Brightline is a diesel-electric higher-speed rail system in Florida, United States. It is being developed by All Aboard Florida, a wholly owned subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries (FECI). The first phase connects Miami to West Palm Beach through express intercity service, with a stop at Fort Lauderdale. The complete project is intended to connect Miami and South Florida to Orlando, which requires a new line westward from the coast.
Brightline opened for passenger service between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach on January 13, 2018, followed on May 19 by an extension south to Miami. It is the only privately owned and operated passenger railroad in the United States.
Brightline is the first time a privately owned company in the U.S. has developed and operated an express passenger rail system since 1983, when the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad discontinued the Rio Grande Zephyr. The service will use the existing Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) corridor between Miami and Cocoa, while also building a new 40-mile (64 km) stretch of tracks along the State Road 528 corridor between Cocoa and the Orlando International Airport. Brightline has announced its intentions to expand to other cities once the initial phase is complete.
With a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h), Brightline will eventually be tied with Amtrak's Northeast Regional and Keystone Service, and MARC's Penn Line commuter rail as the second fastest passenger train in North America, after Amtrak's Acela Express.
Video Brightline
Origins and history
In March 2012, Florida East Coast Industries (FECI) announced plans to operate a rail service between Miami and Orlando. The cost of all construction is projected at $1.5 billion. In March 2013, All Aboard Florida applied for a $1.6 billion Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan, which is administered by the Federal Railroad Administration. In late 2014, the company announced it had applied for a $1.75 billion private activity bond allocation, with proceeds from the bond sale substantially reducing or replacing entirely the amount of the RRIF loan request.
The company received a Finding of No Significant Impact from the Federal Railroad Administration in January 2013, effectively clearing way for work to begin between Miami and West Palm Beach. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the full build-out service was released in September 2014, and a series of public comment meetings followed. The Final Environmental Impact Statement was released on August 4, 2015. As of the start of 2015, the company has started site work at the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach stations, plus right of way improvements along stretches of the corridor.
Service between Miami and West Palm Beach began on May 19, 2018, with service to Orlando projected to start in 2020. On November 10, 2015, All Aboard Florida announced that the service would operate under the name Brightline.
Construction
Construction began on the Miami to West Palm Beach section with the laying of new tracks and closure of the temporary surface lots in Government Center, Downtown Miami, in mid 2014. Preliminary work on the Miami station, such as site preparation and demolition, began later in the year. Suffolk Construction is the general contractor for the Miami station. Piles were being set on the four lots of MiamiCentral in early 2015.
On October 29, 2014, work on the Fort Lauderdale station began with the demolition of existing buildings on the site. A groundbreaking ceremony for the West Palm Beach station was held in November 2014. Moss & Associates, of Fort Lauderdale, has been named general contractor for the West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale stations.
In January 2015, crews started replacing track throughout the corridor. The system between Miami and West Palm Beach was projected to be operational by the first quarter of 2018, and to Orlando by late 2020. All Aboard Florida secured leasing of easement rights alongside the Beachline from the Central Florida Expressway Authority for $1.4 million in December 2015. As part of the contract, "it is understood and agreed" All Aboard Florida will be considering an extension to Jacksonville, Florida.
Phase 2 of the construction including Orlando is behind the original schedule. Instead of early 2018, the construction may start in late 2018. The associated bond sale may possibly require a deadline extension beyond May. Officials have moved the opening to be not earlier than January 2021.
Openings
Brightline launched introductory services prior to January 7, 2018, though these runs were not open to the public. Public operations between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale began Saturday, January 13.
Service between West Palm Beach and Miami began on May 19.
Crossing deaths
During the first six days of operation, two people were killed on separate occasions, at railroad crossings along the line, after they attempted to cross the tracks while the gates were down.
During the first three months of operation, four people have been killed by a Brightline train when they crossed the tracks illegally, with an additional three persons injured.
Maps Brightline
Engineering
Train speeds
To cover the distance between Orlando and Miami in the desired time of about three hours, Brightline trains will have to operate with an overall average speed of 80 miles per hour (129 km/h), which is similar to the overall average speed of the Acela Express operating on the Northeast Corridor between New York City and Washington, D.C. By comparison, the approximate driving time for this distance is about four hours, with an average speed of 60 mph (97 km/h).
Train speeds reach up to 79 mph (127 km/h) between Miami and West Palm Beach, will reach 110 mph (177 km/h) between West Palm Beach and Cocoa, and 125 mph (201 km/h) between Cocoa and the Orlando International Airport. In order to increase the speed limit from 79 mph (127 km/h) to 110 mph (177 km/h) between West Palm Beach and Cocoa, the existing track conditions will be brought up to meet required federal standards.
Pre-existing Miami-Cocoa Corridor upgrades
The project calls for more than $1.5 billion in upgrades to the rail corridor between Miami and Cocoa. The company is double tracking the corridor, improving signaling systems, and upgrading every grade crossing to meet the highest applicable safety standards set by the Florida Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration. In January 2013, the Federal Railroad Administration issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Miami-Cocoa phase of the project, effectively clearing the way for work to begin. Part of the corridor safety upgrades includes installing positive train control (PTC), which will enhance Brightline's ability to monitor and control train movements safely.
Quiet zones
Responding to citizen concerns about increased noise from additional horns, All Aboard Florida has stated that it will work with local communities to implement quiet zones where possible. Federal law requires quiet zone requests to originate from the local authority that has jurisdiction over the roadway, not the railroad company.
In August 2014, the company announced a partnership with the Broward and Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organizations to implement quiet zones between the city of Hallandale Beach and 15th Street in West Palm Beach. In December 2014, the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization approved funding to construct quiet zones between PortMiami and the northern Miami-Dade County line. The quiet zones were originally planned to be in place when Brightline becomes operational between Miami and West Palm Beach by the end of 2017. Brightline started service on January 11, 2018, but various delays in constructing the quiet zones have stretched their in-service date to sometime in March.
On May 14, 2018, quiet zones went into effect in West Palm Beach, in Lake Worth on May 21, and in Boca Raton on May 30. The "no train horn" areas apply to freight and Brightline trains, though horns may still be used in emergency situations.
Bridges
The FEC rail corridor includes a number of fixed-span bridges that will be replaced as part of the project. Most do not require United States Coast Guard (USCG) permitting as they do not span significant navigable waterways and clearances will not change. Twelve other bridges--St. Johns River, Eau Gallie River, St. Sebastian River, Crane Creek, Turkey Creek, West Palm Beach Canal, Boynton Canal, Middle River (both the North and South Fork), Oleta River, Arch Creek and Hillsboro Canal--will require permitting by the USCG. In addition, the project calls for significant investment and upgrades to three moveable bridges: St. Lucie, Loxahatchee, and New River. These improvements will ensure that bridge mechanical systems for raising and lowering the bridge spans are either fully upgraded or replaced. All Aboard Florida has stated that, prior to it becoming operational, it will start to regularly notify mariners of scheduled bridge closings via the internet, smart phone application and countdown signage on the bridges to enable mariners to have real-time information to decrease wait times at each bridge. Also, the company will station a bridge tender at the New River bridge.
Cocoa-Orlando
The proposed line between Cocoa and Orlando is the only segment that does not have existing track or right-of-way owned by FEC. Originally, the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) believed it could accommodate building new tracks for the project within the BeachLine Expressway's 300-foot (91 m) wide right-of-way. However, it determined that the right of way was too narrow to accommodate the tracks, additional utility lines, and any future roadway expansions. Deseret Ranch, which owns the land just south of the BeachLine, began negotiations with CFX to purchase additional land in order to widen the right-of-way. According to a pact made on July 16, 2013, CFX tentatively agreed to pay $12 million for an extra 200 ft (61 m) along the 22-mile (35 km) BeachLine corridor between Cocoa and Orlando International Airport. In early October 2013, CFX and All Aboard Florida reached a formal purchase agreement for the land required for the right-of-way. Although construction was slated to originally begin in early 2015, this date has been pushed back until the FRA releases the project's final Environmental Impact Statement.
Also in October 2013, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) board approved development of a station and maintenance facility on Orlando International Airport property, as well as an easement to build track between the station and the mainline to the coast.
This segment of the proposed line will operate at speeds of up to 125 mph (201 km/h) and will meet the United States Code's definition of High-speed rail, which includes rail services that are "reasonably expected to reach sustained speeds of more than 125 miles per hour". The Congressional Research Service uses the term "higher" speed rail for top speeds up to 150 mph (241 km/h).
Maintenance
All Aboard Florida is constructing two maintenance facilities for their Brightline service. The first is a Running Repair Facility, located north of the West Palm Beach station at 601 15th Street, designed for maintenance and minor repair work that does not require the train to be removed from service. The 12-acre site has been under construction since at least January 2016. The land includes vintage industrial buildings, which will be renovated for the workshop. The facility, named "workshop b," will be able to handle four 10-car train sets, and includes a maintenance pit for access to the underside of the trains. More extensive maintenance/repair will be accomplished at a second site near the Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal
Service
Route
The route is made up of the following stations, from north to south:
Schedule
Sixteen daily round trips are offered between Miami and West Palm Beach. Although the corridor is shared with freight trains, few delays are expected as freight trains travel on the FEC at relatively high speeds.
Brightline recently added a late night service for the weekend due to customer demand.
Ridership
Reporters have estimated from daily counting in Spring 2018 that the average ridership has reached about 30,000 per month during the introductory service from Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale. The company itself announced that the ridership has been triple to what had been expected. The forecast provided to bond investors calls for 240,000 passengers per month by 2020 which includes service to Miami. Analyst Fitch Ratings has said that the company can break even at 56% of their ridership forecast.
Stations
The three South Florida stations are being designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in association with Zyscovich Architects. Rockwell Group is designing the interior check-in areas, food and beverage areas, and lounge experiences for all four Brightline stations.
FECI owns the former site of its downtown Miami station, and has purchased approximately seven acres of land in downtown Fort Lauderdale and two acres in downtown West Palm Beach for stations in those cities. The nine-acre parcel adjacent to Government Center had been used for years as surface parking and under construction. The site is zoned for 2,500,000 sq ft (232,258 m2) of development. The system would also connect with the existing Metrorail and Metromover systems. The downtown Miami station is called MiamiCentral. Site work on the Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach station sites began at the end of 2014.
Miami
The downtown Miami station, known as MiamiCentral (not to be confused with Miami Central Station near Miami International Airport), spans nine acres and be located just east of Miami-Dade County Hall and includes 3 million square feet of mixed-use development with residential, office and commercial, and a retail concourse. The station connects Brightline with the Metrorail, Metromover, County bus and City of Miami trolley systems. The new Brightline station officially connects the following transit modes: 2 Metrorail stations, 2 Metromover stations, Metrobus, and the future Tri-Rail station. This increases connections to activities and tourist destinations, including the Performing Arts Center, Bayside Market and Bayfront Park. Service to Miami began on May 19, 2018.
Fort Lauderdale
The Fort Lauderdale station is located at NW 2nd Avenue between Broward Boulevard and NW 4th Street. The four-acre station site has a 60,000 sq ft (5,574 m2) station and platform. The Brightline train service in Ft. Lauderdale will connect to the Sun Trolley, Broward County Transit system, future Wave Streetcar and planned Tri-Rail Coastal Link station. Brightline also owns about three acres of land to the east of the Florida East Coast Railway corridor, where there are plans to build a transit oriented development.
West Palm Beach
The West Palm Beach station is located between Datura and Evernia Streets and to the west of Quadrille. The two-acre station site has a 60,000 sq ft (5,574 m2) station and platform that will connect with the neighborhood's existing vehicular, trolley and pedestrian networks and establish links to the Tri-Rail, Palm Tran Downtown Trolley and Amtrak West Palm Beach station.
Orlando
The Orlando station will be included as part of the new Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal that is currently under construction at Orlando International Airport. In Orlando, Brightline service would connect to the SunRail commuter rail system at the Orlando International Airport's new South Airport Intermodal Terminal, if an airport connection is to be built by SunRail.
Technical
Rolling stock
In September 2014, All Aboard Florida announced an order of five Siemens trainsets. Each Brightline train set initially consists of four passenger coaches, with a SCB-40 diesel-electric locomotive on each end. The coaches, with interiors designed by the LAB at Rockwell Group, feature ergonomic seating, Wi-Fi, level boarding, and meet ADA compliance standards. Each trainset holds 240 passengers. Working with All Aboard Florida, the LAB also conceived the Brightline name, brand platform, and visual identity. The entire trainset, including passenger cars, were manufactured by Siemens in its solar-powered plant in Florin, California. Once the route to Orlando is in operation, the trainsets will be expanded to seven coaches, and five more complete trainsets will be purchased. The first of five trainsets departed the Siemens factory on December 8, 2016, and arrived in West Palm Beach on December 14. The last trainset arrived in South Florida in October 2017.
Brightline offers two classes of service: "Select" and "Smart," with one and three coaches available on each trainset, respectively. "Select" offers 2x1 and four-to-a-table seating with 50 21-inch (530 mm)-wide seats seats per car and complimentary snacks and beverages, while the slightly less expensive "Smart" fare coaches seat 66 with narrower 19-inch (480 mm)-wide seats, with snacks and beverages available for purchase. Each trainset is able to hold 240 passengers.
Future expansion
Brevard County is lobbying for a Brightline stop as part of the expansion to Orlando and elsewhere, as the line will pass through the county. The Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization has selected a site on Clearlake Road in Cocoa as its proposal to Brightline. Brightline has announced intentions to expand to other areas when the initial phase is complete. Jacksonville is a likely expansion destination, as the Florida East Coast Railway already owns tracks running there. Brightline officials indicated that the Tampa Bay Area is also a desirable future location, although the infrastructure does not currently exist.
See also
- Transportation in Florida
- Transportation in South Florida
- Florida high speed rail
References
External links
- Official website
- All Aboard Florida - Miami to Orlando Passenger Rail Service - Federal Railroad Administration
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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