The Brightline Thread

[eleven=11]

downtown Palm Beach foundations done while tracks works continue
the 7 v-shaped things holding up the station, those are done.
visited the site and City Place shopping center this week
also the new convention center hotel looks good/very modern design.

[202_Cyclist]

This isn't related to the FEC project but more broadly, to passenger rail in FL.

CSX's offer finally opens the door to commuter rail in Tampa Bay

By Caitlin Johnston
Tampa Bay Times
Oct. 2, 2015

"There are 96 miles of railroad track connecting the downtowns of Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Tampa. The steel grating links Tampa International Airport to the University of South Florida, stretches across four counties and reaches as far north as Brooksville.

Freight trains run on those tracks now. But they could, one day, form the spine of a passenger rail system that would finally connect Tampa Bay — and ease the region's dependence on roads.

This is no pie-in-the-sky scenario. It's an idea gaining sudden momentum because railroad giant CSX Corp. is shopping around two segments of its Tampa Bay routes..."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transpo...pa-bay/2248337

[Eightball]

^^^ that's dope!

Florida is showing some impressive momentum in public transit gains (Sunrail, Miami area improvements) and intercity rail (AAF). Let's hope it continues

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by Eightball

^^^ that's dope!

Florida is showing some impressive momentum in public transit gains (Sunrail, Miami area improvements) and intercity rail (AAF). Let's hope it continues

And the Fort Lauderdale streetcar/light rail. For a largely suburban sunbelt state, this is indeed impressive.

[Hatman]

These lines CSX is putting up for sale are nice, but it's too bad they aren't considering selling the one that goes in the direction of MacDill air force bace. There never was an existing rail right-of-way MORE PERFECT for a light rail line than this one. I mean, just go look at it on Google maps/earth! Start at the train station on the east side of Tampa Bay. From there it goes through downtown Tampa through the streets. Then it crosses a bridge and wraps around the University of Tampa. Then it goes in a fast, straight line down through several modestly dense neighborhoods and shopping centers, and then ends right near the front door of the air force base (you would need to get on a bus to get into the air force base, I imagine, so why not get into a base-provided shuttle at the light rail stop?)
I mean, if the politicians can't turn this thing into a transit corridor, there is no chance for them doing anything else. It is so absolutely PERFECT - just grab some DMU's, build wooden temporary platforms, and run it on the existing tracks for a while and see how much people like it!
And then, once All Aboard Florida comes to Tampa, imagine the awesome connection that will be, LRT to HSR!
(I'm assuming that if/when All Aboard Florida goes to Tampa it will stop at or near the existing train station... does anyone have any indications otherwise?)

[eleven=11]

those 7 v-shaped things are almost done
while lots of new tracks work going on in WPB.

[bobdreamz]

Office And Rental Towers Above MiamiCentral Set For Review
By TNM Staff on October 8, 2015

All Aboard Florida submitted long-awaited plans to the county yesterday for three ‘overbuild’ towers that will rise above the under-construction MiamiCentral project.

Plans call for two residential towers, each about 500 feet tall, along with a shorter office tower. In total, 800 rental units are planned in the first phase, along with about 200,000 square feet of office.

A robotic parking garage is planned below the towers, above the train station and retail space.

NBWW is the architect of the residential towers, while SOM designed the office towers. Zyscovich is an associate architect for all three towers.

Approval by a Dade zoning board is required, but the City of Miami won’t need to review the plans.


http://i.imgur.com/c15p9xk.jpg

http://www.thenextmiami.com/index.ph...et-for-review/

[bobdreamz]

Official filing with the FAA on October 5, 2015 :

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external...7711341&row=17



http://i.imgur.com/7GhTfJ7.jpg

Link: http://www.thenextmiami.com/index.ph...ach-1000-feet/

Original proposed height:

Figures :

Height: 341.4 m | 1,120 ft
Floors Above Ground : 80

http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/buil...entral-i/18065

[eleven=11]

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/list/...-stories/mLBw/
new bypass track done, i walked the track two weeks ago.
lots of guys working and track/train equipment

[BrennanW]

Have FEC selected which equipment will be used. For EIS 2017, these railcars must be in production soon, right?

[electricron]

Originally Posted by BrennanW

Have FEC selected which equipment will be used. For EIS 2017, these railcars must be in production soon, right?

Siemens got the contract to build the railcars, although not much detail has been provided. Siemens makes various railcars in Europe, so they'll probably be very similar to one of them in styling. I don't know if they will meet FRA regulations or meet alternate regulations with waivers. No livery, paint scheme, has been published to date, although I have recently read a rumor that more information about naming may be released soon, which I assume includes livery images.

[Busy Bee]

It's my understanding that AAF trainsets will be comprised of Siemens "Viagio Comfort" coaches hauled by Siemens Charger Tier IV locomotives. We know what the locomotives look like, much less vinfirnation is known for the U.S. spec coaches. Livery, aesthetic modifications is all speculation. Like you I am very eager to see how they turn out. I hope it's very slick and sophisticated, like the RailJet consists that are operated by several railways in Europe.

[Hatman]

This is from the TV ads. It has a nice Chesapeake & Ohio vibe going on, but I think a cool, sleek, futuristic scheme would be better than a retro one.

I'm really curious to hear what name they choose for their service. Amtrak's "Acela" name wasn't received well at first, but it's grown on me since. I wouldn't be nearly so critical this time around if AAF were to come up with a new word like that.

[ardecila]

MiamiCentral is very interesting... Especially the robotic parking. There's really no other good way to build a parking garage above a train station, unless you build bridges across the adjacent streets to a spiral ramp.

[eleven=11]

Published on Oct 17, 2015
One of the early rail trains for the All Aboard Florida double-tracking on the FEC Railway. Here we see the train offloading in the Hypoluxo passing track south of West Palm Beach (approx mp310). The process of getting each 1/4 mile long stick of rail off the train is quite interesting. First a cable is pulled forward from the winch on the back of the train, and attached to the next stick to be offloaded. The winch then pulls the rail from it's transport position, through multiple guides, and finally to the back of the train almost at ground level. The stick is then anchored to the waiting front end loader, and the train moves forward. Since the rail is now anchored, the train actually slides out from under the rail. It's quite interesting to see just how flexible the rail is - this is 136lb rail! Each time I've seen the process the sound of the rail being unloaded is also quite unique. As the train moves into the distance, you can hear the rhythmic sound of the rail shaking as it unloads, and the shock waves travelling the length of the rail stick. This is the first of seven sticks of rail that were unloaded at this location.
https://www.youtube.com/user/Honestware/videos
this guy has lots of videos

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Hatman

This is from the TV ads. It has a nice Chesapeake & Ohio vibe going on, but I think a cool, sleek, futuristic scheme would be better than a retro one.

I'm really curious to hear what name they choose for their service. Amtrak's "Acela" name wasn't received well at first, but it's grown on me since. I wouldn't be nearly so critical this time around if AAF were to come up with a new word like that.

Not sure what you mean by C&O vibe. The paint scheme?

[Hatman]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Not sure what you mean by C&O vibe. The paint scheme?

Yep, the paint. Yellow over blue over stainless steel:

It's practically a carbon-copy. I hope the rebranding going on will come up with something unique - not because I don't like the C&O colors, but because I think something new (or at least something with Florida heritage) would be a better fit for this particular line.
But it's only paint. I'll take what I can get.

[eleven=11]

https://twitter.com/AllAboardFla/sta...64475156406272
anybody wanna guess what this is about?

[electricron]

Originally Posted by eleven=11

https://twitter.com/AllAboardFla/sta...64475156406272
anybody wanna guess what this is about?

1) Successfully selling all the tax exempt bonds.
2) Starting Phase 2 construction along the turnpike.
3) Renaming the train service.
4) Presenting liveries of both locomotives and railcars.
That's four guesses from me.

[Hatman]

Originally Posted by electricron

1) Successfully selling all the tax exempt bonds.
2) Starting Phase 2 construction along the turnpike.
3) Renaming the train service.
4) Presenting liveries of both locomotives and railcars.
That's four guesses from me.

I really hope it is both 3 and 4!