Recently, the Brightline high-speed rail company announced that their long-anticipated (and delayed) expansion to the city of Orlando would be opening this Friday. The project is phase 2 of an even more ambitious plan to extend high-speed rail service to connect South and Central Florida together, with round trip tickets between Orlando and Miami being $79 (in the lowest tier of business class).

CGI Mockup of the Orlando Brightline station (VisitOrlando.com)

The highly anticipated announcement comes after several delays of the Orlando expansion’s opening date due to a combination of factors, mostly Railway inspections or construction delays due to supply chain issues. Brightline, due to its operating rolling stock for its trains above 125 MPH, has to go through strict Federal Railway Commission (FRC) testing to be certified to operate its trains at such a high speed. However, despite these delays, hope and excitement over the expansion of high-speed rail across Florida have continued to build. Miami is the best example of this excitement, with Brightline having constructed its new central station in Central Miami. The new railway hub, which serves both Miami MetroRail and Brightline, has been surrounded by large skyscraper developments taking advantage of higher land values around the railway station. Other Brightline stations, such as those in Aventura, Boca Raton, etc, have seen similar levels of development. 

A Brightline train at Boca Raton Station, with housing and commercial developments visible in the background (Miami Herald)

Combined with development around Brightline stations and excitement for the new Brightline expansion, Orlando is expected to see a boom in localized travel between Central and South Florida. Travel times between MiamiCentral and Orlando stations are about 3 hours, with trains going anywhere between 90 to 125 MPH on most segments of the tracks. This overshadows the current travel time between Northern Miami and Orlando, an example being taking the Highway (driving) to Orlando. Currently, driving times between Northern Miami and Orlando rest at about 3 ½-4 hours, all depending on traffic in Miami and Orlando. The new expansion is expected to take many drivers off the road between Miami and Orlando, while also increasing the amount of ridership Brightline experiences each year by a significant amount. 

A Brightline train at their new, recently opened Orlando station. (Clint Henderson/ThePointsGuy)