GETTING THE FREQUENCY AND CONNECTIVITY RIGHT.

My initial impression of Florida East Coast's Brightline service was that it might not be serious about connecting to other modes.

Although Brightline will run into a Miami station also served by Tri Rail (is this a different station from the Miami commuter train station with platforms too short for Amtrak?) and I saw a billboard along Interstate 95 and within view of Tri Rail passengers sitting on the east side of their trains advising Brightline nonstop to Fort Lauderdale, my sense is that the carrier views itself as catering to a different traffic base than either Amtrak or the Commuter Rail operators of southern Florida, perhaps a rolling gated community in the same way that the Acela service (which, note, offers only Business and Acela Custom seating, and provides a separate lounge with free treats, although no beer vendors) functions in the Official Region.  What that model does to the political economy of trains, which are either subversive of the established order because they democratize freedom of movement, or are a collectivist plot to make the masses easier to manage, I don't know.

In Orlando, Brightline and the Sun Rail commuter operator are working that problem. "Businesses who would have been bypassed by Brightline’s original route between Orlando International Airport and Disney World have pledged $125 million toward a route which would serve them through a joint route used by both Brightline and commuter operator SunRail."  There is a value proposition here, and a federal porkulus to get the varying interests to work together.

Although the route’s exact path and costs still haven’t been determined, Universal Studios Orlando and International Drive businesses, including the Orange County Convention Center, today said that along with the $125 million commitment for rail and station construction, they will donate 13 acres for a station site, guarantee $13 million in annual ticket sales to Brightline, and provide $2 million each year for track maintenance.

The new “Sunshine Corridor” would be used by both SunRail commuter trains on frequent headways and hourly Brightline service. Brightline will eventually continue on to Tampa utilizing tracks in the median of Interstate 4.

Currently, the only public transportation option between the airport and downtown Orlando is a Lynx transit bus that can take more than an hour; cab and ride-share fares are in the $50 range.

It makes sense to provide a single station where the services can connect. Contrast that with Frankfurt's airport, where there a Regiobahnhof and the Fernbahnhof is a half-day's forced march away.