Boca Raton Station

checkmatechamp13 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 11:58 am https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... n-station/

Sounds good but the more stations you add the slower the Orlando to Miami trip time will be. Is Brightline going to offer an express and a local service?

@RRSpatch2 I’ve also been wondering if they will do an express service. Here’s hoping they do.

Is there a bypass track? The irony of express service is the extra track increases the costs of your least-busy stations.

Brightline is allegedly partnering with the local counties there to have a commuter rail service on their tracks, so that's probably why they are doing this. That and tons of college kids (FAU students and general Spring Breakers) would take the train to Miami or Orlando.

Since the track, I am assuming, is double tracked going through Boca Raton, they shouldn't have an issue with passing track

Many commuter rail systems just have the express trains run right through the station without stopping. As long as the service isn't super-frequent, that's usually the simplest way to do it. No need for a whole extra set of tracks. (Though to be honest, 3 extra stops on a 3 hour long trip is not a huge deal, and if anything, the intermediate ridership would benefit from the more frequent service).

Intermediate ridership on Brightline will be a very hard to predict actual numbers. I could see many persons who would not normally ride Brightline take it to save on parking fees. Going on a long trip away why pay those high parking fees for MIA, FLL, Orlando? Either airline or cruise. If the Disney cruise ships around Cocoa can get good shuttle, then there is another location.

Per a Brightline Email today, Boca Raton station is now open.

https://www.gobrightline.com/boca-raton

Aventura also opened a couple of days later (I believe on Christmas Eve)

Maybe when I take a planned joyride Miami-West Palm this Sunday, I'll have something of substance to report.

Considering how much "scratch whatever" time Amtrak spends at various major stops, and how OBB can arrive in major stations (Vienna, Salzburg, Linz, and Graz, kind of places), it will be interesting to see how much "dwell" Brightline needs at intermediate stops. On my four previous joyrides, Ft Lauderdale is a "pick 'em up, drop 'em off, and "be gone" experience.

https://www.bocamag.com/boca-brightline ... nters/amp/

...
That lesson became clear during last Monday’s workshop meeting. Councilwoman Andrea O’Rourke told colleagues that she would pull from the next night’s regular meeting agenda authorization for the city to buy and install parking meters at the downtown library and nearby areas.

Apparently, many Brightline passengers are not parking in the garage next to the library. Rather than pay the $7 fee when booking online, they are parking for free in spaces reserved for the library. The cost is $15 for same-day tickets.

In his memo to the council, City Manager Leif Ahnell said the meters were necessary “to effectively manage the availability of public parking…with the opening of the Brightline station.” Ahnell said, “The city has determined” that meters would be the best option.
...

Brightline or not, providing free storage for private automobiles is an extremely poor use of public property. Shame to hear of resistance to a necessary change.

It didn't bother me in the least to pay $7 to park @ the Boca garage.

jthomas wrote: ↑Tue Feb 28, 2023 2:51 pm Brightline or not, providing free storage for private automobiles is an extremely poor use of public property. Shame to hear of resistance to a necessary change.

Thank youuu!

I have friends who, first, drive about in a "rolling total", will go to the end of the earth to find free parking. Usually this means "gutter park". If "Bessie" gets hit, won't be the first time.

Parking; you're simply "renting" 100sq ft of somebody's real estate.

Now, regarding the Brightline garage at Boca, I used it twice for my trips to both Miami and West Palm (not joyrides; had reason to go to both last week) the $7.00 fee with a ticket ($15 without), I think is reasonable (a hotel in Atlanta at which I stayed on my return wanted $14 for self; $22 + $5 tip for valet). You simply "add-on" the parking when you get your ticket, online or point of sale, record your tag and park head in. I guess they have some kind of means to "cam" the tags, then they match 'em up to see who is "naughty or nice" (some of you wizards around here know more how that is done).