Technically, yes. And I am sure that to some extent this is already happening. It seems in reality though that demand is far heavier and more robust on the Miami end. Ability to re-sell seats for short haul at the Orlando end may be limited. Maybe once the Tampa extension is completed and the Orlando-area resorts get their dedicated stations, this may change.
I think it will change significantly when the Cocoa and Stuart stations come on line in a few years, way before anything comes to pass at the Tampa end.
I definitely could see a lot of value in those stations for airport connections out of Stuart, putting it in the catchment for MCO, and possibly PBI, FLL, and MIA depending on the quality of Brightline's last mile services in South Florida. It'd be nice to get from Stuart to Berlin with two trains, a shuttle bus, and one plane…
Airport connections yes, but the commuter market less so. In Miami, Brightline connects in very nicely with the various local transit systems, and so office workers can leave their car at their nearest Brightline station and commute by transit the rest of the way. This is not replicated at the Orlando end. So beyond people who work at the airport itself or within the immediate vicinity thereof, there is not going to be a huge commuter pull.
I agree, relatively small Commuter (though I do know people who commute to Orlando and back from here who may opt that way if there is good last mile service in Orlando)
Yeah, someone I know is taking Brightline from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando with two kids and all their accoutrements this week and I haven't figured out why; my speculation is they're being picked up by Brevard family at MCO and going somewhere past that.
I do wonder how Cocoa to MCO catchment is going to work. My experience from Melbourne is that Cocoa is about the halfway point to MCO, and for someone being dropped off by a friend or returning a rental the mode change probably eats up any time savings.
) from Brightline Cocoa to the Space Center I could absolutely see myself looking at annual passes, and if there was car rental at the station I'd be all over it.
It all depends on the details. I would expect Cocoa's catchemnt to be more like North Melbourne, Vierra. and Merritt Island Afterall that is where the cool rich young folks lurkI do wonder how Cocoa to MCO catchment is going to work. My experience from Melbourne is that Cocoa is about the halfway point to MCO, and for someone being dropped off by a friend or returning a rental the mode change probably eats up any time savings.
If there is a shuttle (
And of course Titursville/Coco/Rockledge too. I suspect Most of Palm Bay/Malabar/West Melbourne will take it on a case by case basis.. Personally I would take it from West Melbourne simply because I hate fiddling around in the crazy Orlando traffic whether in my own car or in Uber/Lyft. The Cocoa station will be about 5miles short of half way to MCO from my place.
Just for comparison Amtrak's RASM is 23.7c. Its CASM target is 26.8c, but actual so far YTD is 29.6c. (from the Jan 2024 Performance Report).
Don't forget that at least some folks taking the train in would be skipping having to deal with airport parking. For a week-long trip, that can be a non-trivial savings.
I'd read something similar at some point (10 cars by the middle of 2024, 10 cars by the end of 2024, and 10 cars by mid-2025 is my recollection).
I would consider using Brightline from West Palm Beach to Cocoa, if I were going on a cruise for longer than a week. For just a week, I would probably drive and park at the port...It all depends on the details. I would expect Cocoa's catchemnt to be more like North Melbourne, Vierra. and Merritt Island Afterall that is where the cool rich young folks lurk
I am almost certain that there will be a shuttle to Space Center and to Port Canaveral + Cocoa Beach. This has been mentioned by folks at the TPO Meetings. That was the whole reason for choosing Coca as opposed to Melbourne, and also to capture some ridership from the North, going South. That is the other component from Melbourne that will land up using that station, to go South.
Because they are at present forced to leave money on the table. They have had to restrict South Florida bookings. The question is how much money they are leaving on the table that they could capture vs. how much it will cost to do so. Since they apparently are considering getting additional train sets it suggests that they may be considering additional service of some sort.
Apparently now they considering the possibility of Bistro in one half of the car and seats in the other half, so the lost seat comes down to something like 32 perhaps.
It really will depend on passenger demand. If Amtrak or BL trains get to 8-12 revenue cars the situation might change.
VA Regionals, at least, have often had 7-9 revenue cars over the years (8-10 car trains being reasonably common, aside from the reverse-peak ones, especially pre-pandemic). The cafe on the Carolinian gets more crowded, but that's probably a function of the train carrying more longer-distance passengers (e.g WAS-CLT, RGH-NYP), but on the Regionals you have a lot of folks just taking stuff back to their
Doesn't sound like they need a Bistro. Trolley service for such a small trainset is more than adequate. You already have the staff, the inventory, the storage, etc.
They're fine at four cars (now). I think the trolley might get a bit overwhelmed once you're around 7 cars (that might require a second attendant, and the cart only has but so much space). This feels like a case where a reasonable call could be made either way.
