electricron wrote: ↑Mon Feb 09, 2015 2:04 am
And so would many others at every other city and town along FEC corridor. But with a stop at every city or town along the way, the train will no longer be a high speed train.
Ron, speaking for myself, it was certainly "sport" to take a Brightline joyride last February - including, I think, the longest non-stop run anywhere East of Ol' Man River (I think Amtrak #1-2, Sunset Limited, has longer non (well, station) stop segments.
However, I believe that patronage WP-McCOy is definitely weaker than the WP-MCS "Corridor" (counted in both classes, 99 PAX while on the joyride). I have further learned that adding the stops at both Aventura and Boca have definitely added to the patronage - I can speak first-hand for Boca; the station is always busy - or at least when I've been there.
I think it inevitable that one station in each of the "Treasure Coast" counties will be established. One has already been announced for Stuart in Martin. While I do not exactly hold same views on Vero as does Mr. Tuber (it's simply Zero Beach to me - my father resided there for two years), it is certainly the most "natural" for Indian River; after all, like bank robber Willie Sutton once said, "it's where the money is".
I could foresee Brightline participating with, say, United, in issuing a Newark (EWR)-Vero Beach ticket, which would use Brightline, MCO-Vero. Amtrak has had arrangements in the past with now-defunct airlines through EWR, PHL, and BWI. However, the plane to rail transfer at any of such was hardly as seamless as would be such at MCO.