Still Can't Take Train Directly From Fort Lauderdale To Jacksonville - How About Some Of That $2T Infrastructure Money? (Miami: wages, authority)

[Lillie767]

Originally Posted by Rumann Koch

I am really not looking just at FTL-JAX, but a true Inter-City rail line that serves the East Coast of Florida, which should include a lot of cities and towns currently without passenger rail service.

Right now the tracks run to West Palm Beach then go WEST! to Tampa, then back East but NOT along the coast! So I have to travel all the FN way to Tampa and back to Orlando before I start to crawl up the East Coast again!!!

The following cities are NOT served, and do not have a passenger rail station:

• Port St Lucie
• Ft Pierce
• Vero Beach
• Palm Bay
• Melbourne
• Titusville
• New Smyrna
• Daytona
• Palm Coast
• St Augustine

So how in the hell is that serving the needs of inter-city transportation on the East Coast of Florida!!!

Okay - a show of hands of all those who need to travel from Palm Bay to Port St. Lucie on a regular basis and would take a train.

Profitable passenger rail service is only viable where there is density of population and no need of an automobile at the destination. Amtrak's NorthEast Corridor between Boston and Washington accounts for almost all of its operating profits. The Metroliner goes from, to, and through all the major cities in the northeast. You can take the train from midtown NYC directly to midtown Washington and avoid the long and tedious trips to the airports at both ends. The Acela service is reliable and frequent.

[StarryKnight1]

Originally Posted by Rumann Koch

I am really not looking just at FTL-JAX, but a true Inter-City rail line that serves the East Coast of Florida, which should include a lot of cities and towns currently without passenger rail service.

Right now the tracks run to West Palm Beach then go WEST! to Tampa, then back East but NOT along the coast! So I have to travel all the FN way to Tampa and back to Orlando before I start to crawl up the East Coast again!!!

The following cities are NOT served, and do not have a passenger rail station:

• Port St Lucie
• Ft Pierce
• Vero Beach
• Palm Bay
• Melbourne
• Titusville
• New Smyrna
• Daytona
• Palm Coast
• St Augustine

So how in the hell is that serving the needs of inter-city transportation on the East Coast of Florida!!!

It isn’t, because there’s no business case for any of the above cities to have what you’re describing.

You seem to imply there is no rail service between Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville when there is, it just takes a rather odd route.

[SanyBelle]

Originally Posted by Rumann Koch

I am really not looking just at FTL-JAX, but a true Inter-City rail line that serves the East Coast of Florida, which should include a lot of cities and towns currently without passenger rail service.

Right now the tracks run to West Palm Beach then go WEST! to Tampa, then back East but NOT along the coast! So I have to travel all the FN way to Tampa and back to Orlando before I start to crawl up the East Coast again!!!

The following cities are NOT served, and do not have a passenger rail station:

• Port St Lucie
• Ft Pierce
• Vero Beach
• Palm Bay
• Melbourne
• Titusville
• New Smyrna
• Daytona
• Palm Coast
• St Augustine

So how in the hell is that serving the needs of inter-city transportation on the East Coast of Florida!!!

I have a friend in Vero Beach and they were vehemently protesting Brightline going though their town. Maybe all the protests has slowed down rail building in Florida?

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by SanyBelle

I have a friend in Vero Beach and they were vehemently protesting Brightline going though their town. Maybe all the protests has slowed down rail building in Florida?

Nope, Brightline is laying track as fast as they can. They have broken ground on the Orlando station already.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by Rumann Koch

I am really not looking just at FTL-JAX, but a true Inter-City rail line that serves the East Coast of Florida, which should include a lot of cities and towns currently without passenger rail service.

Right now the tracks run to West Palm Beach then go WEST! to Tampa, then back East but NOT along the coast! So I have to travel all the FN way to Tampa and back to Orlando before I start to crawl up the East Coast again!!!

The following cities are NOT served, and do not have a passenger rail station:

• Port St Lucie
• Ft Pierce
• Vero Beach
• Palm Bay
• Melbourne
• Titusville
• New Smyrna
• Daytona
• Palm Coast
• St Augustine

So how in the hell is that serving the needs of inter-city transportation on the East Coast of Florida!!!

IIRC, there are two routes -- one that goes from WPB to Tampa and then through Orlando, Deland, Palatka, and Jax.
Another that goes through Sebring, then also to Orlando, etc., then Jax.

That said, I believe this is more of a Amtrak issue than anything else. Why there is no route going from Orlando to Atlanta is beyond me. And anytime I've taken Amtrak trains, they are packed, so people are riding them...

[StarryKnight1]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

IIRC, there are two routes -- one that goes from WPB to Tampa and then through Orlando, Deland, Palatka, and Jax.
Another that goes through Sebring, then also to Orlando, etc., then Jax.

That said, I believe this is more of a Amtrak issue than anything else. Why there is no route going from Orlando to Atlanta is beyond me. And anytime I've taken Amtrak trains, they are packed, so people are riding them...

I believe that on that corridor, trackage rights are the biggest issue, and to some extent the largest issue Amtrak faces; freight railroads aren’t willing to give their rights up to squeeze Amtrak train sets on the lines. Should Amtrak be able to fully access the freight railroad network of this country, they’d have a vastly more extensive network.

[StarryKnight1]

Also consider the competition of air transport on rail routes.

[quattrohead]

FEC is purely a freight company so no stations but does pass in or near to all the cities mentioned. However, the tracks are being upgraded to 2 again and high speed. There will be pax service in a couple of years....but only 1 or 2 stations added.

[Roger Lessman]

Originally Posted by SanyBelle

I have a friend in Vero Beach and they were vehemently protesting Brightline going though their town. Maybe all the protests has slowed down rail building in Florida?

Those protests came to nothing apart from spending tax dollars.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by Lillie767

Okay - a show of hands of all those who need to travel from Palm Bay to Port St. Lucie on a regular basis and would take a train.

Profitable passenger rail service is only viable where there is density of population and no need of an automobile at the destination. Amtrak's NorthEast Corridor between Boston and Washington accounts for almost all of its operating profits. The Metroliner goes from, to, and through all the major cities in the northeast. You can take the train from midtown NYC directly to midtown Washington and avoid the long and tedious trips to the airports at both ends. The Acela service is reliable and frequent.

You could do that "show of hands" on the whole list of cities and still get no hands up!