Brightline ready to expand rail system to Tampa

[Pottsburg]

CFX and FDOT. The corridor is being built on leased public ROW. If Virgin flops, neither is going to pull up a new, state-of-the-art double tracked rail line connecting Orlando to the coast and Port Canaveral. That becomes a great public mobility asset.

   It has to get built first, lets not count our chickens yet. FEC (Grupo) really wanted to be able to run freight on this line but that wasn't part of the deal. Brightline owns the track on the FEC corridor. The only way I see the state running things is if CSX ended up selling their line that runs parallel with FEC in south Florida. If that were to happen, then you would have work arounds to use either track. Rumor has always been that's the plan but there is a lot of missing pieces to that puzzle.

[thelakelander]

Like SunRail, FDOT already owns the former CSX line that Tri Rail runs on.

[Pottsburg]

Like SunRail, FDOT already owns the former CSX line that Tri Rail runs on.

  I'm not sure the state owns the tri rail line. I thought it was a long term lease, with a lot of stipulations.

[thelakelander]

Unless they sold it back to CSX, FDOT purchased the line Tri-Rail runs on back in 1988:

https://www.stb.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/9855c1fb354da09b85257f1f000b5f79/e45d7e522a52302a85257d64004fab81?OpenDocument

[Pottsburg]

Unless they sold it back to CSX, FDOT purchased the line Tri-Rail runs on back in 1988:

https://www.stb.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/9855c1fb354da09b85257f1f000b5f79/e45d7e522a52302a85257d64004fab81?OpenDocument

Maybe I'm thinking CSX has exclusive rights for freight.

[thelakelander]

Yes, they have exclusive rights for freight.

[bl8jaxnative]

Thats for the info.

If Virgin flops, neither is going to pull up a new, state-of-the-art double tracked rail line connecting Orlando to the coast and Port Canaveral.

It may not be up to them depending on the type and terms of the lease. 

[bl8jaxnative]

What do you do when you're low on cash and operating means burning through what little you have instead of growing it.  You hunker down and pray things will change for the better before that cash is gone.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/virgin-trains-usa-says-florida-185756831.html


(Bloomberg) -- Virgin Trains USA said Wednesday that it won't restart its fledgling railroad service in Florida for months, even as the state begins reopening and mass transit reemerges from the coronavirus shutdown in other parts of the country.

The company, which is backed by private-equity firm Fortress Investment Group and billionaire Richard Branson, suspended its Miami-to-West Palm Beach service in March, shortly before Florida's stay-home order.

"We do not anticipate resuming operating in the coming months," the company said in a statement.

[thelakelander]

Not surprising. At this point, just about every professional organization I'm associated with has switched to virtual conferences through November. Although our offices are eventually reopening, our staff in both of my job locations can continue to work remotely if they aren't comfortable being in the office. It will be months or years before we get back to where we were pre-pandemic. That will impact everything from downtown development, schools, sports and weddings to airport and rail operations and expansions. From Virgin Trains perspective, it would be foolish to start up a privately funded passenger rail service with no pool of commuters or tourist to draw from. If I were them, this is the perfect time to push forward with the Orlando link and additional South Florida stations. Reopen with something that actually connects people to where they want to go and when a market returns.

[fieldafm]

Virgin has untapped credit lines, the ability to issue new debt and raise capital through more stock offerings. Frankly, they are better off than some airlines are right now.

They also see a massive amount of capital spending on the horizon as the federal and state government does what it does best.. try to build its way back to growth through large spending projects on infrastructure. They are uniquely primed to benefit from that influx of money in the coming years.

[Lunican]

In February I canceled a trip to NYC due to Covid-19 and instead went to Miami and spontaneously decided to take a trip on Brightline. Glad I got the chance  and I hope it comes back. It definitely felt like rail service in Europe vs the U.S.

[thelakelander]

I popped in the Miami station's food hall after taking Metrorail from the airport back in January. The Virgin Trains food hall was just opening. I feel sorry for those small businesses.

[Pottsburg]

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article243015006.html

[thelakelander]

Interesting. So this would essentially replace the plan to run Tri Rail on the FEC corridor? How does the cost of this compare to what taxpayers would have paid to shift and operate Tri Rail on the corridor?

[Pottsburg]

http://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/legistarfiles/Matters/Y2020/201056.pdf
This might answers so questions.