe on the side of the cars purposely wavy?

Yes, it's even wavy on the front and sides of the locomotives as well. I'm thinking the graphics on the Brightline trains are mostly vinyl wrappings, including this yellow wavy stripe.

I took this quote from a TIME article Inside the White House's Infrastructure Plan

In early March, the heads of 16 federal agencies gathered around a table in the White House to craft President Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
Led by Gary Cohn, the National Economic Council director and former president of Goldman Sachs, the officials mapped out a six-part strategy to reinvigorate the nation’s bridges, railways, and sewers. New projects would be solicited, existing projects expedited, and new funding streams examined. Sweeping policy and regulatory changes would be explored. The goal was to fulfill Trump's promise to usher in “a new program of national rebuilding,” as the President put it in his first address to Congress.

I assume this is all good news for the Brightline. In the same article, TIME gave this warning.

While the President boasts about boosting U.S. infrastructure and stimulating the economy with shiny new projects, on paper he has consistently embraced a far more conservative strategy, one that fits with the broader White House push to dismantle federal regulations. As a result, rather than become a vehicle for bipartisan cooperation, there are already signs that infrastructure may be the latest legislative item to get caught in Washington’s partisan logjam.

According to this, FEC is the operator of Brightline: Railway Age

Jacksonville-based Florida East Coast Railway operates 351 miles of track along the eastern coast of Florida. It was taken private by Fortress in 2007 for $3.5 billion. It also operates All Aboard Florida, parent of Brightline, an intercity/higher-speed passenger rail operation running on FEC tracks set to begin service this summer. Brightline will remain under Fortress ownership.

Define "operator." Brightline will operate on FECR tracks directed by FECR dispatchers but will have Brightline T&E (or whatever they decide to call them) crews. The Railway Age piece is a little confusing as Fortress took all of FECI private including the now sold railroad.

The Operator of Brightline is All Aboard Florida, Inc. They are owned by Florida East Coast Industries. FECI is selling Florida East Coast Railway. but retains the right to operate Brightline over FEC trackage.

Again, important to remember that FEC Industries and FEC Railway became seperate entities after the Fortress purchase 10 years ago. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... st-railway" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (5th paragraph)

I'm staying in Pompano Beach until the end of April. Does anybody know the current schedule of Brightline testing? I read sometime ago that it was in the Palm Beach area. Is there any current testing schedule (days & times), and if so where? I would appreciate any information.

http://gobrightline.com/progress/gettin ... alm-beach/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't even realize there was an associated residential development in West Palm Beach. Amazing ...

HarryP wrote:I'm staying in Pompano Beach until the end of April. Does anybody know the current schedule of Brightline testing? I read sometime ago that it was in the Palm Beach area. Is there any current testing schedule (days & times), and if so where? I would appreciate any information.

Testing is really dependent on availability of the test track and an FEC pilot (among a variety of other factors). So far, all the testing has been done in the daytime. Lately it has been Saturday's. The test track runs from just south of downtown West Palm Beach (Belvedere Road) to Hypuluxo Road (between Lake Worth and Boynton Beach). About a 20-30 minute drive from Pompano.

The Florida East Coast Railway Society Facebook page is the best resource for up to the minute reports of any testing activities.

Do FEC & FECI/Brightline have separate reporting marks?

Now that Softbank has a new boatload of cash, they can self-finance. Which means lenders will now loan them the money they don't need. And it will be a lot cheaper to borrow now than 6 months from now!

Thank you, everyone, for the information.

I found this link today with design criteria for the Brightline coaches containing interesting information and customer choices many may find interesting.

http://www.highspeed-rail.org/Documents ... mens-2.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;