ORLANDO—A Florida Department of Transportation study released Thursday projects improvements necessary to build a rail link from Orlando International Airport into the Interstate 4 corridor adjacent to convention facilities and theme parks would cost $4 billion.
But the report to the board of directors for commuter rail operator SunRail’s indicates the investment would generate huge ridership increases in a region starved for speedy and affordable public transportation, according to FDOT Central Florida District Secretary John Tyler.
The Orlando Sentinel report, which may be paywalled, says Tyler met with SunRail’s board to discuss next steps and construction options. One option, solely linking SunRail’s 49-mile north-south corridor, would cost an estimated $400 million and add 2.7 million annual riders to a system that currently only operates weekdays. Constructing that connection would not involve extensive grade separations necessary to get to the I-4 corridor, where the Orange County Convention Center and attractions such as Universal Studios Orlando and Disney World are located.
But that choice would stymie Brightline’s access to a right-of-way for rails in the median of I-4 that FDOT has preserved to Tampa since high speed trains were first proposed in the 1990s.
Securing funding that would allow construction to I-4 and beyond, however, could boost SunRail ridership to 9.4 million passengers by 2040. Federal grants could potentially come from not only the Federal Transit Administration but also Federal Railroad Administration programs because Brightline is involved, but a local or state-supplied financial match would be required.
Universal and Brightline have also expressed willingness to invest in construction, but Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings reiterated that a dedicated source of funding is needed. Voters in the area have not approved an increase in the transportation sales tax and a decision to place such a referendum on the November 2024 ballot has not been made.
Tyler says he expects costs would be split equally between the state, local, private, and federal sources. Some corridor plans can be recycled from two previous Orlando-Tampa high-speed rail initiatives derailed by Florida Govs. Jeb Bush and Rick Scott, but Tyler says an additional environmental study could cost $6 million, of which FDOT is proposing to contribute $2 million.
Significantly, if this transportation investment did not involve rail, much of it could be funded from Florida’s share of “formula grants” allocated from the multi-billion-dollar Federal Highway Trust Fund.
The good news is that the $4 billion estimate is lower than the projection from an earlier study [see “Brightline, SunRail ‘Sunshine Corridor’ project could cost $6 billion …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 6, 2022].
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