Metro Orlando Airport News

[shardoon]

Just checked out the new train station this weekend with the kids. Looks great. Security guards are a little incompetent though. The building is completely open and even the info desk clerk gave the ok to go upstairs to walk down to the Christmas tree. All escalators are working and no taped off areas........ however, when I got down to the end by the Christmas tree, some stuck up rent a cop started demanding that I leave the building immediately and that I was trespassing as the building was not open yet. I tried educating him how he was wrong, he initially wanted none of it, then had to pull up an orlando sentinel article giving a review of the place stating that it was open. Only then did he come to terms with it and started blaming his higher levels for not getting everyone on the same page. Honestly, he seemed rather incompetent, even to the point  of not knowing that brightline is eventually gonna have service to Miami from the station.  

[shardoon]

Brightline is a GO!!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/fl-reg-brightline-progress-20171217-story.html

[spenser1058]

Rock on, OIA!

Orlando International Airport hits 44 million passengers
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-airport-travel-mco-20171219-story.html

From the Sentinel

[HankStrong]

2 things:

Final 2017 numbers are in.  44.6 million total.  This passes Miami.

I parked at C and flew out.  I did not have baggage, but if I did that would've been a bit of a pain.  As it was, I just hopped the old train from B to the main terminal and then took the SPACE AGE SUPER MODERN train to C.

[jrs2]

Technically busier than MIA in 2017.  But, last time MCO surpased MIA,  MIA scheduled more direct flights the following year and jumped ahead by like 4-5M passengers just like that.  And that was within the past 7 years or so.  Miami always has to be No.1.  Just like when Port of Miami did a hanging chad recount of their cruise numbers to make sure they bested Port Canaveral by just a few hundred passengers.  Pathetic, but I get it.  Chicago is the same way.

[orlandouprise]

So the Director of Sunrail says to the OBJ that due to cost estimate, phase 3 sunrail to MCO will have to be "reevaluated"... So basically Sunrail to the airport is dead?? 

[gibby]

1 hour ago, orlandouprise said:

So the Director of Sunrail says to the OBJ that due to cost estimate, phase 3 sunrail to MCO will have to be "reevaluated"... So basically Sunrail to the airport is dead?? 

I'll never understand this $250mm price tag to upgrade 3.5 miles of existing track, already located within a 120 wide City-owned right-of-way.  They should have required Brightline to connect to Sunrail before building the MCO station and parking garage for them.  Brightline is already planning to extend their line west to the OUC line to build their service yard anyway.

[WAJAS]

4 hours ago, gibby said:

I'll never understand this $250mm price tag to upgrade 3.5 miles of existing track, already located within a 120 wide City-owned right-of-way.  They should have required Brightline to connect to Sunrail before building the MCO station and parking garage for them.  Brightline is already planning to extend their line west to the OUC line to build their service yard anyway.

Yeah, I don't get it either.  This is where I see money going: double tracking, additional tracks to airport, additional train sets to keep current intervals.  How does that cost as much money as they claim?  The station is already built for them.

[shardoon]

Kevin Costner is gonna be very upset since we built it and they didn't come lol. In all seriousness, with a fully built full service train station, its only a matter of time until something gets built. 

[popsiclebrandon]

I'm beginning to think the people running Sunrail maybe aren't so good at their jobs.

[aent]

2 hours ago, popsiclebrandon said:

I'm beginning to think the people running Sunrail maybe aren't so good at their jobs.

lol, I thought that was clear when we got to a point where ticket collection exceeded the cost of ticket revenue, without even accounting for any service. At this point, they might as well just make it free to get the ridership numbers up, before the train ends up dying entirely.

[shardoon]

Looks like the Airport just approved $3.5 million to get the ball rolling on phase 2 of the expansion. Honestly, with the yearly 5-8% increase in traffic over the past 4-5 years, we will reach the new 55 million capacity within the next decade. I would assume that future phases on the West side of the expansion should not be as expensive since the landside terminal and facilities would have already been built as well as a good portion of the tarmac. 1st phase of the East side expansion will eventually be just as expensive as the phase that we are currently building. I am curious as to when they consider building the rooftop skytrain? I would assume they start during the last phase of the West side buildout. 

[jrs2]

On 2/10/2018 at 2:02 AM, WAJAS98 said:

Yeah, I don't get it either.  This is where I see money going: double tracking, additional tracks to airport, additional train sets to keep current intervals.  How does that cost as much money as they claim?  The station is already built for them.

Because OUC are vampires and they want to bankroll off of this spur.

[codypet]

Also the Sunrail station isn't built.  The Brightline one is.  They'd have to add to the current station.

[gibby]

I thought that the Sunrail station (or at least the space) was being included as part of the current work.

[codypet]

https://orlandoairports.net/getting-around-mco/south-apm-station-garage-c/

If you look at the stairway in the foreground on the right of the center spine of the building, there's an empty space before you see the Brightline station begin to show.  That void is where Sunrail should go, but there's no station.

[Mars717]

14 hours ago, codypet said:

https://orlandoairports.net/getting-around-mco/south-apm-station-garage-c/

If you look at the stairway in the foreground on the right of the center spine of the building, there's an empty space before you see the Brightline station begin to show.  That void is where Sunrail should go, but there's no station.

That empty space is not where a sun rail station will go. There is a tremendous amount of underground MEP systems supporting the PDL from the ITF building. The public is never meant to go into this area. The space under the ITF is for GOAA/AAF employees only and is full of offices, locker rooms, storage, and facilities supporting all three new buildings. Three tracks were installed on the platform level..one is to be used for future expansion. Not all are contracted to AAF. 

[codypet]

Here's an early rendering which showed exactly where the Sunrail will go and its not where you're showing.   You can see there's slight differences in the style but the location of the tracks and the footprint are roughly the same.   Link  Sunrail will occupy that space closer to the bus loop.

That last photo you have will forever be empty space.   There's no subsurface anything to support the track there.  

Edited February 13, 2018 by codypet

[uncreativeusername]

Great photos, @Mars717!  

Is it just me though, or are those the most ridiculously wide platforms ever to serve a single track each?

[codypet]

Left platform is for two tracks, right one is for one track.  They don't appear to be any wider than the Ft. Lauderdale Brightline station.

Edited February 13, 2018 by codypet

[uncreativeusername]

9 hours ago, codypet said:

Left platform is for two tracks, right one is for one track.  They don't appear to be any wider than the Ft. Lauderdale Brightline station.

Ah, didn't notice third track, although the yellow paint should have given it away - that makes more sense. I haven't seen the other Brightline platforms, I suppose I'm just used to old construction.

Edited February 14, 2018 by uncreativeusername

[jrs2]

8 hours ago, codypet said:

Here's an early rendering which showed exactly where the Sunrail will go and its not where you're showing.   You can see there's slight differences in the style but the location of the tracks and the footprint are roughly the same.   Link  Sunrail will occupy that space closer to the bus loop.

That last photo you have will forever be empty space.   There's no subsurface anything to support the track there.  

Is the early rendering current, though, ala platform location?

[codypet]

16 hours ago, jrs2 said:

Is the early rendering current, though, ala platform location?

Yea, the footprint is roughly the same, the architectural details have been tweaked.  You can even see the roof of the center track area pretty much match what was built.

[shardoon]

I am amazed at how much the passenger traffic  keep increasing monthly. Already 8% increase compared to last January numbers. All this without the South Terminal open yet. 

OIA January.pdf

[jrs2]

Intermodal Center.  They've opened up a couple of entrances into that thing; one where the cell phone lot is, and one farther north.  I love the green glass.