chrsjrcj
OBS Chief
It's a shame those are static images, or that would make railfanning a lot easier.
Nevertheless, it will make watching construction progress a lot easier for those of us not in the area. Good idea.
Brightline Trains Florida discussion
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It's a shame those are static images, or that would make railfanning a lot easier.
Nevertheless, it will make watching construction progress a lot easier for those of us not in the area. Good idea.
cirdan
Engineer
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oh cool. Now I'm going to be watching those webcams every day and getting no work done.
chrsjrcj
OBS Chief
August 2019 (2018):
Ridership: 74,312 (54,574 +36%)
Revenue: $1.5 million ($0.9 million +62%)
https://emma.msrb.org/ER1255369-ER981040-ER1382707.pdf
Ridership: 74,312 (54,574 +36%)
Revenue: $1.5 million ($0.9 million +62%)
https://emma.msrb.org/ER1255369-ER981040-ER1382707.pdf
chrsjrcj
OBS Chief
I do not have an article, but Miami-Dade County today agreed to pay for the Aventura station. One additional requirement is that any development on that site must be 100% workforce housing. Miami-Dade County will own the land, so Virgin does not have to be the developer of that housing per se.
It was interesting to see the concerns of the county commissioners. For those that opposed the project, concerns included future access for Tri-Rail (recall that Brightline ended any negotiations for Coastal Link two years ago), the cost to ride the train, and the fact that county tax dollars earmarked for transit are going to a private company and not Metrorail or Metrobus expansion. I mostly agree with the concerns, and believe that this development (in addition to the Boca Raton station) is more or less the final nail in the coffin for Coastal Link.
The vote actually failed at first, but an amendment was added to require any development on the property is 100% workforce housing which ended up swaying enough commissioners to pass. The whole meeting was broadcast on Facebook, although the last 45 minutes may be the more interesting part.
It was interesting to see the concerns of the county commissioners. For those that opposed the project, concerns included future access for Tri-Rail (recall that Brightline ended any negotiations for Coastal Link two years ago), the cost to ride the train, and the fact that county tax dollars earmarked for transit are going to a private company and not Metrorail or Metrobus expansion. I mostly agree with the concerns, and believe that this development (in addition to the Boca Raton station) is more or less the final nail in the coffin for Coastal Link.
The vote actually failed at first, but an amendment was added to require any development on the property is 100% workforce housing which ended up swaying enough commissioners to pass. The whole meeting was broadcast on Facebook, although the last 45 minutes may be the more interesting part.
Cruise passengers on track to ride Brightline trains to PortMiami with county station
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article236355013.html#storylink=cpy
Plans advanced Thursday for a Brightline train station for cruise passengers at PortMiami, with Miami-Dade moving closer to approving a depot connecting the world’s busiest cruise dock to a for-profit railroad with plans to extend as far north as Orlando.
The County Commission’s Ports committee on Thursday endorsed a draft deal between the company and Miami-Dade, which involves $5.2 million in public money for a $15.4 million facility. Brightline, the for-profit rail company that’s planning to bring the Virgin brand to its trains next year, would build the seaside station and make it available to passengers for all cruise companies. Virgin, a separate company run by Richard Branson, plans to bring its first cruise ship to PortMiami in April.
The trains would run about two miles on existing cargo tracks to Brightline’s MiamiCentral station in downtown Miami, where passengers could then board the company’s express trains running to West Palm Beach. The company, a subsidiary of the Fortress Investment Group conglomerate, plans to expand the for-profit rail line to Orlando. It’s a route PortMiami sees as a new funnel for cruise passengers from the South Florida market.
“They can hand over their bags at the Fort Lauderdale station, the West Palm Beach station, the Orlando station, and the passenger won’t see his or her bags until he or she gets into their cabin,” said Juan Kuryla, the county’s port director.
While Miami-Dade would put up money to help build the 20,500-square-foot building, the draft agreement calls for Brightline to generate millions more in rent and fees to the port. The port would collect a $2 fee for each train passenger arriving at the new station, and Brightline agreed to make up the difference if those payments don’t total $7 million after five years. From there, the fees continue and minimum amounts increase over the next 30 years. A county memo said the port should expect to collect $49 million from the fees and rent, charged at $5.75 a foot to start.
The agreement authorizes Mayor Carlos Gimenez to negotiate a final deal with the new Fortress entity, Virgin Trains USA. That contract then would come back to the commission for a final vote.
It would be the third infusion of county dollars for a Brightline station. In 2015, Miami-Dade, Miami and Tri-Rail agreed to pay about $69 million to build a Tri-Rail platform at Brightline’s Miami Central station in downtown Miami. Brightline hasn’t completed the federally required safety requirements to allow Tri-Rail rains to begin using that service.
On Oct. 11, Miami-Dade commissioners held an emergency meeting to approve spending $76 million in transit funds on a new Brightline station connecting to the Aventura Mall. The company agreed to charge Aventura passengers 65 percent of the Fort Lauderdale fare, making a one-way ticket just under $10.
No prices were discussed for the PortMiami rides. Jose Gonzalez, a top executive at Fortress subsidiary Florida East Coast Industries, said the company hopes to open the port station by the end of 2020. The initial plan is to run two trains per day, meaning four crossings through downtown Miami.
“For downtown, it wouldn’t be much delay,” Gonzalez said. “Our crossings take less than 60 seconds. It’s not like a freight train.”
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article236355013.html#storylink=cpy
Plans advanced Thursday for a Brightline train station for cruise passengers at PortMiami, with Miami-Dade moving closer to approving a depot connecting the world’s busiest cruise dock to a for-profit railroad with plans to extend as far north as Orlando.
The County Commission’s Ports committee on Thursday endorsed a draft deal between the company and Miami-Dade, which involves $5.2 million in public money for a $15.4 million facility. Brightline, the for-profit rail company that’s planning to bring the Virgin brand to its trains next year, would build the seaside station and make it available to passengers for all cruise companies. Virgin, a separate company run by Richard Branson, plans to bring its first cruise ship to PortMiami in April.
The trains would run about two miles on existing cargo tracks to Brightline’s MiamiCentral station in downtown Miami, where passengers could then board the company’s express trains running to West Palm Beach. The company, a subsidiary of the Fortress Investment Group conglomerate, plans to expand the for-profit rail line to Orlando. It’s a route PortMiami sees as a new funnel for cruise passengers from the South Florida market.
“They can hand over their bags at the Fort Lauderdale station, the West Palm Beach station, the Orlando station, and the passenger won’t see his or her bags until he or she gets into their cabin,” said Juan Kuryla, the county’s port director.
While Miami-Dade would put up money to help build the 20,500-square-foot building, the draft agreement calls for Brightline to generate millions more in rent and fees to the port. The port would collect a $2 fee for each train passenger arriving at the new station, and Brightline agreed to make up the difference if those payments don’t total $7 million after five years. From there, the fees continue and minimum amounts increase over the next 30 years. A county memo said the port should expect to collect $49 million from the fees and rent, charged at $5.75 a foot to start.
The agreement authorizes Mayor Carlos Gimenez to negotiate a final deal with the new Fortress entity, Virgin Trains USA. That contract then would come back to the commission for a final vote.
It would be the third infusion of county dollars for a Brightline station. In 2015, Miami-Dade, Miami and Tri-Rail agreed to pay about $69 million to build a Tri-Rail platform at Brightline’s Miami Central station in downtown Miami. Brightline hasn’t completed the federally required safety requirements to allow Tri-Rail rains to begin using that service.
On Oct. 11, Miami-Dade commissioners held an emergency meeting to approve spending $76 million in transit funds on a new Brightline station connecting to the Aventura Mall. The company agreed to charge Aventura passengers 65 percent of the Fort Lauderdale fare, making a one-way ticket just under $10.
No prices were discussed for the PortMiami rides. Jose Gonzalez, a top executive at Fortress subsidiary Florida East Coast Industries, said the company hopes to open the port station by the end of 2020. The initial plan is to run two trains per day, meaning four crossings through downtown Miami.
“For downtown, it wouldn’t be much delay,” Gonzalez said. “Our crossings take less than 60 seconds. It’s not like a freight train.”
The sausage here is fascinating on Aventura. As to PortMiami, $7m translates into 3.5m pax at $2/each (given that this only covers arrivals, not departures). I question whether that's feasible, though I also wouldn't be surprised if Brightline was willing to just pencil in a bit of cash to make up the guarantee.
leemell
Conductor
Virgin/Brighline has been talking/negotiating with Las Vegas and just said that they have agreed to a station near the Strip, that Virgin engineers have completed 30% of the LV/Victorville design and have put a contractor under contract.
chrsjrcj
OBS Chief
I believe the agreement also says that Brightline will pay that even if passenger counts don't generate that fees. Honestly, the PortMiami deal seems to be a pretty decent deal for the county (better than Aventura, in my opinion). They get a direct passenger rail line to the Port, plus the ability to generate income from that. The only downside might be that incoming cruise passengers won't stay in Miami, and instead might hop on a train to Orlando, but that will probably be offset with the patronage that the original Orlando/Tampa to downtown Miami line will bring.
From what I can tell, it does stipulate that. My comment was that I think Brightline may be presuming that they'll simply have to cough up some cash on that front (since accounting for a year or two of ramp-up that ridership number probably suggests they'd need to be closing in on a million pax/year at PortMiami to make the number, something I'm comfortable expressing skepticism about given their current/planned fleet situation).
Edit: To clarify, at the existing level you would basically need to average 2000 pax/day at PortMiami to make the numbers. The current trains hold 240 pax, so at a 75% load factor that would be 11 trains/day into PortMiami. I'm not sure where you find the equipment for that without seriously fouling up service to/from MiamiCentral unless those trains are going to go into MiamiCentral, back up, and then head to PortMiami. It is, of course, possible they'll come up with some dedicated services...but there's a lot of stuff I can see working for WPB-PortMiami that gets strained if you're running those trains up to Orlando.
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Brian_tampa
Lead Service Attendant
New double track lift bridge proposed for the St Lucie River crossing in Stuart
http://veronews.com/2019/10/24/virgin-rail-seeks-local-support-for-costly-new-bridge/
This is very interesting news. Virgin is asking for local government support to apply for federal grants to replace the existing single track draw bridge with a new double track lift bridge. It will have 18ft clearance when closed. I assume this means a 2-3% grade on the approaches, or about 1000ft at most of raised track bed to the south. I am not sure if that will impact the furthest north road crossing in downtown Stuart. North of the river crossing, it is on a curve with no public road crossing for some distance. Would they locate the lift bridge further north of the present draw bridge to reduce the required grade? Without a doubt, FECR has already approved this and has specified the maximum grade they will allow.
http://veronews.com/2019/10/24/virgin-rail-seeks-local-support-for-costly-new-bridge/
This is very interesting news. Virgin is asking for local government support to apply for federal grants to replace the existing single track draw bridge with a new double track lift bridge. It will have 18ft clearance when closed. I assume this means a 2-3% grade on the approaches, or about 1000ft at most of raised track bed to the south. I am not sure if that will impact the furthest north road crossing in downtown Stuart. North of the river crossing, it is on a curve with no public road crossing for some distance. Would they locate the lift bridge further north of the present draw bridge to reduce the required grade? Without a doubt, FECR has already approved this and has specified the maximum grade they will allow.
The article cited some politician's opinion's, that Virgin Trains/Brightline originally proposed funding the entire project with private funds, and now are asking for government help. They believe that Virgin had that in mind from the beginning, to later campaign for public funding...
I am wondering... if they don't get government support, will they go ahead and fund it themselve's, anyway?
I am wondering... if they don't get government support, will they go ahead and fund it themselve's, anyway?
leemell
Conductor
CA iBank approved $3.25B bonds, largest in banks history for Virgin/Xpresswest construction. https://www.reviewjournal.com/busin...ect-gets-approval-for-3-25b-in-bonds-1877582/
chrsjrcj
OBS Chief
leemell
Conductor
From the article: "Neither Nevada or California will be on the hook for any of the money tied to the bonds."
Well, I think they made a run at RRIF funding initially before chucking that over all of the EIS crap.
Brian_tampa
Lead Service Attendant
True. They abandoned the RRIF application, but not completely. Last I heard is that the RRIF could still be applied for but highly unlikely, unless the bond market collapses. I think they didn't go the RRIF route because that is a very political animal. Look at the stillborn proposal for the Powder River Coal route made by DM&E 15 years ago that relied on an RRIF loan. Rochester, MN blocked it with help from their friends in Washington. DesertXpress was also blocked due to their proposal to buy Chinese trainsets with the RRIF money. FECI/Brightline was smart in going with 100% Buy American compliance even when they didn't have to. They know how Washington works and have people who can navigate that arena. PABs have no conditions attached and much easier to get approval to sell them from the state financial development agencies it seems.
Edit: Brian Mast (Treasure Coast Representative) is good friends with Mark Meadows (R-NC). Any RRIF application could have been blocked by Meadows as he had power in the House up until this year. Meadows was very much against the use of PABs as well, but he could not stop that for some reason.
jis
Permanent Way Inspector
Staff member
Administator
Moderator
AU Supporting Member
Gathering Team Member
Brightline did complete an EIS for Miami to Orlando. It is the most informative public document on the layout of the route that is available.
Brian_tampa
Lead Service Attendant
Yep, going through the NEPA process is one of the requirements to qualify for a RRIF loan. Brightline went as far as getting the FEIS and Record of Decision from the FRA. As I understand it, Brightline is constructing phase 2 based on obtaining all of the required environmental (DEP, EPA, WMD, etc..) and USCG permits. They are following the mitigation recommendations spelled out in the FEIS/ROD as well. They plan on refreshing/updating the NEPA documents from 2010 for the old HSR project for phase 3 work between Tampa and Disney World along I-4. I suppose they will need a new EIS for the SR417 route and along the CFRC/OUC railroad ROWs to get to MCO. But that last section might result in not needing a full study, similar to phase 1, since its planned route is on or parallel to existing railroads.
Brian_tampa
Lead Service Attendant
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/l...ays-replace-st-lucie-river-bridge/2456664001/
The proposed bridge will cost $100M and take two years to construct. It will create 7ft of additional clearance for boats when closed and allow for two boats to pass under the longer span. The bridge can be completed after phase 2 is complete. It will take 1 or 2 years alone to get funding most likely. I see this being completed in 2024 or so...
The proposed bridge will cost $100M and take two years to construct. It will create 7ft of additional clearance for boats when closed and allow for two boats to pass under the longer span. The bridge can be completed after phase 2 is complete. It will take 1 or 2 years alone to get funding most likely. I see this being completed in 2024 or so...
jis
Permanent Way Inspector
Staff member
Administator
Moderator
AU Supporting Member
Gathering Team Member
Stations at Cocoa in Space Coast and Stuart in Treasure Coast gets closer to finalization in plans.
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/l...n-cocoa-and-leaning-toward-stuart/4092824002/
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/l...n-cocoa-and-leaning-toward-stuart/4092824002/
chrsjrcj
OBS Chief
One interesting thing to note from the September 2019 report, the Vrgin rebranding has been pushed from the end of this year to Q2 2020. I wonder why there is a delay.
So that is not the new station, correct.? No platform.
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