jrs2

This is the most recent from a couple hours ago; the first train arriving from Miami:

really? I've been so busy today I totally forgot to check on that. I'll check for that guy Roaming Railfan and see if he's covering actual service versus prep of BL

Go Gators, bruddah!

I think if the Tampa leg to Brightline happens, a station at (or also at) TPA at the car rental facility near International Plaza would be pretty awesome. There are direct flights from TPA that I've been told about that MCO doesn't have... But, dang...getting to the coast I think is key. I was near Tarpon and cut through the city on a SE road and it finally (finally) got me to I-275 just north of TPA and it felt like forever and a day. BL to the coast (if feasible) would be key. The easement on I-275 is very, very wide once they did that redo back in the early 2000's; you put another highway in there... I did not know about a CRT in Jax along an FEC track. I assumed CSX would be it, but, it all depends on the route I guess. BTW, now that FEC is "inland" ala Orlando, I wonder whether they try to expand into freight in the future...

oh...I forgot about that... you're right. Now I feel like...well...that person. thanks for the heads up and refresher. that person reminded me of this poster on SkyscraperCity from years ago blurting out obscenities and creating this feud between Orlando and other parts of the state. A real head shaker. Anyway.... you da man.

typical leftist. never able to point to any facts; resorting to name calling like adolescents. I can easily call you a pathetic piece of sh!t but I won't. I don't really need to. "anti-democratic zealot"...wow....that's fresh, coming from the party of political persecutions, censorship, and sticking one's head collectively into the a55 of it's treasonous leaders. now tell everyone how the justification not to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon over US airspace smells up there in Biden's a55 knowing his son took Chinese money (for many years while Joe was holding office). why don't you focus on being a productive member of UP instead? It's not that difficult. Post a photo or an article. Commentary in a vacuum is no different than walking onto someone's shuffleboard game and vomiting on the pieces, not even having played it or apologizing for it. if you don't like the comments (in the appropriate thread, mind you), then show me why they're wrong or way off base. until you do that, you just prove what I didn't call you on the first line of this post, a mere cry baby acting like you're so much more wise than everybody else. At least when I "argue" with JFW he cites like an encyclopedia, so I can't really fault him for that. But what have you even contributed to UP that's even remotely laudable with your 84 posts? Based on what you've already posted, in essence, you've "observed" these thread for a "long time". Well, put in the effort like everyone else. Nobody faults you for having a different opinion, but telling someone to STFU in response to name calling with nothing else seems appropriate to me. But if you think you're going to 'pile on' in an attempt to silence me...that ain't ever happening. It's so funny because you're even attracting the ire of posters from other cities on UP. Totally hilarious.

they tried to combine Brightline Tampa Leg with a Sunrail expansion and the Sunshine Corridor proposal involving Universal, and then Disney bailed. Not sure about the status as of yet. I was for this, but, as detractors correctly stated, interfering with a private company's already established plan is not necessarily the best thing to do. They had already begun the sitework by Hunter's Creek believe it or not. But we'll see. The key is that Orlando to Miami must succeed. If it doesn't, I don't think it will expand to Tampa. But I think it will be successful. I predict a slow rollout but it will catch on quickly. Some find it pricey. But when talking about tourist money, most all bets are off so it won't stop them from using it. And there are a lot of European tourists that come here and Miami, so they're used to rail travel. By comparison, I tried to price a ticket on the Chunnel more than ten years ago and it was double the price of a ticket to Miami (in Euros, mind you). It's funny, because the Sunshine Corridor is directly related to the creation of a Special District by Universal for Epic Universe within which the I-Drive/OCCC station would be located. Universal is paying for that station and donating the land. Now compare that to Disney. Disney was only going to allow Brightline to build a station on it's property, at no cost to Disney. Disney is part of the former RCID Special District. Now, compare the function of the two special districts with regard to this issue. I've posted before about Universal's former land use attorney reporting on this and pointing out the history of RCID's unwillingness to fulfill it's functions as a special district in conjunction to it's relationship to its neighbors (compared to what Universal is planning). And that, pretty much puts in perspective all the drama in Tallahassee last year with RCID's restructuring and the real reasons why it was done (as opposed to political slants). I stated that Universal former land use attorney had urged Universal for years to create a special district. So, you put two and two together and realize that when a multi-billion dollar company in Comcast is spending $billions in Orlando and paying the requisite taxes, that they won't go off silently into the night when the knock against Disney has been the opposite for all these decades. That's a "1 + 1 = 2" analysis, especially knowing the history between Disney and Universal with regards to how they have both interfered with competing projects over the decades (Disney ala casinos and the Seminoles' proposed Kissimmee theme park; Universal with the proposed theme park on I-Drive near the outlets, and Skyplex). I know there has been more and there have been rumors for decades of Disney paying off politicians to get their way on the casino issue. I've posted two such videos from Universal's former land use attorney that people here just ignore and don't want to acknowledge. Maybe I'll post them again... But the point is that this is where we are at and we're in somewhat of a holding pattern on the route this leg to Tampa will take. did you respond to the right post? I know exactly what the two projects are and who is developing them. You're thinking of the other person.

https://www.hsrail.org/blog/brightline-west-receives-bipartisan-support-for-federal-funding-request/ are you talking about this? that's a far cry from "bleeding." Meanwhile, the Miami to Palm Beach leg is and has been profitable. I have also spoken to professionals I know in Miami and they tell me that train is packed with attorneys and the like going back and forth between counties for hearings, depositions, trials, etc., let alone other professionals. https://www.thenextmiami.com/demand-for-brightline-so-high-that-it-just-earned-a-south-segment-profit-never-really-intended/ I don't own stock in Brightline; their success or California's failures. I don't waste time with that fanboyism; I just deal in facts as best as we can tell. My number one concern is that Brightline is successful to Orlando because it will raise Orlando's clout in the world marketplace in its connection with Miami. I think Orlando benefits more than Miami does. The key for Orlando is to connect Sunrail to MCO. Then, you will have two Florida metros, both with CRT, connected by higher speed 125mph intercity rail. California, by comparison, will never have even this. They should have this, but likely never will.

Technically, CA will have one station on the edge of San Bernardino which is on the eastern edge of the LA metro. Then that line immediately exits the populated area en route to Las Vegas. Who benefits from that, exactly? The answer is I-15 Vegas-bound traffic LEAVING and ENTERING the state. So, who has the HSR, CA or Nevada? Technically the California desert outside of LA and Las Vegas both have it. This would be like Jacksonville having an HSR station at their airport, with the line heading NW to The ATL, and then people marketing it as "Florida's HSR." How does Florida benefit from that? It would also be like an HSR line connecting Hammond, IN, to Pittsburg. Does Illinois really benefit from that just because Hammond technically is part of Chicagoland? No. Illinois benefits from it when HSR connects Chicago to Springfield and/or St. Louis ala E. St. Louis, which is still in IL. So, the statement should be as follows: "I-15, despite the $110B blunders of the High Speed Rail Act elsewhere in California, will benefit slightly from reduced traffic, from San Bernardino's outskirts to Las Vegas, from the first true HSR in the US built and managed by a private Florida company." And, your comment about rail not being able to being privatized...last I checked, both CSX and FEC own their tracks. And, Brightline is a private train on a privately owned track (FEC) and easement. And so far, Brightline between Miami and W. Palm is profitable. So? ...boatloads of fun, bruddah...LOL. what's the Good word from Tampa Bay? I hear the Rays have a new proposal for St. Pete (which was posted here under the Orlando Dreamers thread).

what's your basis for that?

You know, calling people out for political ideological affiliations is one thing; calling someone a moron is something else. Well, there's a dictionary definition. Why don't you line item what I've written that comports to that definition. And until you do that and illustrate that, SFTU and continue playing tour Roblox

I think you need to log off of your Fortnite game and look in the mirror.

why is Make America Great Again considered radical to you? Is that a Socialist thing, or what?

no, but I feel like something similar is happening with Society...I haven't noticed much if any movement the past two months... materials or prefab shortages affecting both?