Brightline Florida has made a request for financing its Miami-Tampa High-speed Rail Extension project. The expansion would mainly follow the Interstate 4 corridor, extending Brightline’s existing South Florida route to cover about 320 miles from Miami to Tampa.
As for now, Brightline connects the cities of Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Orlando. Additionally, the company offers shuttle service between airports and train stations. These services are usually for customers who book JetBlue Mint business class or core economy class tickets.
Also read: Construction of the Brightline West high speed California to Las Vegas rail to begin
Project Factsheet
Project name: Brightline Orlando to Tampa Extension
Operator: Brightline
Route: initially proposed to follow the Interstate 4 (I-4) corridor between Orlando and Tampa. The full Miami to Tampa route would be approximately 320 miles.
Estimated travel time (Orlando to Tampa): Approximately 1 hour
Cost
The proposed project, currently in its initial phase, is seeking up to $400 million in bond funding for construction.
The Florida Development Finance Corporation (FDFC), which is expected to provide the funding on the project, has scheduled a public hearing on July 17 at 2 p.m. that will be conducted through a telephone conference in order to receive feedback on approving the bonds needed for the extension.
What will the Funds be Utilized for?
The FDFC is expected to loan the bonds to Brightline so that they can pay for the “design, development, acquisition, construction” of the extension. This information was revealed by a notice on the FDFC website.
Upon completion, a single train trip from Orlando International to Tampa would take approximately an hour. It takes two hours to drive between the cities on I-4.
Significance of the Project
During 2024, Florida transportation officials stated that a high-speed train linking Tampa to Orlando was “important” due to the worsening traffic congestion on the interstate.
The update on the high-speed rail comes after a survey that was done earlier this year that examined how residents and commuters would react to the proposed expansion.
Also read: Hudson River rail tunnel project in New York, USA
