Railroad Forums 

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

  • This is a forum for all operations, both current and planned, of Brightline, formerly All Aboard Florida and Virgin Trains USA:
    Websites: Current Brightline
    Virgin USA
    Virgin UK
This is a forum for all operations, both current and planned, of Brightline, formerly All Aboard Florida and Virgin Trains USA:
Websites: Current Brightline
Virgin USA
Virgin UK

Moderator: CRail

 #1518925  by mtuandrew
 
On social media, Brightline indicates they suspended service today. If they haven’t posted it on their website, it’s probably because they’re busy themselves with hurricane prep (as they encourage their customers to do.)
 #1519073  by mtuandrew
 
Service is set to resume tomorrow (Wednesday September 4) with what appears to be a preexisting $10 fare sale through Sept. 8.

While you’re perusing the Brightline site, consider dropping by the World Central Kitchen site and donating to the hurricane relief efforts in the Bahamas.
 #1520268  by BandA
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote: Mon Apr 08, 2019 6:16 am....Surprisingly, a showman affiliated with a railroad is not new. For years, Billy Rose held a seat on the New York Central's Board. (Central fans around here like Otto, did you know that?)...
Hmm...Holding Virgin Rail USA stock (is that what it is called, I can't keep up) in 2019 is probably smarter than Mr Rose holding NYC & PRR stock in 1964!!!
 #1520745  by chrsjrcj
 
chrsjrcj wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:43 pm July 2019 vs July 2018:
Ridership - 83,741 +61% (52,162)
Revenue - $1.7 million +73% ($1 million)

It also looks like ticket prices will dramatically increase on October 1st, likely in anticipation of snow bird season.

https://emma.msrb.org/ER1248477-ER976238-ER1377491.pdf
August 2019 (2018):

Ridership: 74,312 (54,574 +36%)
Revenue: $1.5 million ($0.9 million +62%)

https://emma.msrb.org/ER1255369-ER981040-ER1382707.pdf

EDIT: I should also note that I no longer see the price increase for October 1st. In fact, fares are $15 in Smart and $27 in Select.
 #1521529  by Erie-Lackawanna
 
No, they’re not that careless; they are actively still calling themselves Brightline in their public-facing messaging. Nothing has been repainted and the stations in West Palm and Fort Lauderdale still say Brightline on the outside. All of their advertising on the radio here in South Florida (and they saturate the airwaves) refers to them as Brightline. I believe I read somewhere that they intend to rebrand before the end of this year, but I haven’t seen a date.

Jim
 #1521543  by Arlington
 
Walking around the station neighborhood tonight I noticed that, At the southern end of Miami Central, there is an official wayfinding sign that reads "TriRail Tracks" (complete with TriRail logo).

is there an announced deal for TriRail trains to run on FEC tracks to Miami Central?
 #1521546  by electricron
 
Arlington wrote: Wed Oct 02, 2019 10:45 pm Walking around the station neighborhood tonight I noticed that, At the southern end of Miami Central, there is an official wayfinding sign that reads "TriRail Tracks" (complete with TriRail logo).

is there an announced deal for TriRail trains to run on FEC tracks to Miami Central?
Yes, there is. TriRail will have two tracks with side platforms at 1 foot above top of rail so they would have level boarding to their Bombardier BiLevel coach cars at Miami Central. They fronted the money in advance to have those platforms and tracks built at Miami Central. why would anyone front money in advance for something they will not have permission to use?
https://www.tri-rail.com/pages/view/downtown-miami-link
 #1521566  by bostontrainguy
 
Always wondered why Brightline didn't go with a similar low platform/double deck car. Seems like that alone would have saved them big bucks on station construction and car systems (low platforms/no gap fillers), equipment acquisition costs (fewer cars) and future-proofed the trains for expanded capacity within restrictive station length (e.g. Miami Central).
 #1521569  by electricron
 
Virgin (ex-Brightline) wanted trains that could go 125 mph maximum speeds. The maximum speed of a Bombardier MultiLevel car that NJT uses on the NEC is 100 mph. Do you believe the older Bombardier BiLevel car TriRail uses goes any faster?
Virgin (ex-Brightline) wanted a sleek, modern, European looking rail car that could go relatively fast while meeting all FRA crash standards. The Siemens single level cars met those goals, the Bombardier BiLevel did not.
Last edited by CRail on Thu Oct 10, 2019 2:13 am, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Unnecessary quote removed.
 #1521574  by andegold
 
Weren't the MLVs originally certified for 125 and then downgraded to match the comets? I thought also the MLVIIs were to be built with 125 capability even though they too would only run at 100 for the time being. In a low platform environment the high level doors could be sealed to add another seat or two on each side of the mezzanine.
 #1521622  by bostontrainguy
 
electricron wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 9:06 amVirgin (ex-Brightline) wanted trains that could go 125 mph maximum speeds. The maximum speed of a Bombardier MultiLevel car that NJT uses on the NEC is 100 mph. Do you believe the older Bombardier BiLevel car TriRail uses goes any faster?
Virgin (ex-Brightline) wanted a sleek, modern, European looking rail car that could go relatively fast while meeting all FRA crash standards. The Siemens single level cars met those goals, the Bombardier BiLevel did not.
And that is not possible?
DD TGV.jpg
DD TGV.jpg (158.79 KiB) Viewed 4048 times
Last edited by CRail on Thu Oct 10, 2019 2:16 am, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Nesting quote removed.
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