Central Florida rail services pick up steam

While shadowed by doubters, delays and dollar troubles, SunRail and Brightline are headed to new eras of passenger rail in Central Florida.

SunRail is looking in July to extend its commuter service into Osceola County and add a pair of train runs to its daily schedule.

Brightline’s extension from West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale to Miami set the stage for the start of construction soon for a Brightline connection at Orlando International Airport.

“Service will be arriving in 2021,” said Orlando airport director Phil Brown of Brightline’s stated schedule to link downtown Miami with Florida’s busiest airport, Orlando International.

With space for both Brightline and SunRail, the airport has a soaring new train station next to where a second airport terminal is under construction for a 2021 opening

SunRail advocates hope to someday run their commuter train to the airport, but there are no specific plans for doing so.

For now, SunRail’s potential to thrive rests with its first growth spurt, a leg into Osceola County.

Owned and operated by the Florida Department of Transportation, SunRail this month entered its fifth year with 12 stations and 32 miles of track between south Volusia and south Orange counties.

Operating on weekdays, SunRail’s ridership has failed to grow, remaining at a little more than 3,000 a day.

While SunRail is a gov- ernment venture, Brightline bills itself as “the only privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail system in the United States.”

As with SunRail, Brightline has had a rough road. It has faced unfriendly legislation, legal fights and opposition to high-speed trains running through the Treasure Coast region. Yet its backers have continued to ramp up efforts to arrive at Orlando’s airport.

Brown, the airport director, said from his recent talks with Brightline and its parent company, All Aboard Florida, the train venture is spending $160 million on airport property.

That will provide for a maintenance building of 200,000 square feet, more than 6 miles of track and extensive site work.

“They have already invested $200 million in their phase 2, which is the phase that is most important us,” Brown said. “The land purchases are complete, the engineering and design is complete and the permitting is nearly complete.”

Brown said Brightline’s management team has moved into the airport’s train station.

“Currently there are 14 people housed there and that will grow to approximately 30,” Brown said.

Brightline trains are to run 235 miles, connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando in three hours.

Brightline spokeswoman Ali Soule said trains will reach 125 mph along a run of newly installed tracks between Cocoa and the Orlando airport.