Per the Orlando Business Journal, the SunRail station at Springs is back on the table for Disney. Which makes getting brightline service a lot easier, and ironically may help SunRail get service in Polk County over the line - because a lack of a Disney stop was a big complaint for their leadership.
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Rumor Higher Speed Rail from MCO to Disney World
- Thread starter UCF
- Start date
Rich Brownn
Well-Known Member
Oh they'll build it alright. The cities of Tampa, Orlando and Universal will make sure of it. after all, they're building the Vegas line now, when a lot of people said they'd never do it (probably the same people who said they'd never build the Orlando leg)
Rich Brownn
Well-Known Member
The benefit is it wont take you 2 1/2 hours to go 75 miles during rush hour. I-4 is, and always will be, a mess of traffic, no matter how much they expand it. The "ultimate I4" project which was already done proved that.
Rich Brownn
Well-Known Member
There's more to Tampa than beaches (which technically are actually elsewhere like Clearwater). Fine dining, entertainment, museums, a spectacular aquarium, a whole historical area....
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
I agree but the example was going to the beach
Andrew25
Well-Known Member
No, but there are a lot of folks who'd gladly pay (take an extra hour or two) to avoid I-75
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
I don't know, it is a 3 hour drive and you have a car at the other end. Can be a nightmare if stupidity takes over but going at odd times can help, driving in for sunrise can be a very nice way to arrive
Ayla
Well-Known Member
It's already a 4 hour drive...why would you add another hour+ to it, especially on I4??
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Nobody is taking that option away from you. For me, I have never had a car in Miami and can’t think why I would want one. But that’s me.
Twirlnhurl
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but no one is driving from The Grand Floridian to Epcot via the TTC.
It doesn't make sense to drive between Tampa and Miami via Orlando, but it does make sense to travel by train between the two via Orlando.
In fact, if you were to drive between downtown Tampa and Miami Central Station today, April 30, 2024 leaving at 8:15pm, it would take 3:55 assuming no stops according to Google taking the fastest route (I-75).
When Brightline connects Tampa to Miami via Orlando, it will take about 3:45-4:15, depending on the specific route and operational plan that is chosen.
If Brightline completes the extension by 2030, do you think the drive time will be that low? Sure, I-75 might be widened in the next six years outside of Miami. But in Miami? Those freeways are as wide as they can be and thry will have worse traffic than they have today.
Travel times will be longer by car than by train by the time Brightline opens. Trains don't usually take longer to go somewhere when more people ride them. And the Brightline train to Tampa will be cheaper to build than widening I-4 and I-75. That doesn't mean we shouldn't do both eventually.
Twirlnhurl
Well-Known Member
I hope they do build it. I just think that it is going to take a lot of things going right to make it happen.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
I don't understand why anyone would be opposed to an extension of rail service.
Even if you're like me and mostly prefer having a car for a variety of reasons, having functional rail service (or other forms of public transit) make the driving experience better too because it takes people off the roads.
It generally benefits everyone.
Even if you're like me and mostly prefer having a car for a variety of reasons, having functional rail service (or other forms of public transit) make the driving experience better too because it takes people off the roads.
It generally benefits everyone.
Tampa plays second fiddle to Orlando in terms of tourists coming to visit. More attractions, excursions etc in Orlando. For a young family with kids , I would think they would not be going to Tampa to take them to fine dining , museums , historical . Orlando , hands down is a premier destination.
Andrew25
Well-Known Member
We're not saying it's better to drive through Orlando and then onto Tampa. I'm saying that someone would rather take a "longer" Brightline trip from Miami/SoFl through Orlando and onto Tampa instead of I-75.
It's not just timing that people consider, some people just don't want to make the drive themselves.
It's also nice to have a 2nd option available outside driving and provide access to people who previously were never interested in making hour+ long drives.
JMcMahonEsq
Well-Known Member
But it’s not about taking options away from people. To invest the amount of money you would need for a project like this, you don’t do it just to provide another option. In broad strokes you need to 1) be providing a much better option to an existing market such that they will move from their current usage to the new one: 2) providing an option that is needed that’s wasn’t needed before, such that your the sole or best choice for a new developing market: 3) your new service creates an entirely new market that you can the serve. Or 4) the current market is of such high demand that your services could be introduced along side the existing offerings and still be profitable even if is not substantially better than what is already existing.
The only question from a private investment standpoint is does the project fit one of those 4 broad categories.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Again, you are not sharing anything people don’t say about the current service. You’re projecting you’re preferences onto others and ignoring people saying otherwise.
JMcMahonEsq
Well-Known Member
I am not projecting anything about personal preferences. My personal preferences aren't relevant at all to this business decision. First, no individuals preferences matter to any business decision, its about market demand overall. You can find any individual who might buy something. Second, I am not a resident of Florida, so if these service exists or not makes no real difference to me. I am not going use it (except for once a year at the outside from Hollywood to Orlando, so its really not that big of an impact to me) assuming there is any tax implications, I am not going to be paying for it, nor is it going to be diverting local resources from other options from my use. I am about as objective as it can get as it really doesn't matter/effect me one way or the other if this thing is build. The discussion isn't about if it would be nice if this thing existed, its about does it make financial sense to invest in the protect to build it.
I am not saying anything about the current services/options available. They too are somewhat irrelevant to whether the investment the size it will take to build this new rail system is worth if financially, except to the point where 1) the existing services are not set up to serve an emerging new market, and there has been no evidence presented that that is the case; 2) the new service would be cheaper/faster than the existing service, and if fact most people arguing the point seem to concede that is not the case.
The only things other have said is some people don't like traffic. Sure, tons of people don't like traffic. But considering national wide driving personal vehicles still remains the supermajority of the means of transportation, people get over it. I haven't seen anything that shows that this line will take enough people off the roads on a daily basis, to make it viable revenue generating project. The linkage to Tampa and the cruise port ect., isn't a bad justification, but is the demand for the need of rail Transporation between the two areas high enough to justify the cost of the project. Or do you think you're going to increase the demand for travel between the cities with a rail link, as opposed to the already available car/air travel to make it a profitable choice?
Who knew this thread would be as "entertaining" as the DAS one 
JMcMahonEsq
Well-Known Member
Are there "some" people who would rather take a longer trip than drive? I am sure there are, there are some people that like almost any kind of niche thing. There are some people who think the world is still flat. The question is are there enough people who would rather take the trip such that it makes sense to invest the money in the project. Your talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more, in investment and hoping to recoup that on the number of people who don't care about timing/cost, and just don't want to make the drive themselves. AND hoping there are enough people who think that way, and need the service on a regular basis enough such that its profitable. The length of the drive/projected train route from SoFL to Tamps is such that your not getting daily commuters.
I agree its always nice to have a second option. And more then one option for a service usually creates competition , and better services overall. But while its nice for the general public to have a 2nd option, that doesn't mean it's commercially viable for a private company to undertake the costs to create the second option.