Florida has a brand new high-speed train; and the first fatality from being hit by said high-speed train....

[TC Nole OX]

My old man put me on that line from J-ville to Tally after watching the old AFL all star game at the Gator Bowl in the ‘60s. It was cool as hell as a kid to do that ride solo.
That route died when a hurricane knocked out the tracks near Pensacola (?). Maybe Katrina.
It would be awesome to see it resurrected. Many who run I-10 would prolly at least wonder about riding that train.

Sadly, probably not coming back anytime soon

Amtrak should bail out on proposed Gulf Coast service: Analysis - Trains

Nearly three years after Amtrak said it would launch Gulf Coast service with or without host railroad cooperation, its passenger trains still are not running between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. And as the saga drags on you have to wonder if they ever will. After years of frustration with CSX...

www.trains.com

 

[billanole]

Sadly, probably not coming back anytime soon

Amtrak should bail out on proposed Gulf Coast service: Analysis - Trains

Nearly three years after Amtrak said it would launch Gulf Coast service with or without host railroad cooperation, its passenger trains still are not running between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. And as the saga drags on you have to wonder if they ever will. After years of frustration with CSX...

www.trains.com

Thanks for the link.
Oh well. That’s no real surprise. The lobbies against service are powerful and then the Port of Mobile also carries plenty of clout.
We are gonna look about a train trip either across the northern tier or possibly along the Pacific coast this year.

 

[goldmom]

Sadly, probably not coming back anytime soon

Amtrak should bail out on proposed Gulf Coast service: Analysis - Trains

Nearly three years after Amtrak said it would launch Gulf Coast service with or without host railroad cooperation, its passenger trains still are not running between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. And as the saga drags on you have to wonder if they ever will. After years of frustration with CSX...

www.trains.com

It’s apparent that ignorance is still quite at home in Alabama. But Roll Damn Tide!

 

[TC Nole OX]

Stuart will be the new stop between WPB and Orlando.

Brightline to build new Treasure Coast station in downtown Stuart, city officials say

The joint application from Stuart and Martin County was one of five submitted to the railroad. The city of Fort Pierce was among the other applicants.

www.tcpalm.com

 

[The Tradition]

Stuart will be the new stop between WPB and Orlando.

Brightline to build new Treasure Coast station in downtown Stuart, city officials say

The joint application from Stuart and Martin County was one of five submitted to the railroad. The city of Fort Pierce was among the other applicants.

www.tcpalm.com

Stuart is more upscale than Fort Pierce. Bad decision, IMHO. More transients desperate to go somewhere else in Fort Pierce.

 

[TC Nole OX]

There’s not much protecting little FloridaMan from himself

 

[TC Nole OX]

For comparison, here is the much slower TriRail

 

[TC Nole OX]

 

[goldmom]

View embedded media

Hugely in favor of this. I wish we’d get high speed service into Tally. And ALL tracks built in a way that elevates them at intersections so they don’t create jam ups and reduce the likelihood of vehicles on tracks fatalities.
Expensive yes but it corrects a decades old planning failure.

 

[TC Nole OX]

Brightline: Service to Orlando 'fundamentally transformed' business - WPTV

 

[TC Nole OX]

There’s not much protecting little FloridaMan from himself

View embedded media

Little FloridaMan had a picnic next to the Brightline tracks


Night Highspeed Brightline Train — Picnic at Railroad Crossing Gate Micco, FL

 

[tarheelbybirth]

In a car you could technically pull off to the side of the road and walk away if you want.

Not on a train....

 

[TC Nole OX]

Why did Brightline choose Stuart for a station? - WPTV

 

[TC Nole OX]

Northeast Regional doing just over 120 and the soon to be retired Acela doing 144




150 mph coming right at you

Amtraks Acela Express at top speed! | Acela express train 2252 at 150 MPH @ Mansfield,MA(4/22/23)




The new Acela II doing 165 during test runs in NJ. The second train says in the caption that it is doing 165. The other two look to be going slightly slower.

 

[The Tradition]

What part of that reply was unclear to you?

 

[tarheelbybirth]

What part of that reply was unclear to you?

The implication that you can't walk away from a stopped train, perhaps?

 

[TC Nole OX]

Meanwhile, Guadalajara Mexico has high speed trains going 186 mph


Ave yendo a 300km/h por la estación de Guadalajara

 

[TC Nole OX]

Before Brightline became nation’s deadliest railroad, its owners rejected safety fixes

Before it became nation's deadliest railroad, Brightline rejected safety fixes

By Ann Henson Feltgen, FloridaBulldog.org - Before Brightline became the nations' deadliest railroad, its owners rejected safety fixes

www.floridabulldog.org

 

[The Tradition]

The implication that you can't walk away from a stopped train, perhaps?

Go back to the OP.

If a train hits someone and kills that person, no one is allowed to leave the train until the investigation is over. I've experienced this several times when I was a regular Tri-Rail rider.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Go back to the OP.

If a train hits someone and kills that person, no one is allowed to leave the train until the investigation is over. I've experienced this several times when I was a regular Tri-Rail rider.

If your car "hits someone and kills that person", it would be a really bad idea for you to walk away from the scene so the idea that the train is somehow worse is a little ridiculous.

 

[TC Nole OX]

Brightline celebrates first year of rail service between Orlando, Miami

The high-speed rail connects Central and South Florida, but an expansion to Tampa could be on the way.

www.clickorlando.com

 

[goldmom]

Needs to cover more areas. Jax, Tally.

 

[jaxhawk06]

Needs to cover more areas. Jax, Tally.

Would love one in Jax but it sounds like their priority is connecting Orlando to Tampa. Who knows how long that will take

 

[goldmom]

Would love one in Jax but it sounds like their priority is connecting Orlando to Tampa. Who knows how long that will take

There’s been discussion of late with reviving more rail service in Jax. I would like that.

 

[seminole97]

Meanwhile, on the left coast:

As of 2023, the IOS [Initial Operating Segment] had been determined as the current definition of 171 miles (275 km) from Merced to Bakersfield in the Central Valley, with 119 miles (192 km) under active construction.
...
In August 2022, the Authority approved design contracts for the remaining 52 miles (84 km) of the IOS connecting Madera to Merced and Shafter to Bakersfield, with construction contracts expected in 2025-2026.
...
The full Merced–Bakersfield line was expected to be complete in 2029, with passenger service starting around 2030–2033.

 

[ICHerky]

I didn’t see it in the article but I’m assuming this is a traditional train and not really “high speed”? I’d like to know how fast the train travels? Average time it takes from say Miami to Orlando? Does this train make it worthwhile to buy the tickets and not have a car once arriving at destination?

When people talk about “high speed rail” around here it would still take four hours from Iowa City to Chicago, that’s not high speed.

 

[seminole97]

I didn’t see it in the article but I’m assuming this is a traditional train and not really “high speed”? I’d like to know how fast the train travels? Average time it takes from say Miami to Orlando? Does this train make it worthwhile to buy the tickets and not have a car once arriving at destination?

When people talk about “high speed rail” around here it would still take four hours from Iowa City to Chicago, that’s not high speed.

Operating speed	Orlando-Cocoa: 125 mph (200 km/h) Cocoa-West Palm Beach: 110 mph (180 km/h)[3] West Palm Beach-Miami: 80 mph (130 km/h)

 

[seminole97]

I didn’t see it in the article but I’m assuming this is a traditional train and not really “high speed”? I’d like to know how fast the train travels? Average time it takes from say Miami to Orlando? Does this train make it worthwhile to buy the tickets and not have a car once arriving at destination?

When people talk about “high speed rail” around here it would still take four hours from Iowa City to Chicago, that’s not high speed.

Decades ago George Will wrote some great articles about the vision and reality of 'high speed' rail in CA.
The problem was you could have a train run fast from SF to LA, but it needed to make stops to get passengers to be profitable, which kills the average speed of the trip...

 

[ICHerky]

Operating speed	Orlando-Cocoa: 125 mph (200 km/h) Cocoa-West Palm Beach: 110 mph (180 km/h)[3] West Palm Beach-Miami: 80 mph (130 km/h)

Thanks, I appreciate you showing this. If average travel time isn’t significantly reduced I’m not seeing the benefit.

 

[TC Nole OX]

Thanks, I appreciate you showing this. If average travel time isn’t significantly reduced I’m not seeing the benefit.

One of my fraternity bros, who lives in Coral Gables and has his soon to be retirement house in Orlando, takes the Brightline to/from Orlando every weekend. From what I can tell is that it is a high end bar car.

 

[franklinman]

Hell, i have been in my car on Florida # 4 when a cyclist was killed, for 2 hours. It would have been more comfortable on a train.

 

[The Tradition]

If your car "hits someone and kills that person", it would be a really bad idea for you to walk away from the scene so the idea that the train is somehow worse is a little ridiculous.

If I hit someone with my car, that's on me.

If I'm a passenger on a train that hits someone, that's not my fault (nor the fault of any other passengers). But we all get held hostage.

 

[seminole97]

Thanks, I appreciate you showing this. If average travel time isn’t significantly reduced I’m not seeing the benefit.

I find myself going to Jax, Orlando and Tampa for conferences through the year.
I would love to read a book on the train instead of drive for those trips.

My use case is pretty limited, but it would be nice.

 

[TC Nole OX]

The Murder Train took out a fire truck this morning in Delray Beach


Train collides with fire truck in Florida; police say 3 firefighters and several passengers hurt

 

[goldmom]

😱 I cannot understand how people don’t know there are train tracks and that they’re used by…trains,

 

[The Tradition]

😱 I cannot understand how people don’t know there are train tracks and that they’re used by…trains,

Especially fire fighters.

 

[RicoSuave102954]

The Murder Train took out a fire truck this morning in Delray Beach


Train collides with fire truck in Florida; police say 3 firefighters and several passengers hurt

View embedded media

The train is going to win everytime at these crossing conflicts.

 

[jaxhawk06]

 

[NoleATL]

The Murder Train took out a fire truck this morning in Delray Beach


Train collides with fire truck in Florida; police say 3 firefighters and several passengers hurt

View embedded media

Ummm, it’s the Darwin train. Idiot driving the fire truck.

 

[Doodads and Hoohah]

Very badmove by the firefighter driving the truck. That is like day 1 stuff.