State soliciting bids for I-Drive rail; closes at end of month; may go to Disney

PeterAlt

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Technically, without a link to wherever it was you purport to have "read" it, yes, it was you. :cautious:
Take my word for it... I've been following this since the start and read everything I can find with stories about it. I could search for it, but not now. Maybe later. Could have been Orlando a Business Journal or the Orlando Sentinel.
 

PeterAlt

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This is off-topic, but since I started this thread, I'm announcing it here...

As of today, I have over 2,000 likes!

2,004 exactly!

Thank you everyone!

(Except a few odd balls who aren't able to read this but that's their problem...)
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
Light rail from a new terminal at MCO directly connected to WDW seems to me to be a practical way to go and would solve many problems. It also could easily be put out for bid because it would definitely be profitable. And could be built in a year or two rather than a decade or more.

IMO

But like times before, those whose properties aren't serviced will try to block it.
 

orky8

Well-Known Member
This is off-topic, but since I started this thread, I'm announcing it here...

As of today, I have over 2,000 likes!

2,004 exactly!

Thank you everyone!

(Except a few odd balls who aren't able to read this but that's their problem...)

That is kinda scary.. :)
 

CentralFLlife

Well-Known Member
Keep in mind that just because they are proposing a maglev doesn't mean that its going to be going 350mph down I drive. One reason the cost for this is so low, which I think even 315 million is way to low for any type of urban rail transport, is that this is probably going to be a non high speed maglev, look for it to go about 60 mph which is what AMT's test facility's max operation speed is.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
Transportation engineer to the rescue! The weight of the trains would be transferred to the guideway through the magnetic field (like what happens when you try to put the "wrong" ends of 2 magnets together). The vibration and movement of the trains would be factored in with a "live load", which would probably be less with maglev than traditional rail, but not insignificant. As has already been mentioned, the trains themselves would likely be lighter than traditional ones, but the magnetic equipment embedded in the track would certainly make up for the difference.

While a maglev system would need to be completely separate from street traffic, it could run at ground level where it doesn't need to cross over/under streets. Depending what corridor they choose, this could help save some money in comparison to a tall structure for the entire length. If it's along an urban corridor, it will pretty much need to be aerial or below grade the entire time

One weight advantage for a fixed-guideway system (maglev, airport tram, etc) or light rail, when compared to traditional subway or Amtrak-type trains, is that the trains themselves can be fairly light duty. Since they won't be operating on the same tracks with freight trains, any impacts from a potential collision (with another passenger train or automobile) would be smaller, leading to a lighter design; from the sound of the article, any of the options on the table right now would have this benefit



Light rail would most likely be less expensive, but that's a pretty long trip for a light rail system. Generally speaking, LRT works best when stations are roughly 0.75mi apart (closer stations are better for buses, farther stations are better for subway-type trains); with all of those stops (and surface street traffic to contend with), the ~25mi journey from MCO to WDW would be quite slow and tedious

Check google maps. Nowhere near 25 if exiting from the proposed new terminal and going south. In my scenario it would not have any stops along the way. And yes, subway type trains are best.
 

PeterAlt

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Keep in mind that just because they are proposing a maglev doesn't mean that its going to be going 350mph down I drive. One reason the cost for this is so low, which I think even 315 million is way to low for any type of urban rail transport, is that this is probably going to be a non high speed maglev, look for it to go about 60 mph which is what AMT's test facility's max operation speed is.
49 MPH top speed to be exact.
 

CentralFLlife

Well-Known Member
49 MPH top speed to be exact.
Then building a maglev is pointless, way to high of construction cost, too high maintenance cost, way to high of risk of reliability problems for it. Build an elevated rail system and call it a day, cheaper, reliable, easier to maintain, and possibly a higher capacity. Much more bang for your buck.
 

PeterAlt

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Then building a maglev is pointless, way to high of construction cost, too high maintenance cost, way to high of risk of reliability problems for it. Build an elevated rail system and call it a day, cheaper, reliable, easier to maintain, and possibly a higher capacity. Much more bang for your buck.
It's more like a people mover than a maglev. Maglev is just the propulsion system.
 

fillerup

Well-Known Member
Check google maps. Nowhere near 25 if exiting from the proposed new terminal and going south. In my scenario it would not have any stops along the way. And yes, subway type trains are best.

American Maglev's proposal to operate a train includes three phases. Phase 1 is airport to OCCC.

Phase 2 is from MCO to Medical City, Lake Nona - 4.9 miles, 10 minutes travel time.

Phase 3 would be Medical City to WDW with three to four stations - 19.4 miles, 22 minutes travel time.

Thus, a total of 4 to 5 stations - 24.3 miles. Estimated travel time 32 min plus whatever the instation time at Lake Nona is.
 
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bhg469

Well-Known Member
Lighter than elevated electric rail...not likely. While you can ditch the weight of the motors you still need the equipment to generate the magnetic field and that is not light by any means.

Less vibration...maybe.
Electro magnets are not light at all.
 

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. They weight is pushing on the magnetic field, and the field comes from the magnets.. so the weight is pushed onto the magnets. Either way, maglev or not, you need to support the weight of the train. You're implying they've invented anti-gravity technology.
But are normal magnets are strong to do that? I honestly dont think so.
Because..Dont maglevs rely on powerful electromagnets with shifting polarities?
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Electro magnets are not light at all.
No they are not. The trains themselves might be lighter for a maglev, but the electromagnets in the track will more than make up for the weight saved if not exceed it. About the only engineering savings you would possible see is from a lighter train producing a little less of a live load on the track.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
But are normal magnets are strong to do that? I honestly dont think so.
Because..Dont maglevs rely on powerful electromagnets with shifting polarities?
They do require electromagnets, but the principle is still the same. The load of the train is transferred through the magnetic field to the track. It does not matter if that magnetic field is generated by a refrigerator magnet or a high powered electromagnet.
 

71jason

Well-Known Member
Check google maps. Nowhere near 25 if exiting from the proposed new terminal and going south. In my scenario it would not have any stops along the way. And yes, subway type trains are best.

Agreed, the bulk of the trip is a 10-mile stretch of 528. Maybe a couple miles at the airport (especially with the new terminal as you say), no more than half a mile or so at OCC end. 60 mph would be fine for that, still easily under a half an hour.
 

Vegas Disney Fan

Well-Known Member
I was a huge monorail fan until we built one in Las Vegas, now I'm convinced they are not financially viable in ANY situation for mass transit. The Las Vegas strip / Convention Center route was supposed to be a guaranteed success because it's one of the heaviest traveled corridors in the country but it's failed miserably. What was once a privately funded monorail backed by Nevada bonds is now a huge financial failure that is ultimately going to fall on the tax payers to pay off and there is even talk that demolishing the entire system may be cheaper in the long term than maintaining it.

I am also very suspect of the $315 million cost, monorails typically cost about $150 million a mile and every other MagLev proposal I've read about was in the billions.

Call me jaded because our system failed so miserably but I'd be very shocked if your contract doesn't go to a "friend" of your politicians and you aren't left with a money pit that tax payers are ultimately on the hook for.

Knowing what I know now I wish we'd have put in a "boring" ground based light rail like Salt Lake City has, it's cheap, it's reliable, and it's economically feasible.
 

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