Feds approve express train line to Orlando
Getting from South Florida to Orlando could be faster now that the federal government has approved the next phase of Brightline’s high-speed passenger rail service that could begin construction early next year.
The leg between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach was expected to open this year. With only a couple weeks left, ticket prices and a start date are coming “soon,” company officials said.
The Federal Railroad Administration issued a decision Friday that essentially got the Miami-to-Orlando route back on track after Brightline’s parent-company, All Aboard Florida, modified its plans.
“This is the most critical and final step in the extension of Brightline’s
service to Orlando, and we are excited to move forward,” Brightline CEO Dave Howard said in a statement. “We look forward to launching service to Miami and starting construction north to Orlando in the first quarter of 2018.”
Brightline trains have been making test runs between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach as preparations continue for the launch of introductory service. MiamiCentral station will be added to the route in coming months.
When full service begins, there will be up to 32 daily passenger trains and more than a dozen freight trains sharing the Florida East Coast Railway tracks near U.S. 1, meaning more frequent stops at railroad crossings for South Florida drivers.
It will take Brightline trains about 30 minutes to travel from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale and another 30 minutes to Miami. Eventually, the trip from Miami to Orlando will take three hours, compared with four hours by car or bus, officials estimate.
The trains will reach top speeds of 79 mph between Miami and West Palm Beach, 110 mph to Cocoa, and 125 mph between Cocoa and Orlando.
Indian River and Martin counties and Citizens Against Railroad Expansion in Florida remain opposed to the express train zipping through the Treasure Coast, where the trains won’t stop.
“We’ve got a quality of life issue with a train traveling 110 mph through downtown Vero [Beach] and downtown Sebastian,” said Indian River County Attorney Dylan Reingold. “You’ve got safety concerns.”
In coming months, Brightline officials said they will complete designs for the railroad infrastructure to Orlando and for a 70-acre maintenance yard located near a new transportation hub at Orlando International Airport.
On Monday, Brightline officials are scheduled to attend a meeting in Jacksonville with the Florida Development Finance Corporation to discuss the sale of $1.15 billion in tax-exempt bonds to pay for building the link between West Palm Beach and Orlando.
Brightline won approval from the state’s economic development group Oct. 27 to sell $600 million in taxexempt bonds to private investors to pay for the West Palm Beach to Miami connection.