Construction to Begin on Orlando International Airport’s Intercity Rail System

Travelers to Orlando International Airport will have some new transportation options for visiting the city, as well as other parts of the state, in the years to come. Construction crews will begin working in the airport’s new Intermodal Terminal Facility in January, setting up for work as early as this December, on the construction of a new Brightline passenger train station.

Orlando International Airport is set to become the final destination for the $3.5 billion Brightline train that will run from Miami to Orlando. The airport’s ITF is also expected to add stations for Central Florida’s Sunrail commuter train as well as a currently undetermined light rail.

Work on the station itself will begin in January, and by spring of 2018 builders will commence laying down tracks between Orlando and Cocoa. The entire Brightline project will be 30 months long, setting its opening to coincide with the new terminal’s debut in 2020.

These upcoming stations will be placed between Orlando International’s future C and D terminals. Stan Thornton, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority COO, spoke with the Orlando Business Journal about the new intermodal system’s transportation plans,

“This is the first time we are going to have an intercity rail system embedded into an airport in the United States. That truly makes us intermodal; you could get anywhere from Central Florida to anywhere in Florida by aviation and rail.”

Thornton elaborated on Orlando International’s unique ability to add rail lines, saying, “The visionaries who built this airport always had rail in mind so we built it to accommodate corridors to come through the airport.”

Thornton added that the terminal may end up accommodating a rail line that travels to the University of Central Florida, downtown Orlando, and the city’s surrounding municipalities.

Source: Orlando Business Journal

Image: Greater Orlando Aviation Authority