ORLANDO, Fla. — When Brightline begins constructing its extension beyond Orlando International Airport to Tampa during the next decade, the route won’t include a station on Disney World land or other direct Disney participation.
But the Miami-based passenger rail operator and Orlando business interests continue to plan a South International Drive station in close proximity to Disney, Sea World, Universal Studios Florida, and other attractions for the combined SunRail-Brightline “Sunshine Corridor.”
In a paywalled story, the Orlando Sentinel reports Disney spokesman Avery Maehrer said Monday that “the new route configuration does not support a Disney Springs station and as a result, we don’t anticipate being part of this project.”
The fact that Disney is not donating land for a station, however, only means that a nearby replacement along Interstate 4 won’t be captive to one attraction.
“Our original plan was to have one intermediate stop between Orlando and Tampa,” Ben Porritt, Brightline’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, tells Trains News Wire. “With the Sunshine Corridor plan, we will not only have two stations but a link to frequent SunRail service that will extend Brightline’s reach to the entire Orlando area.”
The east-west Sunshine Corridor will serve both the Orange County Convention Center and a South International Drive station following Florida Highway 528 to Interstate 4, rather than a more direct southwest route Brightline originally proposed. The availability of public money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for commuter rail systems attracted the attention of civic leaders who saw a way to reduce nagging highway congestion through improved local transportation options.
The budding partnership has resulted in pledges of financial support for the revised route and likely played a role in winning federal funds [see “Florida receives $15.875 million engineering grant for Brightline route,” News Wire, June 2, 2022].
Porritt says the exact placement of the tracks and station locations will be determined by the environmental and engineering project design now underway. “What’s unique is that you are going from one [Orlando area] stop at the airport to three with a commuter rail component, and it is now possible for us to serve multiple locations because everyone came together.”
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