Late last year, we reported that a high speed rail station was being proposed for Walt Disney World, now Virgin Trains (formerly Brightline) has confirmed that it intends to open that station around the same time that their station at Orlando International Airport (MCO) is complete. The expansion would connect Orlando to Tampa and Miami.
According to Virgin Trains present Patrick Goddard:
“It’s our expectation to get it done and to build out to Disney. It is entirely conceivable that that can happen within the delivery of the Orlando [airport] station.”
Goddard adds that timely completion is at the mercy of permits and financing, but that construction is set to start soon and would take 30-36 months.
Goddard says that Virgin has “had an excellent relationship with Walt Disney World” and that they are “big supporters” of the project. The Walt Disney World station “would integrate with their transportation system, hotels and theme parks.”
The 20-mile expansion to Walt Disney World will also include a stop at SunRail’s Meadow Wood Station. The regional commuter-rail system currently has no link to MCO.
Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson said that with Virgin Atlantic delivering more passengers to Orlando from Europe than any other airline, and Virgin Voyages coming online in Miami next year, transportation to and from Orlando is important to the company.
“Connecting Orlando to Miami is a real dream. It will transform the lives of many people.”
Source: Orlando Sentinel / Image: Brightline
