By Bryan Pinero
On April 20th, 2023, intercity passenger railroad Brightline uncovered their new train station in Orlando International Airport, which is located six miles southeast of Downtown Orlando. This new station is part of Brightline’s plans to expand into central Florida.
According to an Insider article, the newly-revealed train station is specifically located inside the airport’s 80,000-square-foot train facility and has a size of 37,350 square feet. The trains are forecasted to connect Orlando and Miami with a trip that lasts three hours without pause.
This is different to other stations as according to the article “Regular service[s] will connect the two cities in three hours and 30 minutes, with stops at West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Aventura.”
Passengers will be able to purchase tickets to the train station from guest services or self-service stands before entering the station and into the security screening tunnel through turnstiles.
Once passengers enter through the tunnel, they’ll see a two-station space. In this space, they can find the retail store “MRKT PLACE”, the Mary Mary bar, several dozens of big-screen televisions, and more.
“According to Brightline, Orlando ticket sales will launch in May for future dates, with one-way fares starting at $79 for SMART and $149 for PREMIUM,” says an article from Orlando television station WKMG-TV.
More recently, on April 27th, a group of fourth-graders from Brevard County had the opportunity of being the first to take a field trip on the new station, after one of the students, River Gonzales, wrote a letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, where he was trying to persuade DeSantis into adding a Brigtline stop in Cocoa Beach.
“I think the Brightline is a lot faster and a lot quicker because if a car ride might take four hours to Miami, the Brightline would be quicker,” said Gonzales.
This station is expected to begin service out of Orlando this upcoming summer. Brigtline will continue expanding into Florida, with one location in mind being Tampa.
