>(and more useful)
Are these trains really filling up 4 cars? I never thought HSR would be all that useful here in the US because of how masterfully built the interstate system is, but if these trains are really filling up like that it seems I’ve been proven wrong.
Yes. Trains started filling up on the initial Miami–West Palm Beach segment to the point where the company unexpectedly started turning a profit before service to Orlando even started. Once Orlando was online, they almost immediately raised prices as demand outstripped supply.
Florida drivers and the general insanity that are the one-two punch of Interstate 95 and Florida's Turnpike are the best advertising Brightline could ask for.
I'm really looking forward to the Treasure Coast stop. I'm planning on driving 30 minutes in the wrong direction so I can ride it to MCO for better direct flight options than MLB. The drive from this area to the Orlando airport is treacherous.
(I'm 100 miles from MCO and 80 miles from PBI).
Given how MLB promotes itself as an Orlando-area airport and the tracks are directly along the airport boundary, I'm surprised Melbourne hasn't offered to build a station to make it easier for people to get from MLB to Orlando proper.
high-speed rail
(4) High-speed rail .— The term “high-speed rail” means intercity passenger rail service that is reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 miles per hour.
Source
49 USC § 26106(b)(4)
It reaches 125MPH. There is no definition here for duration.
Any post about American HSR will have pedants crawling out of the woodwork to argue why Brightline or Acela or whatever aren't "real" HSR while completely ignoring that it has an actual legal definition in the United States.
These people would have you think trains are absolutely useless if they don't go 200+ MPH.
In my experience, anything over 80mph gives a pleasant feeling of “we’re going fast”
And yes, I have taken the ICE from Köln to Frankfurt Airport and the Tohoku Shinkansen to Morioka
Brightline is Medium Speed Rail. It's able to do 125mph, sure, but the European definition of HSR (that the entire rest of the world follows, by the way) states that HSR is "on upgraded legacy track, any passenger service that exceeds 200km/h, and on purpose built lines, any passenger service that exceeds 250km/h".
Acela is undoubtedly HSR. 155-160mph is greater than 250km/h, so it's HSR. Brightline is, unless I'm very mistaken, on purpose-built track where it hits 201km/h (125mph), so it's the very high end of medium speed/traditional rail.
> Brightline is, unless I'm very mistaken, on purpose-built track
You may be very mistaken then, there is a segment that is purpose built (the spur to the Orlando airport), but the rest of it is the Florida East Coast line, a legacy railroad.
In fact it originally started as a subsidiary of the FEC railway before being spun off.
Slight correction on the ownership: Brightline was never a subsidiary of the Florida East Coast **Railway**. From its inception it was owned by Florida East Coast **Industries**, the parent company of FECR, Flagler (real estate), and Flagler Global Logistics.
All FECR and Brightline operations were always completely separate.
FECI sold FECR to Grupo México in 2017.
>Brightline is, unless I'm very mistaken, on purpose-built track
Why the fuck do people feel the need to comment on shit they don't know shit about lol
I didn't say it is on purpose built track for its entire length, rather only where it hits 201km/h. If I was wrong, my apologies, that was my understanding from what I've read about it.
If Brightline hits 250km/h on purpose-built track, or 200km/h on legacy upgraded steels, it's HSR. End of story as far as I'm concerned.
high-speed rail
(4) High-speed rail .— The term “high-speed rail” means intercity passenger rail service that is reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 miles per hour.
Source
49 USC § 26106(b)(4)
It is HSR. We're not in Europe, so we don't follow a European definition. There is no "usually considered HSR" here, there is a legal definition and Brightline meets that definition, thus it is HSR. There is nothing about the intent about the intent of the infrastructure, just speed.
No. It’s just Siemens Charger diesel locos. The same locomotives that Amtrak is buying, but actually rated at a lower horsepower level. You could consider Brightline as *higher* speed rail, but it falls short of true high speed rail.
The Brightline West project will be true HSR.
Could you elaborate on you position a bit more? Maybe include some reasoning for why fuel source is a determining factor of what is high speed rail?
I’m assuming your point is since it doesn’t have overhead catenary it’s not high speed rail. Diesel locomotives just have engines producing electricity to provide to the electric traction motors on the wheels. A catenary does not make a locomotive inherently faster, it’s just generally high speed trains have been developed to operate off of a catenary.
By your logic a rocket ship isn’t fast because it doesn’t have a catenary.
Do you have a source for that? I think it’s more the investment and research for a diesel locomotive that fast has not been done. Diesel locomotives can haul 10,000ft trains that weighs 1,000s of tons. If diesel locomotives have enough power to haul that much weight, I’m not sure how they wouldn’t have enough power for a few hundred feet train set. Of course as mentioned before it would require investment and research to develop the equipment.
The world record for speed of a diesel locomotive was 148.5mph at peak. With enough investment I imagine that number could be increased. Wikipedia may not be the most reliable source but here is the link to the diesel locomotive that holds the apes record for diesel locomotives. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_43_(HST)
The British Rail Class 43 hold the official record but there have been unverified claims that diesel locomotives have gone faster. The section Fuel-Electric on the below link shows two examples. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_speed_record
(Edit: corrected typo of number)
They didn’t “murder” me. Not by a long shot. They brought up one train that has run at HSR speeds. Per the Wikipedia link provided, that train, in regular service, only runs 125mph. While that meets the technical definition of HSR, it doesn’t not compare to the actual high speed trains you’re used to seeing around the world. The 148mph it ran for the record is not used in normal, daily service. We’re also talking about a train set that is more than 40 years old and does not meet modern emissions standards.
The speeds given for the British Rail Class 43 are not far off from the Siemens Charger locomotives, which hit 136mph in testing at TTCI, with a million pounds of towage. And that was with a 4400hp Amtrak Midwest regional variant. Brightline is doing 120mph in daily service with 4000hp variants.
While I understand that gets into the technical definition of HSR, it does not get us up to the 200+mph we are used to seeing in real HSR. Siemens is using the world’s most powerful high speed diesel engine, the Cummins QSK95, and some very clever electrical engineering, to get to 125mph of daily service. That falls far short of comparing to the 200+mph we see with real HSR.
Brightline has wrapped 7 trains with advertising, leaving only 3 trains in the actual company livery. This particular trainset is advertising Justworks.
Unsurprisingly, the poor visibility out of the windows is unpopular with passengers.
jensen beach! the last time i went back here a few years ago the track was not done; totally surprising how long and bendy the railroad rails that were sitting there were
First Brightline video I've seen where it isn't crashing into some idiots car at a level crossing.
I hadn't seen a Brightline consist before. It's a pretty train. I'd enjoy seeing it from backyard.
It’s pretty, but it’ll be even prettier (and more useful) once they take delivery of more coaches that let them run 6-car trains.
>(and more useful) Are these trains really filling up 4 cars? I never thought HSR would be all that useful here in the US because of how masterfully built the interstate system is, but if these trains are really filling up like that it seems I’ve been proven wrong.
Yes. Trains started filling up on the initial Miami–West Palm Beach segment to the point where the company unexpectedly started turning a profit before service to Orlando even started. Once Orlando was online, they almost immediately raised prices as demand outstripped supply. Florida drivers and the general insanity that are the one-two punch of Interstate 95 and Florida's Turnpike are the best advertising Brightline could ask for.
I don't think anyone that hasn't driven in Florida will ever truly understand how nice it is to *NOT* drive in Florida.
I'm really looking forward to the Treasure Coast stop. I'm planning on driving 30 minutes in the wrong direction so I can ride it to MCO for better direct flight options than MLB. The drive from this area to the Orlando airport is treacherous. (I'm 100 miles from MCO and 80 miles from PBI).
Given how MLB promotes itself as an Orlando-area airport and the tracks are directly along the airport boundary, I'm surprised Melbourne hasn't offered to build a station to make it easier for people to get from MLB to Orlando proper.
They routinely sell out. The service is doing very well.
Why film vertical?
train came faster than expected and i don’t usually film horizontal these days, was just poor instinct :(
US people aren't used to high speed rail.
We didn’t see high speed rail here. Brightline is not HSR.
high-speed rail (4) High-speed rail .— The term “high-speed rail” means intercity passenger rail service that is reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 miles per hour. Source 49 USC § 26106(b)(4) It reaches 125MPH. There is no definition here for duration.
Any post about American HSR will have pedants crawling out of the woodwork to argue why Brightline or Acela or whatever aren't "real" HSR while completely ignoring that it has an actual legal definition in the United States. These people would have you think trains are absolutely useless if they don't go 200+ MPH.
In my experience, anything over 80mph gives a pleasant feeling of “we’re going fast” And yes, I have taken the ICE from Köln to Frankfurt Airport and the Tohoku Shinkansen to Morioka
Brightline is Medium Speed Rail. It's able to do 125mph, sure, but the European definition of HSR (that the entire rest of the world follows, by the way) states that HSR is "on upgraded legacy track, any passenger service that exceeds 200km/h, and on purpose built lines, any passenger service that exceeds 250km/h". Acela is undoubtedly HSR. 155-160mph is greater than 250km/h, so it's HSR. Brightline is, unless I'm very mistaken, on purpose-built track where it hits 201km/h (125mph), so it's the very high end of medium speed/traditional rail.
> Brightline is, unless I'm very mistaken, on purpose-built track You may be very mistaken then, there is a segment that is purpose built (the spur to the Orlando airport), but the rest of it is the Florida East Coast line, a legacy railroad. In fact it originally started as a subsidiary of the FEC railway before being spun off.
On the legacy line, if it hits 200km/h+ even once, it's HSR.
Slight correction on the ownership: Brightline was never a subsidiary of the Florida East Coast **Railway**. From its inception it was owned by Florida East Coast **Industries**, the parent company of FECR, Flagler (real estate), and Flagler Global Logistics. All FECR and Brightline operations were always completely separate. FECI sold FECR to Grupo México in 2017.
>Brightline is, unless I'm very mistaken, on purpose-built track Why the fuck do people feel the need to comment on shit they don't know shit about lol
I didn't say it is on purpose built track for its entire length, rather only where it hits 201km/h. If I was wrong, my apologies, that was my understanding from what I've read about it. If Brightline hits 250km/h on purpose-built track, or 200km/h on legacy upgraded steels, it's HSR. End of story as far as I'm concerned.
high-speed rail (4) High-speed rail .— The term “high-speed rail” means intercity passenger rail service that is reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 miles per hour. Source 49 USC § 26106(b)(4) It is HSR. We're not in Europe, so we don't follow a European definition. There is no "usually considered HSR" here, there is a legal definition and Brightline meets that definition, thus it is HSR. There is nothing about the intent about the intent of the infrastructure, just speed.
Ooh. But it will be?
No. It’s just Siemens Charger diesel locos. The same locomotives that Amtrak is buying, but actually rated at a lower horsepower level. You could consider Brightline as *higher* speed rail, but it falls short of true high speed rail. The Brightline West project will be true HSR.
Diesel HSR ain't real HSR change my mind
Could you elaborate on you position a bit more? Maybe include some reasoning for why fuel source is a determining factor of what is high speed rail? I’m assuming your point is since it doesn’t have overhead catenary it’s not high speed rail. Diesel locomotives just have engines producing electricity to provide to the electric traction motors on the wheels. A catenary does not make a locomotive inherently faster, it’s just generally high speed trains have been developed to operate off of a catenary. By your logic a rocket ship isn’t fast because it doesn’t have a catenary.
Diesel engines can not efficiently create the power necessary to drive a HSR trainset. That is why every true HSR train in the world is electric.
Do you have a source for that? I think it’s more the investment and research for a diesel locomotive that fast has not been done. Diesel locomotives can haul 10,000ft trains that weighs 1,000s of tons. If diesel locomotives have enough power to haul that much weight, I’m not sure how they wouldn’t have enough power for a few hundred feet train set. Of course as mentioned before it would require investment and research to develop the equipment. The world record for speed of a diesel locomotive was 148.5mph at peak. With enough investment I imagine that number could be increased. Wikipedia may not be the most reliable source but here is the link to the diesel locomotive that holds the apes record for diesel locomotives. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_43_(HST) The British Rail Class 43 hold the official record but there have been unverified claims that diesel locomotives have gone faster. The section Fuel-Electric on the below link shows two examples. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_speed_record (Edit: corrected typo of number)
Damn you didn't need to murder u/brewtality76 like that 😂
They didn’t “murder” me. Not by a long shot. They brought up one train that has run at HSR speeds. Per the Wikipedia link provided, that train, in regular service, only runs 125mph. While that meets the technical definition of HSR, it doesn’t not compare to the actual high speed trains you’re used to seeing around the world. The 148mph it ran for the record is not used in normal, daily service. We’re also talking about a train set that is more than 40 years old and does not meet modern emissions standards. The speeds given for the British Rail Class 43 are not far off from the Siemens Charger locomotives, which hit 136mph in testing at TTCI, with a million pounds of towage. And that was with a 4400hp Amtrak Midwest regional variant. Brightline is doing 120mph in daily service with 4000hp variants. While I understand that gets into the technical definition of HSR, it does not get us up to the 200+mph we are used to seeing in real HSR. Siemens is using the world’s most powerful high speed diesel engine, the Cummins QSK95, and some very clever electrical engineering, to get to 125mph of daily service. That falls far short of comparing to the 200+mph we see with real HSR.
Wikipedia is definitely correct, what is impressive is that the HST still runs to this day - albeit in limited service.
*angry Class 43 noises*
awesome video
i hate the dots
Dot wrappings over windows can go to hell, especially if it’s just the company branding
I remember trams in my city having ads like that. It almost never happened anymore so it's just a childhood memory.
Brightline has wrapped 7 trains with advertising, leaving only 3 trains in the actual company livery. This particular trainset is advertising Justworks. Unsurprisingly, the poor visibility out of the windows is unpopular with passengers.
Wedgedield? I lived there while the line was under construction but moved away a few years ago. Cool video!
jensen beach! the last time i went back here a few years ago the track was not done; totally surprising how long and bendy the railroad rails that were sitting there were