Riding the Brightline: High marks given from a Day One rider from DeLand

I had the privilege of taking the new Brightline Train from Orlando to Miami on Friday, Sept. 22, the first day of travel, returning on the 23rd. Here is my account and assessment.

My plans were to drive from DeLand to the Orlando airport in leisurely fashion, in time to park in the Terminal C garage and stroll to the train for its 10:54 a.m. departure. However, at about 7 a.m. I received an email from Brightline warning me all the parking garages might be full.

In that case, the note said to use one of the surface “economy” parking lots. With this warning in mind, I hurried packing and left the shire (Victoria Gardens, DeLand) just before 8 a.m. I arrived at MCO a little after nine. Sure enough, the signs said “All Garages Closed” so I diverted to the South Park Plaza, located east of the airport, somewhere, I think, in the vicinity of Yeehaw Junction.

There were thousands of cars already there and I finally found a parking spot on the grass at the far end of the lot. After wandering around for a while I found where the shuttle bus would pick up a large crowd of us refugees. In due time we were driven (at no cost) to the airport’s new Terminal C building. Then came a long trek up and down, over and across the large terminal before finally arriving at the Brightline station.

It is gigantic—very shiny and glitzy! I was escorted personally through the ticket check and security, which is simple and easy compared to the TSA process involved in flying. By about 10 a.m. I was safely in the “Smart” passenger lounge.

A major celebration

The whole place was absolutely teeming with press, TV personalities, cheerleaders from the University of Central Florida, the Orlando Magic, bands, celebrities, officials from Brightline, and other assorted personages with their entourages. Almost lost amongst the maddening crowd were actually a few people like myself with tickets to Miami.

There was a very sumptuous free breakfast buffet which I gladly helped myself to since I’d skipped breakfast in my haste to leave DeLand. I washed it all down with a few glasses of the free champagne and mimosas.

Right now I can’t say how many I had. An attractive young lady just kept bringing them by on a tray! At about 10:40 they announced passengers should proceed to Track 2 for boarding. The press and all others were told to step aside and let us through. I felt quite important! I easily found my seat, 10A in Coach 3, which I had selected ahead of time while purchasing the tickets on the internet. I’d picked a forward-facing window seat with a writing table.

There is no extra charge for seat selection. The car is very spacious. The seats are comfortable, but only slightly adjustable. Overhead storage space for carry-on bags is ample, even generous, and there is also an area near the car’s entrance to deposit more luggage. A system to check bags is available, but I’d say 99% of passengers won’t need to use it. There is plenty of legroom; it is light-years better than flying in this respect. There are no aggravating warnings to fasten your seat belts (since there are none) or nagging to turn off your electronic devices.

A recording said the train would depart within about a minute, so please stay away from the doors as they would be closing. I admit I expected a wait; there always seem to be delays when flying. Frankly, I was in a bit of a trance, or fog perhaps, and was just gazing out the window. But immediately I was startled awake because (good grief) the train had already begun to move!

It departed exactly at 10:54 a.m., precisely on schedule. There was no sensation of acceleration or accompanying noise, the station just seemed to be retreating from the train. Going through the airport’s property the train was kept to about normal automobile speeds, but as we rounded the turn and began to head east, traveling parallel to the “528” (the Beachline Expressway) we could tell the train was picking up speed.

Within just a couple of minutes, we were easily passing the vehicles moving on the 528 alongside the train, and many of them were going at least 75 mph. In another few minutes, it was clear the train was traveling at well above 100 mph. Still, it was very smooth and eerily quiet. In my opinion, it was really cool!

I counted the number of occupied seats; the car was 80 percent full. I wonder if Brightline was expecting a sold-out train on the first day of service to Miami.

After about 30 minutes the attendants came by pushing the food and beverage cart. In the seat pocket, there is a card with the list of things sold. As far as I could tell there was no real food, just an extensive (and expensive) assortment of snacks, candy, and junk. Of course, there are plenty of beverage selections, including beer and wine. But by then I really needed some coffee, and coffee was the first item listed on the menu card.

No coffee?

Alas, they had no coffee, nor could they say why there was none. Okay … even the airlines offer coffee. If it can be offered on planes, it should be on Brightline’s trains. If they can’t somehow manage to have coffee, they should at least remove it from the menu card! I had an unopened bottle of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee drink with me in my shoulder bag and I nursed it as long as I could. Sulking and grumpy, I refused to buy anything from their sorry food cart during the entire trip.

Without a doubt, a nice hot sausage and egg sandwich, or something similar, would have been a big hit with many of the passengers, at any price. The repeated offering of food and snacks became irritating. It seems like they came by nearly a dozen times hawking their overpriced items. The attendants smiled and tried to be pleasant, but you could tell they were already bored with the whole routine, even on the first day of service.

The writing table has four very small extendable trays, one per passenger, to add some extra room for the snacks. However, the trays do not have cup holders. This is a problem. I witnessed one passenger knock an open can of beer onto another passenger’s (who he did not know) lap. Lots of apologies and scurrying around with napkins ensued, but this and most other similar mishaps could be avoided if the trays included cup holders. Everyone agreed this is an oversight! But if you’re only spending five billion dollars, the focus groups in charge of designing trays can’t be expected to think of everything! At least there are lots of outlets for electric devices.

There are plenty of restrooms, which are gigantic compared to those on airplanes.

The scenery was interesting, for those of us who could tear their eyes away from their smartphones or laptops. Once the train neared the coast it turned south and traveled just west of Highway 1 and/or the Old Dixie Highway. Then it seemed to veer and take a shortcut “cross country” and for a while, we were surrounded on both sides by either forests or fields with no signs of human habitation.

Near Melbourne, Vero Beach, and Stuart the train slowed a little but still whizzed through, or past, these sizable cities at remarkably high speed, with the whistle blowing almost constantly. The intersections were a blur as we passed, with crossing arms and flashing lights blocking vehicles. Heaven help anyone who might be tempted go around these barriers!

I could give a blow-by-blow account of the rest of the journey, but really there was nothing to report, which was good! As the train approached West Palm Beach the conductor announced that if this was your destination passengers should gather their personal belongings and exit the train as soon as it stopped. The train stopped smoothly and a few passengers departed and then a few others boarded. The entire stop took no more than two or three minutes. This process was repeated at Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Aventura. It seemed to be a well-rehearsed drill, virtually foolproof.

The train arrived at the “Central Miami Station” at 2:28 p.m., which was four minutes early. I remember thinking whoever was in charge must be channeling the spirit of Benito Mussolini, the fascist Italian dictator who supposedly made Italy’s trains run on time.

Arriving, Miami

Miami Central Station is exactly what a train station should be. It’s right in the middle of downtown, very modern, convenient, and logically laid out. Within two minutes of the train’s arrival, a person can be outside on the street ready to begin whatever business or recreation brings them to Miami. I asked for directions to my hotel on Biscayne Boulevard and was told it was about 10 blocks away so I should take a cab. Nonsense! It was a beautiful afternoon and I was happy to walk with my small suitcase in tow.

I stayed at the downtown Holiday Inn, which is very nice but not luxurious. Across from the hotel is a large and beautiful park, including an amphitheater. The Miami Marina is nearby together with lots of touristy shops, restaurants, bars, and a colossal Ferris wheel contraption. The cruise ships in the port were easily visible, as was the arena where some NBA basketball team is rumored to play its games.

I had a very interesting afternoon and early evening, out and about, seeing the sights. Due to my advanced age and genteel tastes, my activities included none which were illegal, immoral, unethical, sacrilegious or fattening. Well … I did allow myself a juicy double cheeseburger with fries at the Hard Rock Café for supper but that was my first and only real meal of the day. I returned to my hotel just as the sun was setting. I’d saved Friday’s Wall Street Journal for my evening reading. All in all, the day had been just about perfect.

Early to bed, early to rise, and at dawn Saturday morning I set off south on Biscayne Blvd for a septuagenarian’s version of a power walk. After about half a mile I ran into the Miami River. Until that moment I didn’t even know Miami had a river! It has a nice “river walk” for pedestrians and I followed it for about a mile before turning back to my hotel for breakfast.

Next up, back to the Central Miami Station. I arrived about an hour early, my only regret is that my concerted attempts to purchase the Miami Herald newspaper were totally fruitless. The hotel sells no papers, nor does the nearby CVS drug store, nor are there any newspaper dispensing machines anywhere in sight. I might as well have been Thorin Oakenshield searching Miami for the Arkenstone. Of course, the ultra-modern Brightline station would never dream of including anything as old-fashioned as a newsstand! The focus group wouldn’t hear of it!

Back to Orlando

The return trip to Orlando was uneventful, perfectly as advertised, leaving Miami and arriving at MCO exactly according to schedule. This time the car was about 90 percent full. Everyone seemed very happy. One young man named Julian seated near me kept repeating “I’m never driving to Orlando again.” He phoned several people during the trip to say how great the train was. But there was still no coffee. At least on Saturday, I’d had some for breakfast.

I made it a point to speak to as many passengers as possible and observed others. It seemed to me that everyone was very favorably impressed. Brightline should therefore receive very favorable reviews and get excellent “word of mouth” advertising from satisfied passengers.

At the Brightline station in Orlando I eventually caught the shuttle bus to the South Parking Economy Lot, followed the map I’d drawn to find my car out in the long grass prairie, and drove back to DeLand. I arrived home safely at 4 p.m., having driven a total of 119.6 miles. I’d been gone for 32 hours. I felt quite satisfied with myself, even a little smug. Sort of like Frodo Baggins after he returned successfully from one of his memorable adventures.

Here's my assessment: at long last Brightline has done exactly what they said they intended to do. To this passenger, they have done it very successfully. But it should be noted what it is and what it is not. Brightline is not a true high-speed train like the Chunnel from London to Paris, which I have taken. Nor it is a luxury train like the California Zephyr which runs from Chicago to San Francisco (or Los Angeles) which I have also taken several times. And is it not remotely like the beautiful and historic trans-Canada trains.

It is not supposed to be like these. However, Brightline is a very classy commuter train, one that travels as fast as rules and safety will allow from Orlando to Miami. It’s the kind of alternative the country needs much more of. And it has been done with private money, not through government handouts. It works well for elderlyish persons like myself, (age 75), providing a person (young or old) can handle a rather long hike through Orlando’s Terminal C Building to get over to the new train station.

The advantages and limitations of having the train station at the Orlando airport should be clear to all. In Miami, you’ve arrived when you’ve arrived. But in Orlando, you’re only at the airport and need to have a plan to get wherever you’re really going. Inevitably, there are those who will complain about the cost of tickets.

These expectations are unrealistic. Several billion dollars have been spent to come up with as good a product as human ingenuity and engineering can provide in 2023. Ticket prices must be high enough to provide a return on this massive investment. My round trip totaled $158; well worth it in my opinion. I recommend Brightline without hesitation.

I hope they will be able to add routes to Tampa and/or Jacksonville and even beyond. I definitely anticipate riding on Brightline again. Next time I think this snoopy septuagenarian will try the upscale “Premier Class” service. But either way, I’ll be bringing my own thermos of coffee.

Harlow A. Hyde, aka the "Snoopy Septuagenarian" is from DeLand, Florida.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Two days on the Brightline train