amadiwhispers asked:

What's your take on the high speed, all electric Siemens Brightline train in Florida? Miami to Orlando in about half the time, on rail lines that aren't shared, and they have a pretty swish first class available that also includes a luxury lounge at the station. I don't know how many people really travel between Orlando and Miami and if it's going to prove itself on such a limited route, but just looking at it, my guess is if it were in the NE corridor, the Acela would have really stiff competition.

It’s a good service but I fucking hate private rail and want it nationalized immediately before they start being used as an excuse to defend amtrak by Republicans. Also I do welcome competition on the NEC, bit I think it will be unlikely to cause any real change because amtrak owns the NEC and why would the higher ups let direct competition on the line, I mean it is possible as Marc and NJtransit use the NEC already but like those are state run so it’s different. All in all I have a lot of issues with Brightline, but do have decent service