ORLANDO, Fla. — A rail corridor that would enable Brightline to extend service to Tampa while allowing commuter operator SunRail to link Orlando International Airport and area theme parks has received a funding boost. Commissioners in Seminole County, just north of Orlando, this week voted to contribute $500,000 to a $6 million feasibility study for the project.
The Sunshine Corridor would be built west from Brightline’s airport station along Florida Route 528 to Interstate 4, with a connection to existing SunRail service and stations at the Orlando Convention Center and South International Drive. Brightline and SunRail would share tracks and stations on the corridor, with Brightline trains continuing to Tampa in the median of I-4. The cost has been estimated at $4 billion [see “SunRail airport connection to Orlando….” Trains News Wire, April 26, 2024].
As reported Wednesday, Jan. 29, in a paywalled Orlando Sentinel story, Seminole County’s funding will augment a similar amount pledged by the city of Orlando. Officials in Orange, Volusia, and Osceola counties have voiced support but have yet to confirm their contributions. Orange County and the I-Drive Resort Chamber of Commerce, however, have established a special taxing district around land Universal Theme Parks has donated around the Orlando Convention Center for a station [see “Florida officials approve development district …,” News Wire, Oct. 12, 2023].
The Florida Department of Transportation has said it will contribute one-third of the cost of the project, development, and environmental study, as long as public and private entities supply the remaining $4 million. Completion of the study is the first step in applying for federal grants. Seminole’s support is significant, because the county includes Sanford and Lake Mary, two of the northernmost stops on the north-south SunRail route and miles away from the proposed east-west Sunshine Corridor.
County Commissioner Amy Lockhart told the Sentinel, “We needed to step up so that we are part of the ‘contributed’ column and maybe through positive peer pressure will move others.”
Brightline has said it will help fund the Sunshine Corridor study and project after local officials convinced the company to abandon a previously-planned route to Tampa that would have bypassed the convention center. News Wire is awaiting a comment from Brightline on the Seminole County contribution.
— Updated at 11:02 a.m. to correct number of Florida Route 528.
