Quote(https://photos.moderncities.com/Cities/Miami/Miami-March-2019/i-5wGnBfn/0/7e57ad83/L/20190328_200723-L.jpg)
Formerly known as Brightline, Virgin Trains USA's potential footprint and reach throughout Florida continues to grow. Here's a look at where things are currently heading with the state's privately owned and operated intercity passenger rail system in 2019.
Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/brightline-finds-funds-for-massive-florida-expansion/
I believe you meant to say Billion instead of Million in the first line of the Orlando section?
Thanks for the timely writeup and overview, Ennis!
^Yes! Thanks for the catch.
Got all excited thinking something was coming to Jacksonville since they secured the Orlando funding, saw the Jacksonville header...then BAM! No plans. What a rollercoaster of emotions...
No plans for 2019! Lakeland and Jax are great comparisons in this story. Both were told the same thing....basically that Virgin saw potential in their cities (and would sit down at some point) but the focus right now is Orlando and Tampa. Lakeland's leaders want to instruct staff to immediately begin working on selling the city to be included earlier rather than later. In the Lakeland article, they even mention potentially tying themselves into negotiations for Virgin to gain approval to operate on I-4. In Jax, the conversation reaction was totally opposite. Nothing is happening. We can go back to waiting for the Shipyards and the District to save the day. In reality, 2019 is almost half over. Jax should be just as aggressive as some of these other cities in promoting itself and making moves to set itself up for the future and making a case where someone wants to come here.
Frankly, I think it's a matter of when, and not if, Brightline (still working on accepting the new name) comes to Jacksonville. Brightline own the tracks and the rights into town, we have an existing downtown station and there is very little rail to upgrade/build compared to the West Palm/Orlando/Tampa line; which is great for our potentially lower ridership numbers. I'd be more worried, if say we were like Gainesville/Ocala/Tallahassee/Pensacola.
Also, I can forsee Mayor Curry using Brightline conversations in the next 4 years, as an impetus for a convention center move so that Brightline won't bypass us because we don't have a station. And wouldn't you know it, the only place for a convention center available "now" is the Shipyards, so we must use public money to move it. But it isn't favoritsm because it helps Brightline as well. 2 for 1! Win-win.
As long as Jacksonville/North Florida don't actively hinder the line's development under the guise of safety, has stops at Daytona, St. Augustine and Downtown Jacksonville, and has land nearby near the stations that can be developed; it's just a matter of time...provided they don't go bankrupt.
But those are just musings of a random, unconnected internet forum poster.
^It would be interesting if Mayor Curry (or the city council) got involved in the discussion. So far, JTA has been behind the eight ball.
I imagine the city will have to be involved at some point. Either because of the Prime Osborne, right of way or funding reasons.
VirginTrain is a real estate development company. Unless Jax is going to cough up 20 acres of rail-adjacent land getting to Jax will be a hard sell. We would probably have to give them the entire convention center site, if they would even want it.
Isn't there a lot of empty land in LaVilla near the new JTA hub?
Yes. The old train station complex or what people refer to as the Prime Osborn Convention Center. The old station is next to the tracks that Virgin Trains already has the rights to use for passenger service. There's also that huge parking lot behind the terminal for infill development opportunity. COJ owns all of it.
Quote from: Kerry on April 17, 2019, 06:01:20 PM
VirginTrain is a real estate development company. Unless Jax is going to cough up 20 acres of rail-adjacent land getting to Jax will be a hard sell. We would probably have to give them the entire convention center site, if they would even want it.
(https://photos.moderncities.com/Cities/Jacksonville/Miscellaneous/Miscellaneous/i-sNJJv9g/0/489a6d67/L/LaVilla-Key%20Property%20Owners-L.jpg)
COJ and JTA own an enormous amount of property suitable for TOD. In this image, the purple parcels are owned by COJ and the red parcels are owned by JTA. You can upzone this area with a by-right zoning district specifically tailored for TOD.... and I'd argue that this assemblage represents the largest opportunity for TOD in the entire country, if Virgin Trains made a stop in Jacksonville at what is now the Prime Osborne Convention Center. As Lakelander mentioned, Virgin Trains already has ROW access on the existing rail line fronting the Prime Osborne.
From the Daily Record, https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/study-offers-plan-for-the-redevelopment-of-lavilla-neighborhood (https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/study-offers-plan-for-the-redevelopment-of-lavilla-neighborhood):
An interesting image from the study plan for La Villa that shows the potential redevelopment of the Prime Osbourne. Looks like a lot of developable land and a train station to me.
(https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/sites/default/files/239670_standard.jpeg)
Nothing new with that sketch. JTA proposed the train station component to bring commuter rail and Amtrak back to downtown over a decade ago. No funding is set aside for it though. Here's a rendering from back in the day....
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/1000697971_mg8Cz-L.jpg)
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/1000697535_YVFsr-M.jpg)
https://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-sep-are-jtas-downtown-amtrak-plans-already-outdated
We'll be best using the old terminal complex (which includes the large parking lot/former rail loading yard and platform area) to tempt an entity like Virgin Trains USA than piecemealing it off or giving it to a local developer, IMO.
Might be prudent to change the name of this thread from 'Brightline.....' to 'Virgin Trains USA....'
Brightline is gone.....................
Well, now we know what Branson was bringing to the game. IIRC something like 32 investors have committed to buying $1.75B in those Florida state bonds for Virgin Trains USA. They've failed hard at raising money before this. Branson's saved the venture.
Can y'all help me out with a few questions? TIA!
1) Did Brightline have to upgrade the entire rail line for its passenger service? Or were there any portions that were usable.
2) Will freight service continue to operate on shared track?
3) Did they have to acquire land (whether purchase or swap) at their three current stations or did they already own it?
Thanks again. Just want to confirm my info.
1. In South Florida most of the line was double tracked to increase capacity.
2. Freight still uses the tracks.
3. While they already owned most of the land in Miami, they did buy property in FTL and WPB for station and TOD development.
Thanks Lake! So the fact that they had operational track allowed them to save money on construction?
Yes. Operational track, bridges, ROW, etc. helped save a lot of time and money on the FEC stretch that they won't have on the Orlando and Tampa segments.
My brother in law was just named Director of Media Relations and Corporate Affairs for Brightline/Virgin Trains USA. He starts Monday.
Quote from: MusicMan on May 07, 2019, 11:12:32 AM
My brother in law was just named Director of Media Relations and Corporate Affairs for Brightline/Virgin Trains USA. He starts Monday.
We expect you, by Tuesday, to post his email addresses (work and personal), daytime and evening numbers, and all Social Media accounts. We need to be able to contact this person 24x7x365 at our leisure to ask questions.
Joking aside, that's really cool and as he has public things to share I think everyone would love to be in the know!
He actually did their PR work prior to Branson coming on board through Lou Hammond Group. I have ridden the train as his guest. It's damn nice and with serious underwriting now it will, IMO, succeed. I'll keep you posted about anything heading in this direction best I can.
Just because they used FEC track didn't mean there was a huge cost savings. They had to upgrade everything and I mean everything. PTC upgrades and things like drawbridge upgrades are very costly. That stretch between cocoa and Orlando is mostly on virgin land, they should be able to rip and run which would take a lot less time. We will see, they learned a lot from the first phase. They still aren't finished in south Florida
Cost savings would be pretty significant in the area of R/W related issues in getting from FEC owned R/W to Orlando and eventually Tampa.
Quote from: thelakelander on May 09, 2019, 09:18:35 AM
Cost savings would be pretty significant in the area of R/W related issues in getting from FEC owned R/W to Orlando and eventually Tampa.
They are going to have to dump a lot of dirt on the line over to Orlando mostly swamp and building trestles bridges isn't cheap
With the Trump Dept. of the Interior, Curry could probably propose swapping the Main Street (soon to be) Dog Park for Metro Park and get approval. Throw in some Manatee Shooting kiosks, and he'd have a Sure Winner.