Sunshine Corridor Brightens Future for Two Florida Passenger Lines
Brightline, SunRail Would Share Route From Orlando Airport to Disney Springs
Two Florida passenger railroads are counting on a proposed $2 billion, 16-mile rail line called the Sunshine Corridor to shape their futures. Brightline wants it as the first leg of its extension from Orlando International Airport to Tampa. Commuter carrier SunRail would use the line to serve the airport, Orange County Convention Center, theme parks, and International Drive.
If built, the Sunshine Corridor would enable many of the 100,000 commuters who work in the area to leave their cars home. It would also create a new ground transportation option for air travelers and Brightline passengers going to downtown Orlando and Kissimmee.
The Sunshine Corridor would significantly improve Central Florida’s transportation network and ultimately connect Tampa, Orlando, and Miami, Florida’s three largest metropolitan areas. It would provide more mobility options for residents, workers, and visitors.
Additionally, it would build upon both railroads expansion projects. Brightline began serving the airport last September and now provides hourly service to West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami. SunRail’s extension to DeLand, which is slated to enter service in May, will complete the line’s 61-mile, 17 station north-south route parallel to busy Interstate 4.
SunRail would use the Sunshine Corridor to provide east-west service from Sunbridge Parkway to Disney Springs and direct service from the airport to downtown Orlando and Kissimmee.
Both lines are planning further growth. Brightline has begun engineering for its Tampa extension. A proposal to bring SunRail into fast-growing Polk County is under consideration.
The Sunshine Corridor consists of three sections:
· Sunshine Corridor Central runs from Orlando International Airport to the Orange County Convention Center and South International Drive. It begins at the Brightline station in Terminal C and heads west to join the north-south line used by SunRail, Amtrak, and CSX formerly known as the CSX “A Line.”
A transfer station will be built where the two lines converge so passengers can connect with SunRail trains to downtown Orlando, DeLand, Kissimmee, and Poinciana. The Sunshine Corridor diverges and heads west again just to the north of the transfer station. It follows Taft Vineland Road and State Route 528 to reach the convention center. From there it runs down the I-4 corridor to South International Drive.
· Sunshine Corridor East extends over existing Brightline track from the airport to a new SunRail station at Sunbridge Parkway in eastern Orange County.
· Brightline’s 67-mile Tampa extension comprises Sunshine Corridor West. The alignment starts at South International Drive and runs down the I-4 median.
Both SunRail and Brightline want the Corridor built as an elevated railway. This is a factor in the project’s high estimated cost. SunRail will operate and maintain Central section with Brightline operating and maintaining the East and West segments. The two carriers plan to enter into a track access agreement to facilitate joint operations.
Brightline is moving ahead with Phase 3 of its planned 337-mile Florida system, aka the Tampa extension. In 2022 it received a $15,875,000 CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement) grant from the US Department of Transportation, matching its own funds, for preliminary engineering.
The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission, SunRail’s governing body, wants the commuter line to morph into a larger, regional rail enterprise. Two proposal are on the table: the extension via the Sunshine Corridor to Orlando International Airport and the Orange County Convention Center; and adding Polk County to the system.
SunRail would use the Sunshine Corridor to provide east-west service from Sunbridge Parkway to Disney Springs and direct service from the airport to downtown Orlando and Kissimmee. Trains would run every 15 minutes to Disney Springs and every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes off peak to Orlando and Kissimmee. Trip times from the airport would be 21 minutes to Kissimmee, 25 minutes to Disney Springs and 28 minutes to Orlando.
The estimated cost of building the corridor between the airport and convention center is now $2 billion. Financing would come through grants from federal, state, and local governments as well as private entities such as Brightline and Universal Studios Florida.
Brightline has to build regardless to connect its Tampa extension and the Orlando International Airport station. Sen. Nick DiCeglie, chair of the Florida Senate Transportation Committee, filed legislation in early January that would require Florida DOT to preserve 44-foot-wide rail corridor in the I-4 right of way.
Universal is said to be willing to back $125 million in private activity bonds for construction of the rail line and convention center station. In addition, it has agreed to donate land for the station.
The commission wants to advance the program to position Central Florida to tap into once-in-a-generation funding opportunities created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. But Florida must first establish a dedicated public entity to support development and operation of the corridor and line up the other funding sources.
This opportunity comes as the commission is preparing for a change in SunRail ownership. Florida DOT wants the four counties SunRail serves – Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Volusia – and the City of Orlando to take title to the railroad and to cover its operating losses.
The agreement between Florida DOT and the local governments calls for the state to operate and pay SunRail’s operating costs for its first seven years in service. SunRail started passenger operations in 2014. Florida DOT can transfer ownership to the counties six months after the 12-mile extension to DeLand opens in May.
The transition will occur in two phases. The state will first transfer SunRail’s financial obligations to Orlando and the four counties. Florida DOT District 5 Secretary John Tyler hopes this will be complete by the end of 2024. The second phase, transitioning SunRail into an operating entity, is slated to follow within three years.
Once the change in ownership closes, the local governments could be on the hook for as much as $45 million, SunRail’s current operating deficit. How that amount is split among the local governments still has to be worked out with Florida DOT.
SunRail currently recovers 42 percent of its costs but riders pay only a small amount of that. The rest comes from advertising, bus charters and trackage rights fees paid by Amtrak and CSX. Ridership has held steady around 4,100 passengers a day. This figure is likely to rise when service to DeLand begins. Trains run weekdays only, and weekend service is not likely to begin before the airport is served.
At this time, the proposed Polk County extension is little more than a feasibility study done by Florida DOT. It calls for seven stations along the 37-mile route: Loughman, Davenport, Haines City, Lake Alfred, Auburndale, Polk Parkway, and Lakeland. The extension would be built in two phases, the first to Haines City, 16 miles west of Poinciana.
Florida DOT estimates Phase 1 construction would cost around $350 million, i.e., $23 million per mile, to pay mostly for additional track ,and upgrading existing track. Annual cost to operate and maintain the line was estimated to be $12 million
With Polk being the fastest-growing county in Florida there is strong public support for the extension. In a Metro Quest poll for Florida DOT, 98 percent of respondents favored bringing SunRail to Polk County.
Polk County elected leaders have divergent opinions on the project. County Commission Neil Combee said he was concerned that the rail line would make Polk County a bedroom community for Orlando. “We need business. We need industry. We don’t need to be a bedroom community for Orlando,” he said.
Haines City Commissioner Roy Tyler noted that Polk County faces steep costs to address traffic congestion. It would be more expensive to build more roads than to extend SunRail, he added.
Bill Braswell, another Polk County commissioner, pointed out that SunRail “doesn’t go anywhere that anybody’s going to want to go.” SunRail currently doesn’t go to Disney World or International Drive where many workers from the county have jobs. However, when the Sunshine Corridor gets built that problem will become moot.
The Sunshine Corridor can greatly enhance mobility in much of Central Florida by enabling people to reach destinations that are currently unserved by rail. With it being integral to Brightline’s Tampa extension, the question isn’t “will it get built?” but, rather, when will it be built, who will build it, and in what form.
This is such an interesting dance, Sun Rail and Brightline. For now it works well with Brightline, short of capital, dancing with Brightline to get a key expensive section. But at the end of the day who's toy will it be?
I haven't seen anything they've sorted out who owns the toys. Things feel great now but that may be a stumbling block.
Along with that is the Disney Springs being the end of the line for Sun Rail. It makes some sense to extend Sun Rail to Disney Springs. But for Polk County to benefit, they'll be looking to bring in SunRail past that. If that gets traction, that can too become a source of conflict between SunRail and Brighline.