Today it's a big day! Finally! It's here!! Orlando Brightline station is opening!

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2...Cd_qAtFHyXl6BE

Here's a video from Orlando Brightline station.

• Video Link

Enjoy!

Demand For Brightline So High That It Just Earned A South Segment Profit: ‘Never Really Intended’
April 27, 2023

Brightline’s trains are in such high demand that the company’s South Segment was profitable on an operating basis for the first time ever last month, according to the company’s chairman.

“We never really intended to make money on that segment on a standalone basis,” Brightline chairman Wes Edens told CNBC.

“A year ago we did about 70,000 rides in March, this year we did about 170,000,” Edens said.

The South Segment includes train service operating between Downtown Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach.

https://www.thenextmiami.com/demand-...ally-intended/

*** It seems the addition of the new stations at Aventura (in northern Miami-Dade county) & Boca Raton has boosted ridership tremendously over the past year!

^ Station looks not bad.

I love following the news on Brightline. Mostly because I really hope this can spur other efforts in other parts of the country to replicate the success being shown here.

That Orlando station is beautiful. Congrats on a great new line and station that will serve Floridians.

Tampa is next! You’re next!

They will be approved in a few months or so.

Let’s do it!!

Much depends on the funding for the Sunshine corridor that will likely extend from OIA to Sand Lake, I-drive / convention center, and Disney-adjacent area. That is a collaboration with federal and state making it a bit more challenging as Brightline would not own that track section and would share with Sunrail.

https://www.bizjournals.com/southflo...__x2zA3TEOEPvA

These are the cities pushing for the next Brightline train station


https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/...t1wE4owLOq2thw

What's next for potential Brightline train station in Brevard County?

The Orlando to Miami route is now on sale on Brightline's website! The route begins service September 1st. Roundtrip = $158 for the full route. Premium seats = $298 roundtrip for the full route.

Looking forward to the forthcoming announcement of expansion to Tampa and station locations.

I feel like that price will scare off a lot of people.

Hopefully they use the Tampa Union Station which is right next to Downtown.

That price is what happens when it's not public transit. :takemymoney:

My take is, if we're being honest, with a destination in the sprawl hellhole that is Orlando and Central Florida I'm not sure it would even matter if Brightline was true HSR when it comes to market capture. For what I will guess is 4 out of 5 or even 9 out of 10 travelers, especially those travelling as a family with children, when the combination of the likely necessary car rental is also paired with relatively expensive train tickets is weighed, will say "Nah we'll just drive."

Thus is the obvious consequence of building such decentralized car oriented madness.

Orlando may be a sprawling messy mess, but, so far Brightline has been successful down here to the point of adding trains. Many people who hate driving are excited to take the train up north to Orlando for the day.

I myself, as roller coaster buff, am excited to Uber to Universal (who is building a 3rd park at the moment called Epic Universe)_or Sea World from the airport station until the other stations are built.

I don't know-- I think passengers will still ride this. I looked on Expedia for rental car prices for October 10 (I assume that demand for travel during the summer to Florida is greatly reduced and not representative of what average prices are). A car is about $115 to rent from Miami to Orlando. Insurance is another $10 and gas to drive the approximately 230 miles is about $40.

One-way tickets on Brightline from Miami - Orlando are $79 each. For one passenger, Brightline is cheaper than renting a car. For two passengers, the price is almost identical. When you consider the enhanced comfort and ease of a train vs. renting a car and sitting on I-95 for 3 1/2 hours, Brightline still seems like competitive service.

I would think there are quite a few visitors (especially from abroad) who might spend part of their trip in South Florida and part of it in the Orlando-area. Brightline would be ideal for these tourists.

Brightline has cheaper tickets for children and will begin offering family rates. For a family of 4 going to Orlando from Miami will be $395 Round Trip

That’s cheaper than flying round trip and will offer parents ease of attention and interaction with their children, unlike flying or driving as people can get up and walk around.

https://www.wptv.com/lifestyle/trave...-472-roundtrip

Cheaper than flying but no one flies from Miami to Orlando. The problem is still the price. $400 for a train is still more than I would pay rather than driving (3 hour drive). Cutting the price to closer to $200 might make it a little more appealing. Especially since they did away (for now) with a station at Disney. Also Disney for example did away with the free shuttle they used to run to the Airport (where the Brightline station is). So you will need to pay another ~$100 each way to get to Disney from the Brightline station so it is really $600 round trip. There are plans to eventually build a station in a central area near Disney and Universal as part of the expansion to Tampa but that is years away. At that point the trip would be more viable.

I would expect many of the 110 acres surrounding the planned Brightline station in Las Vegas will eventually get developed into housing and hotels.

The Biggest South Florida Housing Boom Is Near the Rail Stations


By Deborah Acosta
Wall Street Journal
May 24, 2023

"South Florida housing values are still rising even as home prices in much of the country are starting to come down. Values for homes located near the region's expanding rapid transit rail system are appreciating even faster.

Brightline, the privately owned and operated rail service, opened stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach about five years ago. More recently, it opened two more in Aventura and Boca Raton. Last week, Brightline started selling tickets for a new stop in Orlando, slated to opentoward the end of the summer.

While mass transit systems throughout the U.S. are suffering from decreased business as more people work from home, Brightline reported a 68% increase in ridership in March compared with the same month last year..."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-big...tions-d6101467