Brightline Is Nearing Completion of High Speed Rail Route
It was a big day for news when it comes to the high-speed rail route that will connect the South of Florida with Orlando and Tampa. The route will provide transportation to guests going from Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World.
Today, Brightline officially unveiled the Vehicle Maintenance facility located just south of MCO’s main terminal. You can check out the tweet from the airport below.
More than 40 years ago our airport was built with the dream that one day we’d have connectivity with a rail network. 🚆 Today, leaders with @GoBrightline marked their 50% construction milestone at the Vehicle Maintenance Facility, located to the south of our Main Terminal. pic.twitter.com/4RcYiCK4ji
— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) May 19, 2021
The route to Orlando is nearly 55% completed with Brightline hoping that construction will be completed by the end of next year. Service along the route good begin as early as mid-2023 once it completes rigorous safety testing.
According to Brightline the maintenance facility will bring approximately 160 jobs to the building once construction is completed. This is expected to happen early next year!
Here she is! A first look at our brand new 109,000 square foot Orlando Vehicle Maintenance Facility. The most advanced full-maintenance train facility in the region 😍 #OnTrackToOrlando pic.twitter.com/5zTvNm3fs5
— Brightline (@GoBrightline) May 19, 2021
The route from West Palm Beach to Orlando is expected to cost in the area of $2.7 billion and will cover 170 miles. According to a recent piece in the Orlando Business Journal the route is apparently 62% complete on its $100 million vehicle maintenance facility which is approximate 109,000 square feet and sits on 62 acres just south of the airport.
It is estimated that once the rail is complete it will bring at least 2,000 additional jobs to Florida. As the OBJ tells us, there are currently 1,000 construction workers that are working on the rails each day!
And it took this team to build it!
She's beautiful! Keep doing great things! #GoBrightline #teamwork #passengerwifi #connectedjourney #connectedforgood pic.twitter.com/WkGhisplw6
— Icomera (@icomera) May 19, 2021
The return of Orlando International Airport passengers will help boost the train service and promote further connection, said Carson Good, board chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, during a May 19 press conference. “The first phase will
provide a transportation option to those hoping to link between Orlando and Miami, and ultimately is the beginning of a greater network that will expand into other pockets and regions in the state.”
Photo: janshroder.com
The route will eventually be expanded to include transportation from Orlando to Tampa. This will include a stop at Disney Springs in Walt Disney World.
But Brightline isn’t happy to stop there. Ultimate they would like to expand further including station stop North and South Florida. The project will be in the spotlight again at the end of July which is the deadline for negotiations with the Florida Department of Transportation and the Central Florida Express Authority to get permission to move forward with the Tampa route.
Readers are encouraged to keep following along with us here at MickeyBlog where we’ll be following this story closely!
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Source: Orlando Business Journal
