ORLANDO — The plan for Brightline service from Orlando and Tampa is evolving into concept that would take advantage of federal infrastructure funding by extending SunRail commuter service to the Orlando Airport, the Orange County Convention Center, and the Disney World area. Brightline would would lease rights to use that trackage and build its own route from the Disney area to Tampa.
In a paywalled article, the Orlando Sentinel reports Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has hosted dozens of meeting between Brightline, Universal Studios — which would be served by the new plan, but not by the original Brightline proposal — and other interested parties to break a deadlock over the planned Brightline extension.
Dyer says the extension would be the beginning of an east-west route for the currently north-south SunRail, which serves 16 stations on a 49-mile route in four counties. Service to the airport would also require the commuter operator to increase frequencies, run later at night, and operate on weekends, he said. Currently, the Monday-through-Friday service operates on 30-minute headways during peak periods, and less frequently at other times. The new plan, called the “Sunshine Corridor Program,” would see trains every 15 minutes on the airport route.
U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (D-Kissimmee) said he has told the parties they must reach a decision by this summer to be in position to compete for federal funding: “Those first announcements for rail and for highways are going to be big ones, the biggest in the nation. We want to make sure there is consensus locally because it’s so competitive. If we don’t have consensus it’s going to be very difficult.”
Brightline spokeswoman Christine Kefauver said the plan is “the type of big vision project that Central Florida needs and one that will improve the quality of life for Central Floridians while ensuring an economic advantage for decades.”
What would be IMO very important is to extend beyond Deland to Daytona Beach, the Volusia County seat. Add a stop at the racetrack and imagine the traffic on race activities days.
As far as Tavers yep. However, Apopka is a few miles down the track in Orange County.
Except that DeLand is the county seat of Volusia County.
An extension straight up Interstate 4 to Daytona Beach would be feasible, but wouldn’t really go through DeLand. Maybe the better idea would have been, starting from just north of the Sunrail maintenance facility in Sanford, build a bridge across the neck of Lake Monroe and then parallel to I-4 to Daytona. But if that was done now it would strand the existing park-and-ride in DeBary.
With the City of Daytona Beach buying property along the FEC for the express purpose of building a future train station, its not clear if Brightline will own ORL to DAY as part of a JAX service or not.
Also the Jacksonville transit agency (JTA) is currently doing studies on the concept of a heavy rail transit service from Yulee on the north side, through downtown Jax, down to St Augustine at the south end.
What is not known is will this be SunRail branded, or have its own (like Tri-Rail).
Brightline deferred on JAX due to a lack of a “comprehensive and complementary” transit system that could feed them passengers.
All of this plays a role in any “SunRail to Daytona” talk.
From what I’ve read Brightline would not be in the transit business here. I don’t exactly remember which one was named BUT…one station would be a transfer point between Sunrail and Brightline. Which would help ridership for both.
The Meadow Woods station has been mentioned consistently as the transfer point. Although, if everything that mayor Dyer describes is actually built, it may require a much larger facility than what has been contemplated so far.
John Rice: “Neither is DeLand, after they voted against it, but they are getting it anyway.”
Daniel Carleton: “DeLand’s attempt to exit the agreement was just that, an attempt.”
John Laszek: Who were “they”? The voters? The DeLand city council? Were the NIMBYs outvoted? Or if the vote was, “Stay out, SunRail!”, how was it overridden? Google is not helping.
John Rice: “Neither is DeLand, after they voted against it, but they are getting it anyway.”
Daniel Carleton: “DeLand’s attempt to exit the agreement was just that, an attempt.”
John Laszek: Who were “they”? The voters? The DeLand city council? Were the NIMBYs outvoted? Or if the vote was, “Stay out, SunRail!”, how was it overriden? Google is not helping.
I like the effort to get consensus among the vested interests. Something that is lacking in other parts of the US. Rep. Soto is correct, the broader the coalition of support is, the more likely it will get attention.
But the devil is in the details here and how SunRail is going to support the I-Drive district and Universal (the hang up for Brightline) relative to the airport. I will need to see proposed route maps because much of this proposal appears to require much more private property to reach the destinations involved.
Also does this resolve the questions raised around service on the Florida Central line to Tavares?
Brightline doesn’t really want to be in the local transit business, they want the high volume leisure business.
With the recent noise between the Gov. & Disney, you hope that their differences can be put aside since FDOT and Disney have to approve the Brightline routing.
” ….. the recent noise between the Gov. and Disney ….” includes a threat to withdraw Disney’s status as a local unit of government. Until that proposal s resolved one way of the other, negoatiations could complicate.
Tavares is not in any of the counties that participate in Sunrail, so Tavares is not in the picture at this time.
Also, the Reedy Creek Improvement District is the regulatory body that covers Disney. If Reedy Creek is decertified as a regulatory body (as has been recently suggested), then that authority passes to Orange County and Osceola County.
“Tavares is not in any of the counties that participate in Sunrail, so Tavares is not in the picture at this time.”
Neither is DeLand, after they voted against it, but they are getting it anyway.
Thanks for the update on the other route.
DeLand is in Volusia County and is part of the four county partnership (Seminole, Orange and Osceola) of SunRail. DeLand’s attempt to exit the agreement was just that, an attempt.