I REALLY hope brightline is successful and they build the route between LA and LV. This might be the company we need to build multiple high speed railways throughout this country.
I think the near future will be more regional projects such as this rather than full-blown Amtrak expansion lines... I wish there were a greater effort in promoting this in the upper-midwest, I would like to see this happen in my lifetime!
Well, technically, Brightline hasn't built ANY HSR in the USA. Hopefully, they will do the LA to Vegas line as a true HSR line with a dedicated grade separated track.
@@TheFourFoot Absolutely, exciting developments for Florida, my aunt lives in Lakeland and I've done enough travel between Tampa and Orlando to know what a mess traffic there is. Perfect corridor high-speed rail, but I heard the governor vetoed a plan for it. What a short-sighted decision, that could relieve so much interstate congestion. Sad.
At least the single track sections are exclusively for passing company passenger trains, so they will be easily timed. I believe there is room on the row for expansion if demand requires.
Thank you for impeccably showing and explaining the evolution of this new Brightline project. Watching from the Netherlands, I feel encouraged that the US is beginning to show interest in HSR. The sky is the limit.
Did the company leave room at the FEC mainline for a Wye to allow trains to travel north at some point in the future? Given FL's relative density, a Jax - Orlando - Tampa route would likely provide a decent ROI given the limited additional investment required once MIA-Jax and MIA-Tampa are in place.
These construction sites are always interesting. Exciting to see how this expansion is built. Thanks for these great shots 👍👍 Greetings from Switzerland 🇨🇭
When I tell you I died laughing due to past “experiences” when he compared BNSF to CSX, calling CSX “actively hostile” to passenger rail… I mean I literally almost coughed out a lung. This is a new level of targeted intelligent humor.
I just found your channel this video is awesome. I live north of it and has been going on with the new train tracks. It is 6 months now from this video and I look forward to seeing updates on the brightside trains to Orlando.
It'd be super cool if you could include a dot on the mini-map showing where you're at on the yellow road. Most times, it's easy enough to tell, but that would really be the cherry on top. Thanks for the tour - I've wondered what some of that huge construction is for. Can't wait to be able to board in Orlando and take it down to Miami for cruises!
They are only single tracking the Cocoa to Orlando portion. It’s to save money in the long run but they are building everything to where when they are ready for double track they basically just have to do that and not have to build anything new. Just lay the tracks. I assume when they start construction for Tampa they will probably go ahead and double track the whole line
@@CaptainJeau But didn't the video show a single track only capable bridge? This is another issue with depending on private companies doing passenger service. Since they need to make a profit, they always build on the cheap. That doesn't seem to happen in Europe and Asia where they already have 1000s of miles of HSR let alone slower trains like Brightline's.
I live near Cocoa and 528. I have been watching all this construction since they started. I really wasn't sure what they were going to do to cross 528 until I say the tunnel being built and the way they designed the apperrant move of 528 over the tunnel. Great video and commentary.
It’s good to see the US building High Speed Rail. In Europe while traveling at the 62mph in a tourist coach we see HS trains. I don’t know the speed they are traveling at but. They pass the coach like we are standing still. I don’t know if it is the same in the US but in Europe we need to produce a passport even to fly within countries. The train saves **ing about at airports & cuts down on place to place travel times. I suppose China has an advantage when building High Speed Rail. If their government says it’s going to built it more or less just happens.
Impressive. Brightline will connect Florida's three biggest metros each of which deserves an extensive skytrain network. So far, there's only one: the Miami-Dade Metrorail and Metromover in South Florida and it ain't much
Single tracking was extremely short sighted. Any kind of delay is going to cause big problems between Cocoa and Orlando. Imagine a train breaking down on that segment. That will disrupt operations for the network for hours because they have no way around that train. Not a good thing if you have a plane to catch.
Oh for sure it will lol. Granted they have 2 locos per train which gives a little redundancy, but from my experience operating freight on largely single track territory, yeah I’m a little worried for them lol.
I wonder if they will have a year pass , I work in Miami two times a week and live in Orlando so it would great not to drive , but I’m seeing the cost is around 100 a trip? Or am I wrong?
Yeah that wouldn’t surprise me. Brightline is definitely in it for the money. 2 times a week sounds rough! Hopefully they would have deals for frequent travel!
Yeah that $100 figure has always been mentioned by Brightline. While that is a very acceptable price in UK. I feel that price will be quite unattractive in US
"still fully shutdown due to COVID-19" shows just how wacked out the State of Florida is as fuel prices soar and now property values plunge due to the building collapse in North Miami. Anyhow great video and this will not be denied I agree. In some places there is triple track in point of fact (starting West Palm Beach?) Anyhow all about Car Culture is quite the omnipotent force would be an understatement.
For sure lol. I’m guessing some of those sections with 3 tracks may be long sidings, I know the FEC runs pretty long trains. Making any sizable dent in Florida’s car dependence is a monumental task lol
Hey, from Germany!👋🏼 Why is the Highspeed in the USA so low and so many Railroads not electrified? The Regional Trains in Germany have a Highspeed of 120-160km/h. And the ICE 160-330km/h. Btw nice Videos and can you do a Video about all Train Projects in the USA(2021-2030)?
Americans don't want to pay taxes, the Reagan era really started cutting taxes and look how our existing infrastructure has suffered, and without much new development. We now seem to have complete tax phobia without the forward-thinking vision of what benefits well-spent public money could bring to all citizens.
The united states is gigantic, land isn't being made anymore and rail is expensive to lay. Germany is the size of Montana, and the UK is the size of Michigan.
Good video with some great drone footage. All this single track construction is worrisome. Is that basically only done in the US for passenger travel? Is single track common in Europe and Asia for modern passenger construction?
Ha, no, single track is not common for Asia/Europe, at least not for new construction. Then again, this project is unique to America in almost every way. I know it will be hard for Brightline to grow its ridership, so they will likely double track the entire line as ridership goes/build the Tampa extension.
@@TheFourFoot Yeah. On another note, I was thinking about the split screen effect in detail actually. Stacking the frames vertically is an aesthetically pleasing choice, as the highway landscape and Brightline RoW are very very horizontal. Though putting them side by side like you did is more "practical". It gives us more visual information, very similar to holding your phone vertically when taking a panorama shot. So basically, the options are good at different things, but neither is clearly superior. One is for art, the other is for seeing more.
Yeah I’m not thrilled with the side-by-side either, but until I learn a more sophisticated editing software, I’m kinda limited, and I’ll do that after I finished up this round of videos I recorded on the east coast. Either way, thanks for the feedback!
What are your thoughts on this trains actual potential? Every time I see a video from someone riding Brightline, the train is virtually empty. Do people actually travel between Orlando and Miami a lot? p.s. I hope you're doing your research on Texas Central here in Texas, linking Houston to Dallas. It's been a super slow process but I really believe the political and economic climate exists here for a train like that to make sense. Can't wait to see these type of videos on that line! :)
My actual thoughts are that I like the project and I think there is some limited potential business among Miami residents that want to visit Disney World, or possibly catch an international flight from MCO, but they’re fighting an uphill battle against the car. I’m a little worried that if they fail to become profitable and fold, that people will forever use it as an example of why “20th century technology (not including the automobile) is dead and worthless,” while ignoring that brightline is basically setting themselves up to run expensive commuter service into Miami and ferry tourists from Orlando to Miami Beach. Airport/rail connections can be incredibly valuable, when you has somewhere to go. Yes, Brightline is planning and most likely expand to Tampa, but airports are not destinations, and outside of the Orlando tourism spots, there isn’t much point in taking a train to a place that then requires a half hour Uber ride on top (if you were traveling to Orlando on business for some reason). So long story short, I think they probably know what they’re doing, but I’m cautiously optimistic about their chance of succeeding. Also, yes I’m more than ready to ride a Shinkansen in America. My biggest complaints with the TCR plan is that the trains won’t be built in Lincoln where I live and that the Houston station is so far away from downtown. There may be some videos on this project in the future lol
@@TheFourFoot agree with ya. It will be a big fail if they don't do well. They're building so much trackage and infrastructure! Yes, same about Texas Central but honestly I don't believe a downtown station would be great either, I think it being somewhere between the medical center and downtown might work better. I am really hoping TxDOT moves forward with the old Lone Star rail project that died several years back that might be resurrected by Amtrak via a state supported deal like Amtrak California etc. Living here for about 7 years now, I feel the state would benefit more from a high frequency train serving DFW-Waco-Austin-San Antonio. I-35 is the most congested interstate in the state and could benefit so much from reduction in traffic. If there was a higher speed limited stop train like that I'd ride it from Austin to Dallas or San Antonio on the weekends all the time! Amtrak Texas! 🚆
For sure I’d love to see Amtrak expand, but given Texas’ uh, bigness lol, high speed rail would certainly be a better end goal. Perhaps Texas Central, or the State/feds could develop of program like the Indian Freight Quadrangle linking Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Ft Worth. Aside from an insane amount of money, what could go wrong? Lol
The area that you talked about maybe four pipes going underneath the 528 there no that is actually a an extension of a big box Culvert that is continuing drainage for the canal that comes underneath 528 there
"Massive dirt borrow site" sounds funny considering the dirt will not be returned .LOL .You are absolutely right about building wider bridges now to accommodate future expansion and eliminating surface traffic disruption .Your videos are a breath of fresh air. Thanks for posting .
For sure, they’ll just have another mosquito/alligator pond instead lol. I was going to talk about how my railroad built a single flyover here in Nebraska to cross another railroad. It wasn’t long before they regretted it, and the cost of double tracking it now is exponentially higher. The video was long enough as it is though lol. Thanks a lot!
@@anton95rct Sure, you don’t need the lines only but also the tracks that allow speed... No rocking straight rails ! No breaking bridges ! No rotten sleepers!
I can't believe it being built as a single track. And not being electrified. I guess that the problem with private enterprise projects. Are the embankments being built wide enough for 2 tracks?
For sure. It looked like the majority of the embankments were wide enough for 2 tracks, but i swear it looked like there was a tiny retaining wall built along the embankment over the coal spur east of Innovation way, which is beyond ridiculous lol
Yes the whole line from cocoa to Orlando is begging built for double track. When u look at the bridges or overpasses you can see they are build for two tracks but only one track will be installed now
@@TheFourFoot That's good to hear. Look forward to seeing it completed and testing beginning. Thanks for doing such a comprehensive overview. Excellent drone shots.
I'm really interested to see how the double-track some of the FEC line where it passes through roundabouts. Haven't been able to find anything and hasn't been mentioned in any of the videos I've seen.
What towns are the roundabouts in? I’m not an expert on the FEC, but yeah, I couldn’t tell you lol. Trains through roundabouts makes sense for light rail, I’m not so sure about 2 plus miles long trains lol.
@@TheFourFoot there are a couple crossings immediately adjacent to roundabouts in and south of Stuart. The mid-roundabout crossing in in Ocean Breeze, at NE Jensen Beach Blvd. I did end up finding a document about the roundabout, it’s about restricting one of the roads to one-way traffic, and possibly shows both tracks crossing through the center median. (It’s the last several pages) townofoceanbreeze.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/October-12-2020-Agenda-and-Meeting-Docs.pdf
Interesting stuff! I don’t know why, but I really like the way tracks running through roundabouts looks aesthetically, but limited the traffic through that crossing is probably for the best.
Orlando International to Disney sounds like a perfect idea. A little reason to rent a car, and takes disney buses off the road. I hope disney well integrates with that idea. Also it'll be a lot easier to take a flight from anywhere in florida, no need to drive far and pay to park at an airport. My main concern is connecting to places people actually want to go to with transit, a connection to everything north on I4 would be very useful, with the convention center, sea world, universal, everything around there. Also a connection to SunRail would be useful. Not sure how to best do this, maybe a northern spur and a station at the intersection with SunRail? A subway would be great but the issue is with the cost, and redundant infrastructure, but those right of ways were being added.
This is really a half baked project, I mean single tracks??? This has nothing to do with high speed rails. But to convince people and politicians in the US that high speed trains are worth their money and can be a good alternative to the car and especially the plane on distances up to 500 miles you need to build the best. But I think the problem is that it is a private company who builds this and honestly building a real HSR system is way to expensive for a private company. You need a state owned company to build this or at least a big financial support from the state. That's the reason why in Europe only state owned companies build HSRs
I don't see why a profit motive would stand in the way of electrification. Electric trains (with pantographs) are cheaper to run and maintain, they have better acceleration (lower weight and more peak power) and a longer lifetime when compared to diesel-electrics. Of course, when they literally build single track bridges, and take sharp turns around highway interchanges to save money (at the cost of speed and time) on a medium-speed double track railway, they clearly care a lot more about reducing capital expenditure than they do about the long term profitability and efficiency of the railroad. It's definitely going to be cheaper long term to build double track bridges from the start and to electrify the entire line. Of course, they already invested into shiny diesel electrics now, but as they expand their lines and increase frequencies, the better business move is to trickle down the diesel electrics to new lines and to electrify the lines that have established ridership. It worries me that they aren't talking about providing the clearance for future overhead electrification on this newly built Orlando line. If their bridges and tunnels don't have that clearance built in, electrifying later will be much more expensive, and as they are clearly scared of capital expenditure, it will then never happen. At least even diesel electric trains are better than cars.
Has Brightline given any indication that they plan to extend past Tampa proper in to Pinellas county? I know I would take the train to Orlando rather than drive as long as I didn’t have to drive to Tampa to board said train. A guy can dream right?
When will there be an update video showcasing the entire corridor? The extension from Cocoa to Orlando is practically done with exception to track being placed.
Can someone please come up to Vermont to show our Government how a Transit system can fit in here ? Everything that's needed is a plan and political will . The people are ready .
I’m ready to ride it! Hopefully when it opens and people get the joy speeding past cars on I-15, just to go sit in bumper to bumper traffic on Cajon Pass, the message might sink in that, “hey, maybe cars aren’t the greatest thing ever” lol
@@TheFourFoot there is a long and very bad history with how the car came about in the USA. i looked in to the trolly system the was in the inland empire in the early 1900s but was all dismataled around the 1920 buy gm and a few other car companys at the time. there is some straets in san beridno that you can tell had trolly lines on them in the past with how wide they are
Oh I know lol. I definitely plan to a couple videos on the story in the future. It’s a very shameful chapter in American history, and one that cities across the country will be recovering from for the next century at least.
@@TheFourFoot love to see that video then i love history the good and the bad we all can learn from it when we analyze what happened back then to make the future a better place.
As much as this is awesome by US rail standards Its still a joke, as you said the east coast shore line will still be single track in places plus it has to go thru heaps of deadly grade crossings.
There definitely won't be any stops between Orlando and Cocoa, and currently I don't think they have any stations planned north of West Palm Beach, but they definitely could add some. Between Orlando and Cocoa is supposed to be up to 125 mph though.
21:50 Not Day Las Blvd but Dallas as you said earlier in the video. I own land just off of it in Wedgefield ( Rocket City for those who bought long ago ). Dallas Blvd is the long gone FEC ROW to Okeechobee.
@@fenlinescouser3898 It isn’t. For local trains maybe but not for long distance or high speed service... And you have to carry the batteries with you, not very efficient.
@@aoilpe I'm not suggesting using the class 230 as such but as a concept this may be up-scaled. It is worth noting that the Voith transmission DMUs referred to in the interview include units with 100mph top speeds some of which are employed on regional services. The technology lends itself to the electrification of longer lines using non-continuous catenary considerably reducing construction costs. Also Hitachi (UK) are currently investigating fitment of batteries to some of their Inter-City fleet for extension of services "beyond the wires." These are 125mph units (140mph capable with signal upgrade) currently using diesel generators for the same purpose. My thoughts are that if the Orlando extension were to be electrified then it might be possible to run over the FEC shared track using battery power and "topping up" with fast chargers at station stops.
That ramp that's going away is called Cargo Loop Rd. Of the four ramps, one is Cargo Slip and the other three are Cargo Loop. Maybe the new one will be called Cargo Hill?
I can't recall WHERE exactly I saw it, but I know I read a comment somewhere basically saying that Brightline's going with single track for now in the short term whilst making sure they have the capacity needed for the long term plan of having a fully double tracked line. So depending on how things play out, they've either played their cards in a smart way, or shot themselves in the foot. Really depends on traffic levels and how they go once the government decides to shove off with lockdowns and mass media quits fear mongering with constant news on, as it's called in the American Rail Club, the c00f. Edit: Also, if Brightline wants 110MPH on the Miami to WPB section, they're gonna HAVE to take the plunge and fence in their right of way and do as many grade crossing eliminations as possible. There's no way you have a relatively clean safety record when you're doing 110MPH on a non-fenced in track with multiple public grade crossings with some in quiet zones IIRC.
Atlanta will also be a hub with talks of a station being built in. Downtown what they call “The gauge area” near Benz stadium with future “ high speed rail” in mind..... there is talk of high speed rail between Atlanta and Charlotte.... also Atlanta and Savannah
I'm so disappointed that there will be no station stop in Brevard Country, specifically in the Cocoa Area, which would give people easy access to the Space Center, Cruise port, etc. and back to the Orlando International Airport.
I REALLY hope brightline is successful and they build the route between LA and LV. This might be the company we need to build multiple high speed railways throughout this country.
Me too!
I think the near future will be more regional projects such as this rather than full-blown Amtrak expansion lines...
I wish there were a greater effort in promoting this in the upper-midwest, I would like to see this happen in my lifetime!
@@timnewman1172 Yeah Chicago could be a hub station with multiple branch lines.
Yeah Amtrak isn’t doing squat to expand. They’re barely hanging on
Well, technically, Brightline hasn't built ANY HSR in the USA. Hopefully, they will do the LA to Vegas line as a true HSR line with a dedicated grade separated track.
Have some algorithm engagement, you deserve it. This was an amazing video.
Thanks a lot! I really appreciate it! And I appreciate the engagement lol
@@TheFourFoot
Absolutely, exciting developments for Florida, my aunt lives in Lakeland and I've done enough travel between Tampa and Orlando to know what a mess traffic there is. Perfect corridor high-speed rail, but I heard the governor vetoed a plan for it.
What a short-sighted decision, that could relieve so much interstate congestion. Sad.
This extension is definitely exciting to see being built! Although I hope those single track sections don't come back to haunt Brightline.
Absolutely!
@FPK those are big “IF’s” lol
At least the single track sections are exclusively for passing company passenger trains, so they will be easily timed. I believe there is room on the row for expansion if demand requires.
Wow, you put massive efforts in these videos. Hats down to you, sir.
Not trying to brag at all, but it was a fair amount of work. I really appreciate it!
The more i watch the more i want high speed rail to be possible here in the us
yep but the US loves its cars
It's not impossible though, and Brightline is proof that people want HSR.
I live in Miami. I'm so excited we will have fast rail service to Orlando.
It’s a pretty exciting project!
Thank you for impeccably showing and explaining the evolution of this new Brightline project. Watching from the Netherlands, I feel encouraged that the US is beginning to show interest in HSR. The sky is the limit.
The sky is absolutely the limit; Americans just need to start looking up lol. I’m glad you liked the video, I really appreciate it!
It will high speed rail when the trains reach a top cruising speed of atleast 150 mph, up from 80 mph.
@@Gogalen789 True, none of this is HSR. Maybe their LA to Vegas line will be true HSR.
@@Gogalen789 Any rail is high speed rail when the previous highest speed in Florida was 0 lol
No disrespect, but you would be the perfect voice actor for Kermit should they ever need one.
There is literally no discussion about expanding to Jacksonville.
Did the company leave room at the FEC mainline for a Wye to allow trains to travel north at some point in the future? Given FL's relative density, a Jax - Orlando - Tampa route would likely provide a decent ROI given the limited additional investment required once MIA-Jax and MIA-Tampa are in place.
These construction sites are always interesting. Exciting to see how this expansion is built. Thanks for these great shots 👍👍 Greetings from Switzerland 🇨🇭
I’m glad you liked it, thanks a lot! You can tell a lot from a project by seeing what the construction site actually looks like for sure!
When I tell you I died laughing due to past “experiences” when he compared BNSF to CSX, calling CSX “actively hostile” to passenger rail… I mean I literally almost coughed out a lung. This is a new level of targeted intelligent humor.
Lol, I’m glad you liked it! I haven’t really heard anything good when it comes to CSX and Amtrak lol
I had absolutely zero plans of watching all 47 minutes of this video, yet here I am. Thanks, dude. Awesome and thorough work!
Thanks a lot! I really appreciate it! I thought about splitting it up, but I figured what the heck, some people will probably watch it lol
I just found your channel this video is awesome. I live north of it and has been going on with the new train tracks. It is 6 months now from this video and I look forward to seeing updates on the brightside trains to Orlando.
Thanks for making this awesome video! I've been anxious to see what progress they've made so far. 👍
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
It'd be super cool if you could include a dot on the mini-map showing where you're at on the yellow road. Most times, it's easy enough to tell, but that would really be the cherry on top. Thanks for the tour - I've wondered what some of that huge construction is for. Can't wait to be able to board in Orlando and take it down to Miami for cruises!
That would be nice, I've just gotta up my editing game lol
I hope they bring the service from Tampa to Fort Myers then across the alligator alley to Miami. I would probably take that service every week.
Same lol
Alligator Alley goes to Fort Lauderdale. You mean Tamiami Trail.
They are setting their self up for failure if they don't a double main track light
For sure
They are only single tracking the Cocoa to Orlando portion. It’s to save money in the long run but they are building everything to where when they are ready for double track they basically just have to do that and not have to build anything new. Just lay the tracks. I assume when they start construction for Tampa they will probably go ahead and double track the whole line
@@CaptainJeau But didn't the video show a single track only capable bridge? This is another issue with depending on private companies doing passenger service. Since they need to make a profit, they always build on the cheap. That doesn't seem to happen in Europe and Asia where they already have 1000s of miles of HSR let alone slower trains like Brightline's.
I live near Cocoa and 528. I have been watching all this construction since they started. I really wasn't sure what they were going to do to cross 528 until I say the tunnel being built and the way they designed the apperrant move of 528 over the tunnel. Great video and commentary.
Thanks a lot! I wasn’t sure either, but it became pretty obvious when got there lol
@@TheFourFoot Will there be a stop at Cocoa station? Thanks.
@@iTravelDoU Not on opening, but there will likely be one added in the future.
@@TheFourFoot Thank you :-)
It’s good to see the US building High Speed Rail. In Europe while traveling at the 62mph in a tourist coach we see HS trains. I don’t know the speed they are traveling at but. They pass the coach like we are standing still. I don’t know if it is the same in the US but in Europe we need to produce a passport even to fly within countries. The train saves **ing about at airports & cuts down on place to place travel times.
I suppose China has an advantage when building High Speed Rail. If their government says it’s going to built it more or less just happens.
25:55 - At this location we can also already see they’re gonna have a heck of a time preventing washouts along this stretch when the weather gets bad.
Yeah they sure will!
"Soil structure" in Central Florida is basically sand, not much can be done without concrete...
Impressive. Brightline will connect Florida's three biggest metros each of which deserves an extensive skytrain network. So far, there's only one: the Miami-Dade Metrorail and Metromover in South Florida and it ain't much
For sure!
Would love to have Jacksonville and Daytona connected too! Don’t forget us up here in northeast Florida, the 4th largest metro in Florida
Single tracking was extremely short sighted. Any kind of delay is going to cause big problems between Cocoa and Orlando. Imagine a train breaking down on that segment. That will disrupt operations for the network for hours because they have no way around that train. Not a good thing if you have a plane to catch.
Oh for sure it will lol. Granted they have 2 locos per train which gives a little redundancy, but from my experience operating freight on largely single track territory, yeah I’m a little worried for them lol.
Since I am a train operator for New York Transit, would Brighline consider my 28 years experience as reason to hire?
Quite possibly lol
I wonder if they will have a year pass , I work in Miami two times a week and live in Orlando so it would great not to drive , but I’m seeing the cost is around 100 a trip? Or am I wrong?
Yeah that wouldn’t surprise me. Brightline is definitely in it for the money. 2 times a week sounds rough! Hopefully they would have deals for frequent travel!
Yeah that $100 figure has always been mentioned by Brightline. While that is a very acceptable price in UK. I feel that price will be quite unattractive in US
Only one track so they can come back and blow another $500 million and put in a second track! Do it NOW!!!
Yeah I was pretty surprised when I saw the singular bridge piers while flying my drone lol
"still fully shutdown due to COVID-19" shows just how wacked out the State of Florida is as fuel prices soar and now property values plunge due to the building collapse in North Miami.
Anyhow great video and this will not be denied I agree. In some places there is triple track in point of fact (starting West Palm Beach?)
Anyhow all about Car Culture is quite the omnipotent force would be an understatement.
For sure lol. I’m guessing some of those sections with 3 tracks may be long sidings, I know the FEC runs pretty long trains. Making any sizable dent in Florida’s car dependence is a monumental task lol
Would love to see the footage from the westbound run.
Hey, from Germany!👋🏼
Why is the Highspeed in the USA so low and so many Railroads not electrified? The Regional Trains in Germany have a Highspeed of 120-160km/h. And the ICE 160-330km/h. Btw nice Videos and can you do a Video about all Train Projects in the USA(2021-2030)?
Americans don't want to pay taxes, the Reagan era really started cutting taxes and look how our existing infrastructure has suffered, and without much new development. We now seem to have complete tax phobia without the forward-thinking vision of what benefits well-spent public money could bring to all citizens.
The highest speed Brightline will reach is 170km/h (110mph) and most trackage is Class 4, rated for 79mph (127km/h)
Doing an overview video of the decade would probably be a good idea, a lot of projects are really up in the air though lol
@@AVeryRandomPerson I heard that when Tampa to Orlando is done it will reach 125mph and possibly on the Miami to Orlando line aswell
The united states is gigantic, land isn't being made anymore and rail is expensive to lay. Germany is the size of Montana, and the UK is the size of Michigan.
Good video with some great drone footage. All this single track construction is worrisome. Is that basically only done in the US for passenger travel? Is single track common in Europe and Asia for modern passenger construction?
Ha, no, single track is not common for Asia/Europe, at least not for new construction. Then again, this project is unique to America in almost every way. I know it will be hard for Brightline to grow its ridership, so they will likely double track the entire line as ridership goes/build the Tampa extension.
A most EXCELLENTLY produced video. I have subbed! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks a lot! I’m glad you liked it!
Very interesting from a german point of view ;-).
Yeah, compared with DB, it’s pretty lame lol
@@TheFourFoot And here I am complaining that DB is stuck in the 20th century...
Love these high quality videos. Keep it up!
Thanks!
11:34 "Creative navigating". Best euphemism ever
Thanks :) I realized halfway through the intersection that it wasn’t the best idea lol
@@TheFourFoot Yeah. On another note, I was thinking about the split screen effect in detail actually.
Stacking the frames vertically is an aesthetically pleasing choice, as the highway landscape and Brightline RoW are very very horizontal.
Though putting them side by side like you did is more "practical". It gives us more visual information, very similar to holding your phone vertically when taking a panorama shot.
So basically, the options are good at different things, but neither is clearly superior. One is for art, the other is for seeing more.
Yeah I’m not thrilled with the side-by-side either, but until I learn a more sophisticated editing software, I’m kinda limited, and I’ll do that after I finished up this round of videos I recorded on the east coast. Either way, thanks for the feedback!
What are your thoughts on this trains actual potential? Every time I see a video from someone riding Brightline, the train is virtually empty. Do people actually travel between Orlando and Miami a lot?
p.s. I hope you're doing your research on Texas Central here in Texas, linking Houston to Dallas. It's been a super slow process but I really believe the political and economic climate exists here for a train like that to make sense. Can't wait to see these type of videos on that line! :)
My actual thoughts are that I like the project and I think there is some limited potential business among Miami residents that want to visit Disney World, or possibly catch an international flight from MCO, but they’re fighting an uphill battle against the car. I’m a little worried that if they fail to become profitable and fold, that people will forever use it as an example of why “20th century technology (not including the automobile) is dead and worthless,” while ignoring that brightline is basically setting themselves up to run expensive commuter service into Miami and ferry tourists from Orlando to Miami Beach. Airport/rail connections can be incredibly valuable, when you has somewhere to go. Yes, Brightline is planning and most likely expand to Tampa, but airports are not destinations, and outside of the Orlando tourism spots, there isn’t much point in taking a train to a place that then requires a half hour Uber ride on top (if you were traveling to Orlando on business for some reason). So long story short, I think they probably know what they’re doing, but I’m cautiously optimistic about their chance of succeeding.
Also, yes I’m more than ready to ride a Shinkansen in America. My biggest complaints with the TCR plan is that the trains won’t be built in Lincoln where I live and that the Houston station is so far away from downtown. There may be some videos on this project in the future lol
@@TheFourFoot agree with ya. It will be a big fail if they don't do well. They're building so much trackage and infrastructure!
Yes, same about Texas Central but honestly I don't believe a downtown station would be great either, I think it being somewhere between the medical center and downtown might work better.
I am really hoping TxDOT moves forward with the old Lone Star rail project that died several years back that might be resurrected by Amtrak via a state supported deal like Amtrak California etc. Living here for about 7 years now, I feel the state would benefit more from a high frequency train serving DFW-Waco-Austin-San Antonio. I-35 is the most congested interstate in the state and could benefit so much from reduction in traffic. If there was a higher speed limited stop train like that I'd ride it from Austin to Dallas or San Antonio on the weekends all the time!
Amtrak Texas! 🚆
For sure I’d love to see Amtrak expand, but given Texas’ uh, bigness lol, high speed rail would certainly be a better end goal. Perhaps Texas Central, or the State/feds could develop of program like the Indian Freight Quadrangle linking Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Ft Worth. Aside from an insane amount of money, what could go wrong? Lol
For the investment, I hope that they have more than three people on each train. But I doubt it.
Couldn’t handle the music, sorry.
The area that you talked about maybe four pipes going underneath the 528 there no that is actually a an extension of a big box Culvert that is continuing drainage for the canal that comes underneath 528 there
This is a great, detailed video and I can tell it took a lot of hours to make it. Thank you for taking the time to make it, I really enjoyed it!
Much has happened since you shot this last year! Soon they will be running test trains on the Orlando Extension!
"Massive dirt borrow site" sounds funny considering the dirt will not be returned .LOL .You are absolutely right about building wider bridges now to accommodate future expansion and eliminating surface traffic disruption .Your videos are a breath of fresh air. Thanks for posting .
For sure, they’ll just have another mosquito/alligator pond instead lol. I was going to talk about how my railroad built a single flyover here in Nebraska to cross another railroad. It wasn’t long before they regretted it, and the cost of double tracking it now is exponentially higher. The video was long enough as it is though lol. Thanks a lot!
@@TheFourFoot Before the video ended I emailed Brightline my observation concerning double track preparation. We'll see how they respond if at all.
Lol if they respond, definitely let me know what they say!
"Borrow excavation" is an engineering term. Means fill material that is obtained from outside of the right-of-way.
@@alanstevens1296 Thank you . I understand
Exciting but really wish it was faster than 79 mph.
To call this “High Speed Rail” is funny, in the rest of the world “High Speed” begins at 150mph not at 100mph or under...
I know. That’s what I said in the video lol
At least it's a start in that direction!
@@donaldstanfield8862
LOL
Without the help of the fairy “Electricity” it will not go over the “High Speed” line...
In many parts of the US any train that is faster than walking feels high speed
@@anton95rct
Sure, you don’t need the lines only but also the tracks that allow speed...
No rocking straight rails ! No breaking bridges ! No rotten sleepers!
Question. Why I don't see any bridge animal crossings? This is not a case in US?
Ha, they only build those in a few states, and Florida isn’t one of them! I don’t believe there’s any mandate/law that requires them anywhere.
lmao, great joke at 4:14
Lol I spent way too much time on that graphic, but I’m calling it time we’ll spent...
@@TheFourFoot You should definitely post the chart to my discord, they'd love it. I've never seen a comparison before like that.
Will do lol
I can't believe it being built as a single track. And not being electrified. I guess that the problem with private enterprise projects. Are the embankments being built wide enough for 2 tracks?
For sure. It looked like the majority of the embankments were wide enough for 2 tracks, but i swear it looked like there was a tiny retaining wall built along the embankment over the coal spur east of Innovation way, which is beyond ridiculous lol
Yes the whole line from cocoa to Orlando is begging built for double track. When u look at the bridges or overpasses you can see they are build for two tracks but only one track will be installed now
@@CaptainJeauThanks for that
@@TheFourFoot That's good to hear. Look forward to seeing it completed and testing beginning. Thanks for doing such a comprehensive overview. Excellent drone shots.
I really appreciate it!
I'm really interested to see how the double-track some of the FEC line where it passes through roundabouts. Haven't been able to find anything and hasn't been mentioned in any of the videos I've seen.
What towns are the roundabouts in? I’m not an expert on the FEC, but yeah, I couldn’t tell you lol. Trains through roundabouts makes sense for light rail, I’m not so sure about 2 plus miles long trains lol.
@@TheFourFoot there are a couple crossings immediately adjacent to roundabouts in and south of Stuart. The mid-roundabout crossing in in Ocean Breeze, at NE Jensen Beach Blvd. I did end up finding a document about the roundabout, it’s about restricting one of the roads to one-way traffic, and possibly shows both tracks crossing through the center median. (It’s the last several pages) townofoceanbreeze.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/October-12-2020-Agenda-and-Meeting-Docs.pdf
Interesting stuff! I don’t know why, but I really like the way tracks running through roundabouts looks aesthetically, but limited the traffic through that crossing is probably for the best.
Orlando International to Disney sounds like a perfect idea. A little reason to rent a car, and takes disney buses off the road. I hope disney well integrates with that idea. Also it'll be a lot easier to take a flight from anywhere in florida, no need to drive far and pay to park at an airport. My main concern is connecting to places people actually want to go to with transit, a connection to everything north on I4 would be very useful, with the convention center, sea world, universal, everything around there. Also a connection to SunRail would be useful. Not sure how to best do this, maybe a northern spur and a station at the intersection with SunRail? A subway would be great but the issue is with the cost, and redundant infrastructure, but those right of ways were being added.
Spectacular vídeo. Thank you so much! Excited to have this train servicing Orlando !
Where can I find the stops? Live in Viera. When will Orlando to Disneyworld be available? Thank you.
This is really a half baked project, I mean single tracks??? This has nothing to do with high speed rails. But to convince people and politicians in the US that high speed trains are worth their money and can be a good alternative to the car and especially the plane on distances up to 500 miles you need to build the best. But I think the problem is that it is a private company who builds this and honestly building a real HSR system is way to expensive for a private company. You need a state owned company to build this or at least a big financial support from the state. That's the reason why in Europe only state owned companies build HSRs
I don't see why a profit motive would stand in the way of electrification. Electric trains (with pantographs) are cheaper to run and maintain, they have better acceleration (lower weight and more peak power) and a longer lifetime when compared to diesel-electrics. Of course, when they literally build single track bridges, and take sharp turns around highway interchanges to save money (at the cost of speed and time) on a medium-speed double track railway, they clearly care a lot more about reducing capital expenditure than they do about the long term profitability and efficiency of the railroad. It's definitely going to be cheaper long term to build double track bridges from the start and to electrify the entire line. Of course, they already invested into shiny diesel electrics now, but as they expand their lines and increase frequencies, the better business move is to trickle down the diesel electrics to new lines and to electrify the lines that have established ridership. It worries me that they aren't talking about providing the clearance for future overhead electrification on this newly built Orlando line. If their bridges and tunnels don't have that clearance built in, electrifying later will be much more expensive, and as they are clearly scared of capital expenditure, it will then never happen. At least even diesel electric trains are better than cars.
Has Brightline given any indication that they plan to extend past Tampa proper in to Pinellas county? I know I would take the train to Orlando rather than drive as long as I didn’t have to drive to Tampa to board said train. A guy can dream right?
When will there be an update video showcasing the entire corridor? The extension from Cocoa to Orlando is practically done with exception to track being placed.
VERY well done like all your videos! I appreciate all the time you put into making this!
Thanks a lot! I'm glad you liked it!
Can someone please come up to Vermont to show our Government how a Transit system can fit in here ? Everything that's needed is a plan and political will .
The people are ready .
The most comprehensive video on Brightline rail construction I've seen.
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
Can't wait to ride this, thanks for the update!
Anything to get cars off the highways and to keep the air cleaner. Now if the cost to ride could only be reasonable.😛
Finally, some actual good rail infrastructure.
The depressing part is that it is a decade or two behind most European and Asian countries.
Don't forget to rub your nose as soon as you take your mask off. Please? Thank you 😊 💓 love you. 💘
I wish that one day Brightline would make a direct line froth NY to Florida
I always enjoy your videos, Thanks for doing what you do.
i look forward to the line from my hometown to Las Vegas. CA been talking to get a line to las vegas for years but nothing has come from it.
I’m ready to ride it! Hopefully when it opens and people get the joy speeding past cars on I-15, just to go sit in bumper to bumper traffic on Cajon Pass, the message might sink in that, “hey, maybe cars aren’t the greatest thing ever” lol
@@TheFourFoot there is a long and very bad history with how the car came about in the USA. i looked in to the trolly system the was in the inland empire in the early 1900s but was all dismataled around the 1920 buy gm and a few other car companys at the time. there is some straets in san beridno that you can tell had trolly lines on them in the past with how wide they are
Oh I know lol. I definitely plan to a couple videos on the story in the future. It’s a very shameful chapter in American history, and one that cities across the country will be recovering from for the next century at least.
@@TheFourFoot love to see that video then i love history the good and the bad we all can learn from it when we analyze what happened back then to make the future a better place.
Very detailed video. Thanks for sharing 👍
Thanks a lot!
110MPH between WPB and Cocoa? And let the carnage begin!
Yeahhhhh, about that lol. We’ll certainly see how it goes!
I would love to see an update to this video, May of 2021 now May of 2022
As much as this is awesome by US rail standards Its still a joke, as you said the east coast shore line will still be single track in places plus it has to go thru heaps of deadly grade crossings.
Basically lol
why "tunnell" and not "underpass"
Awesome update, thanks for the detailed video!
I glad you liked it!
I really enjoy this update vids, thanks for posting them!
I’m glad you like em, thanks!
Looks like it would be High Speed Water-skiing if you ever jumped off the track...........
the rest of Zone 2 are completed in orlando, zone 3 currently under construction and tracks laid in Cocoa
the last rail train arrived from Orlando to Cocoa as of August. After that, the rest of Zone 3 is Complete
I don’t see this train going more than 75 to 80mph. With every town wanting a station, you’ll have too many stops to run 100mph
There definitely won't be any stops between Orlando and Cocoa, and currently I don't think they have any stations planned north of West Palm Beach, but they definitely could add some. Between Orlando and Cocoa is supposed to be up to 125 mph though.
21:50 Not Day Las Blvd but Dallas as you said earlier in the video. I own land just off of it in Wedgefield ( Rocket City for those who bought long ago ). Dallas Blvd is the long gone FEC ROW to Okeechobee.
Too excited 😁
🇰🇷 korea 🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷
L
I am honestly amazed at the amount of single tracks they are using... seems like a recipe for disaster in the future
same lol
J
Where is St Johns Creek???
33:30 it’s a pretty big bridge lol
Fortress sold FEC rail to Grupo Mexico Transportes in 2017, fyi.
Indeed
Ww85r
They should electrify the line
They should, but it’s gonna be a while lol
This might be of interest as a concept
www.keymodernrailways.com/article/vivarail-zero-emission-trains-video
@@fenlinescouser3898
It isn’t.
For local trains maybe but not for long distance or high speed service...
And you have to carry the batteries with you, not very efficient.
@@aoilpe I'm not suggesting using the class 230 as such but as a concept this may be up-scaled. It is worth noting that the Voith transmission DMUs referred to in the interview include units with 100mph top speeds some of which are employed on regional services.
The technology lends itself to the electrification of longer lines using non-continuous catenary considerably reducing construction costs.
Also Hitachi (UK) are currently investigating fitment of batteries to some of their Inter-City fleet for extension of services "beyond the wires." These are 125mph units (140mph capable with signal upgrade) currently using diesel generators for the same purpose.
My thoughts are that if the Orlando extension were to be electrified then it might be possible to run over the FEC shared track using battery power and "topping up" with fast chargers at station stops.
We need something between Atlanta and South Florida - Amtrak has no route - go to Florida via Washington DC -dumb
Yes we do! I will start being really impressed with Brightline if they could pull something like that off.
World's slowest HSR.
It's higher speed rail, not high speed rail
That ramp that's going away is called Cargo Loop Rd. Of the four ramps, one is Cargo Slip and the other three are Cargo Loop. Maybe the new one will be called Cargo Hill?
I approve lol
I can't recall WHERE exactly I saw it, but I know I read a comment somewhere basically saying that Brightline's going with single track for now in the short term whilst making sure they have the capacity needed for the long term plan of having a fully double tracked line. So depending on how things play out, they've either played their cards in a smart way, or shot themselves in the foot. Really depends on traffic levels and how they go once the government decides to shove off with lockdowns and mass media quits fear mongering with constant news on, as it's called in the American Rail Club, the c00f.
Edit: Also, if Brightline wants 110MPH on the Miami to WPB section, they're gonna HAVE to take the plunge and fence in their right of way and do as many grade crossing eliminations as possible. There's no way you have a relatively clean safety record when you're doing 110MPH on a non-fenced in track with multiple public grade crossings with some in quiet zones IIRC.
Yeah let’s hope they made the right decision lol
What's the song that plays at 28:00? It's really good
I really appreciate the synth soundtrack to this video
I’m not sure of the name, but the link to the whole soundtrack is in the description.
Great work!
Thanks a lot!
What about the ones from cocoa to west palm beach
My only wish is that it could happen sooner
I have a question how long will take to get to Disney by train to the airport
I live near the airport
I would imagine like 20 minutes or so. They’re certainly not going to be doing 110 mph through Orlando.
Is bright line coming in Lakeland I live on that area ?
Brightline will eventually pass through Lakeland on its way to Tampa, but that extension has only been proposed and not yet designed or approved.
@@TheFourFoot so it’s going to pass Lakeland but no stop ?
It’s not fully designed yet, so I don’t know. A stop in Lakeland is likely to be built at some point, though.
How noisy will this be for the homes along 528 at Dallas?
Definitely no louder than 528 itself.
Atlanta will also be a hub with talks of a station being built in. Downtown what they call “The gauge area” near Benz stadium with future “ high speed rail” in mind..... there is talk of high speed rail between Atlanta and Charlotte.... also Atlanta and Savannah
If they can pull it off, I’ll be sincerely impressed!
GDoT and Amtrack are all over it....just hold your breath....for about two centuries. ..OH WAIT...
What a great video!!
I'm so disappointed that there will be no station stop in Brevard Country, specifically in the Cocoa Area, which would give people easy access to the Space Center, Cruise port, etc. and back to the Orlando International Airport.
Indeed. They may still build one at a future date...
Very cool!
Glorioso tren
Wow amazing job keep up the great work
Thanks a lot!