Brightline Train MCO to MIAMI - Pricing and Schedule announcement!

[SteerageJoe]

One way - $79 Smart, $149 Premium. Family of 4 or less - $199

Hourly

First departure from MCO - 5 am, last departure - 8:50 pm

Earliest arrival in Miami - 8:30 am

 

First departure from Miami - 5:45 am on weekends and 6:50 am on weekdays

Earliest arrival at MCO from Miami - 9:15 am on weekends, 10:15 am on weekdays

 

Tickets go on sale in May - no start date yet!

[Rothko1]

Interesting.

 

Certainly will help make MCO an available airport for the folks in South Florida.

[bajathree]

So it's taking 3.5hrs to get from MCO to Miami.....thats pretty darn slow for what they call a high speed rail.

[JohninDC]

On 4/21/2023 at 5:31 AM, bajathree said:

So it's taking 3.5hrs to get from MCO to Miami.....thats pretty darn slow for what they call a high speed rail.

All the stops slow them down

[bajathree]

13 hours ago, JohninDC said:

All the stops slow them down

Thats a shame.....the ride time is pretty much equal to drive time....making it much less appealing IMO. When you think of a high speed train you think of FFFFaassstttttttt....

[Rothko1]

1 hour ago, bajathree said:

Thats a shame.....the ride time is pretty much equal to drive time....making it much less appealing IMO. When you think of a high speed train you think of FFFFaassstttttttt....

 

Well, it's sure not a Japanese bullet train

[mailmama]

On 4/21/2023 at 4:31 AM, bajathree said:

So it's taking 3.5hrs to get from MCO to Miami.....thats pretty darn slow for what they call a high speed rail.

Yes, but I don't have to do the driving!!

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

On 4/21/2023 at 5:31 AM, bajathree said:

So it's taking 3.5hrs to get from MCO to Miami.....thats pretty darn slow for what they call a high speed rail.

No one has called it "high speed rail".

It's called "higher speed rail".

[BoozinCroozin]

These prices make driving a much better option. There is no way I would pay those prices. Add in the cost of transfers and everything else, you are at an extremely pretty penny to get around on it.

[Capt_BJ]

No one has called it "high speed rail".

It's called "higher speed rail".

 

actually BL has used that term often and the press usually does

 

but high speed and higher speed actually have legal meanings in this context and for most of its route BL is higher and not HIGH ... higher is slower and required far less SAFETY by design. 

 

Only after the route turns to the east west leg - between Cocoa and MCO, along the 528 corridor - does the track have no grade level crossings and full fencing required to run at what's legally (in US) HIGH SPEED RAIL speeds. <even then the planned speed is below full 'high speed' legal limits>

 

Curious side bar - the trains are still in the earlies test phases here in the Cocoa area and on the entire east/west leg .. I've yet to even SEE one locally ......  the local first responders held a combines 'mass casualty exercise' ... dubbed off the tracks .....  🤕

Edited April 26, 2023 by Capt_BJ

[bajathree]

9 hours ago, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

No one has called it "high speed rail".

It's called "higher speed rail".

Actually Brightline calls it exactly ..."HIGH-SPEED RAIL"

We're here to get you to South Florida's top events, concerts, beaches, or the office with high-speed rail service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. The future looks even brighter. Service from Miami to Orlando begins in 2023, with stops at our shiny new stations in Aventura and Boca Raton along the way.

https://www.gobrightline.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwl6OiBhA2EiwAuUwWZT9H8AcgnecQOfpN8Oz0JlK7YoyHDhzsCdiGJ0J-mvd1489suK7D-hoCi7gQAvD_BwE

[Rothko1]

I think that's called "puffing"

[SteerageJoe]

Amtrak is 5h20 mins from Kissimmee to Miami for $38. So Brightline is certainly “faster-speed rail”!!!

[Mud_Shark]

certainly has appeal to us.  Spend a few days in Orlando then take the BL to Port Everglades or Miami for a cruise - can take the train on departure day.  Makes it less logistically cumbersome.

 

[Cienfuegos]

The US federal government has terms which they apply to rail service, for what's it's worth. Different speeds call for different crash worthiness standards, track maintenance, etc.

 

BrightLine travels at up to 79 mph in the section currently in use, south of West Palm Beach. My understanding is it will travel at the same speed to Jensen Beach, with a 35 mph limit on the Stuart and Tequesta bridges. Between Jensen Beach and Cocoa, it will travel at up to 110 mph. On the new track from Cocoa to Orlando it will travel at up to 125 mph.  There are no road crossings on the track west of Cocoa.

 

The feds also have rules about rail car crash worthiness (no stairs at the end of the cars, for example), and how frequently the track has to be inspected. At 125 mph, I believe it is every three days.

[BoozinCroozin]

This has to be the dumbest thing I have seen. The cost difference to drive makes this a joke. $80 or $199 for a family of 4 1-way. Even if this is a trip to Disney or Universal, there is no time savings and definitely far more expensive than driving. Miami to PC is ~3.5 hours. Cost of fuel in a gas guzzler that get 20mpg is only ~$40. 

 

Brightline 1-way for 4 to PC: $199 (3 hours + any time to get to the terminal in Miami); $100 shuttle from MCO to PC (45 minutes + time to get to pick up area + time waiting for shuttle/ride). Total time ~4:15 at a cost of $299. RT = ~$600

 

Drive yourself to PC 1-way: ~$40 gas from Miami to PC (3:30 direct to port terminal); $125 parking at terminal. Total cost = $165.  RT = ~$200. 

 

I will save the $400 and drive myself for convenience and manage my own delays. When a train delays, you have no options because they are not permitted to let you off.