Your firsthand impressions of Brightline (Vero Beach: go bankrupt, closing, maintenance)

[Mr. Purple 2]

I am also hoping that Brightline picks FT Pierce for their only Treasured Coast stop. That would be best option for Vero. I am afraid they will pick Martin County for the one stop. Like the previous poster stated, it will be interesting to see if Brightline is viable and can make a profit or if if will need a subsidy. I was downtown Saturday and I saw two trains. They were fast, but they were here and gone in a few minutes. The crossing signals generated more noise than the trains.


Most any beach side areas are very fluent in Florida. 32963 has a nice high end area, but it is small in numbers of the very wealthy people. There are still a lot of middle income residents in the island but that is changing due to cost of living at the beach (insurance and taxes). It is a numbers or demographic situation. There is just not enough of the middle to upper class people in the entire Vero area to support better retail or even auto dealers. There are no midscale auto dealers like Audi in Vero and don't think about finding a Bentley dealership in Vero if you have the money. On the other side school teachers; nurses and first responders are having a difficult time finding housing in Vero. These workers are needed to make Vero livable. The main reason for this is the controlled growth by the county and it has caused a supply demand problem for housing. It is a trade off, and I do like the controlled growth.

Fresh Market example is fine, but I would like other options in the area for shopping. I knew the situation when I purchased in Vero several years ago, so I don't complain. I realize I would have to drive to Melbourne or Ft Pierce for certain auto dealerships. Sometimes you have to make adjustments and accept the situation. Hopefully Brightline will pick Ft. Pierce.

[manny118]

Originally Posted by Mr. Purple 2

I am also hoping that Brightline picks FT Pierce for their only Treasured Coast stop. That would be best option for Vero. I am afraid they will pick Martin County for the one stop. Like the previous poster stated, it will be interesting to see if Brightline is viable and can make a profit or if if will need a subsidy. I was downtown Saturday and I saw two trains. They were fast, but they were here and gone in a few minutes. The crossing signals generated more noise than the trains.


Most any beach side areas are very fluent in Florida. 32963 has a nice high end area, but it is small in numbers of the very wealthy people. There are still a lot of middle income residents in the island but that is changing due to cost of living at the beach (insurance and taxes). It is a numbers or demographic situation. There is just not enough of the middle to upper class people in the entire Vero area to support better retail or even auto dealers. There are no midscale auto dealers like Audi in Vero and don't think about finding a Bentley dealership in Vero if you have the money. On the other side school teachers; nurses and first responders are having a difficult time finding housing in Vero. These workers are needed to make Vero livable. The main reason for this is the controlled growth by the county and it has caused a supply demand problem for housing. It is a trade off, and I do like the controlled growth.

Fresh Market example is fine, but I would like other options in the area for shopping. I knew the situation when I purchased in Vero several years ago, so I don't complain. I realize I would have to drive to Melbourne or Ft Pierce for certain auto dealerships. Sometimes you have to make adjustments and accept the situation. Hopefully Brightline will pick Ft. Pierce.

Vero Beach appears to be a snowbird community and not much else. I don't see a lot of demand for the Brightline coming out of Vero Beach. Fort Pierce doesn't have a very good reputation and I'd don't see Brightline or any other development proposed saving that city. The whole area between Fort Pierce and Vero Beach is dead zone. If Brightline puts a stop in Fort Pierce it will just be a cost of doing business for Brightline since they are obligated to put a stop on the Treasure Coast. Brightline will lose money with a Fort Pierce stop so I expect there will be very limited service. People who live in Martin County will just use the West Palm station since it will have better and more frequent service and will be closer to the destinations south.

[blueskies2023]

too expensive

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by blueskies2023

too expensive

Too deadly!

https://www.wesh.com/article/brightl...video/46351328

2 deadly wrecks involving Briteline this week alone.

Hundreds will die due to Briteline before it goes under...maybe Thousands....BEWARE!

[Mr. Purple 2]

A friend of mine was the former head of Operation LifeSaver.

"Below are statistics from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA - part of the U.S. Department of Transportation) showing vehicle-train collisions, fatalities and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings for the years 1981-2022.
For more federal statistics, visit the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety Analysis."
UPDATED 1/5/24

In 2022 there were 2.201 collisions with 272 fatalities and 824 injuries. This apparently doesn't include people walking on the tracks or doing suicide by train.

https://oli.org/track-statistics/col...asualties-year

The majority of these accidents were preventable. Sometimes you can't help stupid.

[beach43ofus]

Past stats include slow moving freight trains...NOT Briteline trains that move much faster right through the senter pf populated areas.

Past history does not predict future frequency, due to train speed and population density of the routes.

Senior drivers don't hear or see as well too. I'm glad my folks just moved away from St. Lucie West last month...this area was great for them for 20+ yrs, but I worried about them crossing these tracks to often.

It wouldn't stop me from moving out on the Island, but I hope it goes bankrupt before I do.

[Mr. Purple 2]

Did you watch the video in your link? The person drove around the down crossing gate! Sorry, the driver broke the law and was apparently stupid. The Brightline train was probably doing around 70 mph in the video which it does in populated areas like Vero Beach. The driver only would have to wait a few minutes for the train to pass even with opening and closing of the crossing gates. He didn't and it cost him his life and injured three passengers.


There a lot commuter trains doing the same speed in populated ares of VA into DC (which I have used); NC; MD; IL and the entire Northeast corridor. If a senior driver would drive around a down crossing gate, he or she shouldn't be driving.

[601halfdozen0theother]

I rode Brightline from Miami to Orlando in mid December. I LOVED it! Everything about it was wonderful. The price was fair, the station was clean, boarding was organized, the train was clean and full but not too crowded. I enjoyed seeing the scenery pass by. There was only one slow down.

The only downside was de-boarding at the Orlando airport - it took a solid half hour to get from the train stop to Mears waiting area, and was pretty complex. But I think that problem was with the airport, not Briteline.

I don't see a downside to it all. It's better than the nasty overcrowded Florida airports and roads!

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by 601halfdozen0theother

I rode Brightline from Miami to Orlando in mid December. I LOVED it! Everything about it was wonderful. The price was fair, the station was clean, boarding was organized, the train was clean and full but not too crowded. I enjoyed seeing the scenery pass by. There was only one slow down.

The only downside was de-boarding at the Orlando airport - it took a solid half hour to get from the train stop to Mears waiting area, and was pretty complex. But I think that problem was with the airport, not Briteline.

I don't see a downside to it all. It's better than the nasty overcrowded Florida airports and roads!

How much was fair if you don't mind me asking?

[Mr. Purple 2]

I had family that drove down from Vero Beach to W Palm and rode it to Miami to try it for just fun and they were very impressed with the service. My son is going to try it on one of next visits. He usually flies into Fort Lauderdale and I drive down from Vero to pick him up. He would have to take a bus transfer from the FLL to the Brightline station. He could fly into Miami and get on the train at the airport and then get off West Palm and save me half the drive.