21.5.21

THAT'S ONE WAY TO EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT.

Florida's Brightline are building a new backshop near Orlando, part of the extension of passenger service from Miami to Orlando.  Orlando's Sun-Sentinel describe the project as "Brightline shows off progress on huge train garage at Orlando International Airport."  That's a little less jarring than calling it a train hangar, and yet it highlights how railroad-unaware people are.  The more formal description dispenses with "backshop" as well: "Brightline’s Vehicle Maintenance Facility, which will have separate structures and areas for washing and fueling trains, resembles the rest of Brightline’s project in progress, which includes a 170-mile extension of tracks from West Palm Beach to Orlando’s airport."  It's a 170 mile extension of service, the cross-peninsula jump makes use of some existing tracks along the way.  I'm not sure, though, about setting up the maintenance depot for fixed formation trains in this way.  "Initially, Brightline will operate trains with two locomotives and five coach cars. Those trains will fit inside the garage under construction, which is 628 feet long and as much as 140 feet wide. But Brightline expects eventually to run longer trains with 10 coach cars and the garage will be extended to handle the greater length."

The Orlando trains might be running as soon as 2023.

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