Brightline Trains Florida discussion

[chrsjrcj]

Ground breaking for the WPB station today. I have a lunch "date" with the family, or I would've checked it out. Fortunately, the station is right next to where I work, so it will be fun to watch the progress.

 

[jis]

Construction is starting at the Orlando International Airport on 1st January which will culminate in the construction of the inter-modal terminal where AAF service to Miami will terminate. There are several other elements to the project including major enhancement of the north terminal. Total cost will be around $1.1 billion.

See http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2014/12/airport-kicking-off-on-600m-worth-of-projects-in.html

 

[Brian_tampa]

yesterday it was reported that construction on the second track has begun. does anyone in South Florida have or can take any pictures of this work?

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-all-aboard-street-closures-20150112-story.html

In another sign the All Aboard Florida project is moving forward, crews on Monday began laying the second mainline track near Hypoluxo Road in Palm Beach County. That section should be completed by the end of January.

"This represents the first major component of track construction for All Aboard Florida," said spokeswoman Ali Soule.

Next, crews will begin building a second track in Boca Raton.

"These projects are focused on improving specific sections of track and work will therefore not move continuously along the corridor in this initial phase," Soule said. "The work will not interfere with any pedestrian or vehicle traffic."

 

[jis]

Some photos are starting to appear on the Facebook pages of AAF and FEC.

 

[Blackwolf]

yesterday it was reported that construction on the second track has begun. does anyone in South Florida have or can take any pictures of this work?

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-all-aboard-street-closures-20150112-story.html

In another sign the All Aboard Florida project is moving forward, crews on Monday began laying the second mainline track near Hypoluxo Road in Palm Beach County. That section should be completed by the end of January.

"This represents the first major component of track construction for All Aboard Florida," said spokeswoman Ali Soule.

Next, crews will begin building a second track in Boca Raton.

"These projects are focused on improving specific sections of track and work will therefore not move continuously along the corridor in this initial phase," Soule said. "The work will not interfere with any pedestrian or vehicle traffic."

ALERT: Pay Wall. The article cited is not visible without subscribing.

 

[chrsjrcj]

Monday I took a trip by the Hypuluxo siding and saw FEC crews working on the southend. I then headed over to Bud's Chicken and Seafood on Boynton Beach Blvd. where a local freight stopped so the crew could get some takeout. About 10 minutes later a hi-rail truck stopped and the driver ordered some takeout. :giggle: I should have him asked what they were up to.

I didn't get too excited when I saw the construction work thinking it was just regular maintenance, but now that I know I'll check it out tomorrow.

 

[chrsjrcj]

If you Google News "All Aboard Florida" the Sun Sentinel article will pop up without the pay wall.

 

[chrsjrcj]

Though I wonder if the news media is a bit confused. I doubt they can finish laying a second track in PBC before the end of January. My guess is they are upgrading the existing sidings in Hypuluxo and Boca.

 

[neroden]

OK, with construction underway, I now actually believe they're going to open something in 2016.

 

[jis]

I am eagerly waiting to see the Viaggio derived American Comfort cars and of course ride them. I wonder if they could become potential candidates for Amfleet I replacement too. But that may be tied up with the acceptability of them as an instance of the single level design that was put together by Amtrak and FRA, as usual on their own, without talking to any manufacturers.

 

[cirdan]

I am eagerly waiting to see the Viaggio derived American Comfort cars and of course ride them. I wonder if they could become potential candidates for Amfleet I replacement too. But that may be tied up with the acceptability of them as an instance of the single level design that was put together by Amtrak and FRA, as usual on their own, without talking to any manufacturers.

I look forward to seeing how they perform under US conditions (generally rougher track, higher external temperatures (at least in FL), possibly different maintenance regime)

 

[chrsjrcj]

Here are a couple of pics I took near the southend of the Hypuluxo siding (at Gateway Blvd. for those familiar with the area). Right now they are only upgrading the existing siding.

 

[user 1215]

I am eagerly waiting to see the Viaggio derived American Comfort cars and of course ride them. I wonder if they could become potential candidates for Amfleet I replacement too. But that may be tied up with the acceptability of them as an instance of the single level design that was put together by Amtrak and FRA, as usual on their own, without talking to any manufacturers.

I look forward to seeing how they perform under US conditions (generally rougher track, higher external temperatures (at least in FL), possibly different maintenance regime)

Well, the US conditions they will be performing under will be new and completely refurbished FEC owned ROW.

 

[Metra Electric Guest]

FEC uses concrete ties, correct, which I'm seeing the photo, right?

 

[chrsjrcj]

Short video I filmed yesterday of the construction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7qgeH_3Ksk

FEC uses concrete ties, correct, which I'm seeing the photo, right?

Correct.

 

[Metra Electric Guest]

Thanks! I gather this is because of the existing freight loading, not just rot and termites eating wood (despite the creosote, etc).

 

[user 1215]

I'm not real smart in this area, but I would think that for freight, wood would be preferred as it has an element of flexibility under load, whereas you put too much weight on concrete, it cracks.

 

[PRR 60]

I'm not real smart in this area, but I would think that for freight, wood would be preferred as it has an element of flexibility under load, whereas you put too much weight on concrete, it cracks.

The key is to design the concrete tie - size, concrete type, reinforcing - so that it does not crack under expected loads. This is pretty much cookbook, and the ties are basically catalog items. Railroad loadings per code should not affect a properly designed tie.

The biggest issue with concrete ties is quality control and assurance in the manufacturing process and assuring that the concrete and the specific ballast stone do not have a detrimental chemical interaction. These kinds of issues have been the cause of the premature failure of concrete ties on the NEC and in other places.

 

[CHamilton]

FL: State Misses Deadline for All Aboard Florida Comments

Jan. 15--The state apparently has squandered its opportunity to comment on All Aboard Florida. It missed the Dec. 3 deadline, and -- nine weeks later -- still hasn't submitted its comments.
The Florida Clearinghouse -- responsible for crafting the state's official response -- is "reviewing" All Aboard Florida's environmental impact statement, according to Dee Ann Miller, spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection, which runs the Clearinghouse.

For certain major projects, such as All Aboard Florida, the Clearinghouse compiles comments from regional and state agencies and uses them to draft the state's response.

Comments on the All Aboard Florida environmental impact statement from the Florida departments of Transportation, Fish and Wildlife and Environmental Protection could be discarded due to the missed deadline.

 

[cirdan]

FEC uses concrete ties, correct, which I'm seeing the photo, right?

Not just concrete ties, but also clips rather than spikes.

 

[jis]

Can you actually use spikes on concrete ties? I must admit I am yet to see a concrete tie that did not use either the Pandrol "spaghetti" or E slips. But of course that does not mean that someone has not managed hammer spikes into concrete ties without cracking them.

 

[cirdan]

Can you actually use spikes on concrete ties? I must admit I am yet to see a concrete tie that did not use either the Pandrol "spaghetti" or E slips. But of course that does not mean that someone has not managed hammer spikes into concrete ties without cracking them.

Not conventional spikes, but I have seen bolts.

One of the advantages of concrete ties is that the dimensions are so much more precise than for wooden ones. At the same time this is also their weakness as customized geometry gets very expensive so you revert to wood for such items.

 

[jis]

Exactly. That is when geometry is standardized as much as possible for switches, so that you can place them on standardized switch concrete ties, as is being done all over. You see a lot of that on the NEC for example as they upgrade the universal crossovers to moving frog switches and sometimes even to higher speed turnout switches.

 

[Anderson]

FL: State Misses Deadline for All Aboard Florida Comments

Jan. 15--The state apparently has squandered its opportunity to comment on All Aboard Florida. It missed the Dec. 3 deadline, and -- nine weeks later -- still hasn't submitted its comments.

The Florida Clearinghouse -- responsible for crafting the state's official response -- is "reviewing" All Aboard Florida's environmental impact statement, according to Dee Ann Miller, spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection, which runs the Clearinghouse.

For certain major projects, such as All Aboard Florida, the Clearinghouse compiles comments from regional and state agencies and uses them to draft the state's response.

Comments on the All Aboard Florida environmental impact statement from the Florida departments of Transportation, Fish and Wildlife and Environmental Protection could be discarded due to the missed deadline.

Any ideas on what the net effect of this would be on the project?

 

[Paulus]

All Aboard Florida to move “as quickly as possible” to Tampa, Jax, editor says

In the December issue of Florida Trend magazine the executive editor’s column about All Aboard Florida makes a statement about its future that the express passenger rail service has yet to make publicly.

In his En Route column, executive editor Mark R. Howard says All Aboard will move “as quickly as possible to extend the train to Tampa and Jacksonville” once the Orlando train station is under construction.

...

“All Aboard Florida is currently focused on developing and constructing the Orlando-to-Miami segment,” the company said in a statement when asked about Howard’s column. “Once the first phase is operational, we will work with stakeholders along the corridor and throughout the state to determine if expansion opportunities exist.”