This week brings some good news, and some bad news depending on how you look at it. (Personally I think it is excellent news!) Transit infrastructure, particularly in the USA is changing rapidly, and we have some news that could dramatically influence the future of our countries transportation system, so stay tuned! This is now the third issue, and if you have been enjoying it so far please remember to share it with your friends as it would really help us out! Without further ado, let’s get into the topics.

Brightline turns profit on Florida Southern Segment

Brightline is the only privately owned and operating inter-city passenger rail line in the United States, and it is really intriguing for the future of transit models in the USA. If it can be confirmed that a private railroad is a good investment for private companies, it could be huge for transit across the nation. Competition breeds innovation, and it could bring about a new era of American rail if several players are racing to establish the best, fastest, and most convenient passenger rail network across the country. If you want more backstory on Brightline here is a useful video!

However Brightline itself is not the news topic, rather that they have finally made a profit on a segment of their line! This came as a complete surprise to Brightline, whose business model currently relies on real estate investment in the surrounding areas of their stations.

This bodes very well for their future service, as it shows that their is a high level of consumer interest in passenger rail, at least in Florida, and will help them be able to justify future expansions to investors.

FYI:

• 🔮 Brightline is currently constructing Brightline West, a new version of their system in California

• 🚉 Ridership is up over 140% on the South Segment of Brightline Florida

• 🚆 Brightline announced prices and opening dates for the Orlando extension

Eight USA cities to test Cargo Bike last mile delivery

Cargo bikes are a carbon efficient way to transport goods as a method of last mile delivery without utilizing cars and trucks. Anti-car advocates such as the r/fuckcars subreddit are large advocates of their use, but so far municipalities have been hesitant to adopt them. However Miami, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle will all be testing pilot cargo bike programs with electric pedicab-type cargo bikes acting as a replacement for vans and trucks in last mile delivery. They cite numerous advantages, including cost, emissions, and ease of delivery- with cargo bikes able to drive right up onto the curbside for delivery. The projects are being funded by a combination of local taxpayer funds and grants from the US Department of Transportation.

FYI:

• 🚴‍♂️ Cargo bikes are already frequently being used for last mile delivery across the UK and Europe

• 📦 FedEx has embraced cargo bikes, with several pilot programs

• ✉️ The US Postal Service has also been testing e-cargo bikes

📺 Full Speed Ahead

Full speed ahead features a cool transit video we enjoyed this week and recommend you check out! This week’s featured video is by Not Just Bikes, and talks about how Oslo is fast becoming a new great city for cycling!

🔥 Future Stops

Here are some stories that we didn’t have time for, but are definitely still worth a read! (These stories do link outside of The Next Stop, so if you don’t want to be exposed to the outside web, stop here. However we have read these sources before and think they are at least decent at communicating the stories!

• 🐦 MTA has confirmed they will cease using Twitter for service alerts

• 💥 Norfolk Southern attributed a $387M loss with the East Palestine derailment

• 🗺️ California has passed new locomotive emission standards

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed our first newsletter, hopefully this is the start of a long ride. If you want more content check out our YouTube channel, Infra! Otherwise, we will see you next week! Thanks!