Rumor Higher Speed Rail from MCO to Disney World

FutureCEO

FutureCEO

Well-Known Member
"The train was scheduled to leave at 6:41 a.m., but it was delayed by about 30 minutes due to a deadly crash on another train."

Nice for the first train but I don't understand how people are stupid enough to go on the tracks in the first place. Seems like Brightline gets a bad rap in safety because of morons.
 
JoeCamel

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
Disney reneged on the deal to have the station on property but they’re still moving forward with expansion to Tampa which will have a station along I-4 right outside Walt Disney World. The current Sunshine Corridor plan will also bring SunRail service to the airport, convention center and Disney area.
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Maybe CFTOD will build a stop to promote tourism in the area.
 
Twirlnhurl

Twirlnhurl

Well-Known Member
New article in the Orlando Business Journal about costs of Brightline extension to Universal and Disney:

Why Sunshine Corridor for Brightline and SunRail passenger trains will cost over $2B
By Richard Bilbao – Digital Producer/Senior Staff Writer, Orlando Business Journal
Sep 29, 2023

The work needed to bring the Brightline/SunRail-shared Sunshine Corridor for passenger trains to life will carry a hefty price tag compared to its distance — primarily due to its complexity.

Florida Department of Transportation District 5 Secretary John Tyler on Sept. 28 gave the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission an update on the work being done on the corridor that would be shared by Miami-based intercity passenger train Brightline and local commuter rail service SunRail.

The corridor would connect Orlando International Airport with train stations at the Orange County Convention Center and South International Drive.

Specifically, Tyler shed more light on why the corridor extension from the airport to the tourist corridor is estimated to cost roughly $2 billion — a price tag he called "significant." That's up from an initial estimate of $1 billion.

In comparison, building the 170-mile Brightline rail from South Florida to Orlando cost $2.8 billion.

"We looked at what was the infrastructure that was needed to be able to make all that happen. Stations, the track, the bridge work, the signals ... everything that our experience has told us you need to have to build railroad infrastructure — and it is a significant cost," he said. The price is a range, as not enough data has been gathered nor has a design been done to determine an exact price.

He did not provide further detail on how much each component affects the prices. However, he said there are potential refinements and design details that can bring the cost down. "It is a significant infrastructure project to go from the airport out to convention center with a multi-use rail corridor," said Tyler. "It's $2 billion to get where we were considering the first step of the Sunshine Corridor, and that's the convention center."

Other questions being worked out by FDOT include how users would transfer from one service to another and where those transfers would occur along the line. Also, wait times between transfers and where riders will wait — outdoors or indoors — are being evaluated as that all affects both the experience and costs, Tyler added.

Models included with the presentation showed a SunRail trip from Lynx Central to Orlando International Airport would take an estimated 28 minutes, while the trip from Kissimmee would take 21 minutes. Trains would come in 15-minute intervals at midday and 30-minute intervals during other parts of the day. Also, trips to Disney Springs from the airport would run in 15-minute intervals all day and be a total travel time of 24-25 minutes.

Next, Tyler said there will be future reports on multiple paths the commission can consider, including having the intercity service running before the regional service or vice versa; possible available funding resources; and commuter rail-related public meetings that likely will be held in late October or November.

Other upcoming steps for the rail corridor include an Oct. 10 public hearing by the Orange County Commission to discuss the proposed Shingle Creek Transit & Utility Community Development District, which would provide funding for the potential Sunshine Corridor and the train station on Destination Parkway.

Tyler was not available for further comment prior to press time. It's expected that the corridor will generate more economic impact for the region. In fact, passenger rail-related activities created about 8,570 jobs and $1.44 billion in economic impact across Florida in 2018, said a March 2023 FDOT report.
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As much as I want this to happen, $2 billion to just get to the convention center is a lot of money (the 22 miles of I-4 Ultimate between Kirkman and Lake Mary was $2.1 billion in 2012 dollars). A Disney-area Station would be in addition to the $2 billion. I am really concerned that the route selected is really going to kill the chances this ever gets built.
 
TrainsOfDisney

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
This goes into very “blue sky” thinking - but ideally Disney would work with Brightline to create a direct to property train. It would operate from MCO to Disney property every half hour. Constantly.

There would be 2 stops, one at Disney Springs, and 1 at Epcot. The line from Disney Springs to Epcot would double up for Disney transportation linking Epcot and Disney Springs as well.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Twirlnhurl said:
New article in the Orlando Business Journal about costs of Brightline extension to Universal and Disney:


As much as I want this to happen, $2 billion to just get to the convention center is a lot of money (the 22 miles of I-4 Ultimate between Kirkman and Lake Mary was $2.1 billion in 2012 dollars). A Disney-area Station would be in addition to the $2 billion. I am really concerned that the route selected is really going to kill the chances this ever gets built.
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I don’t understand how they got down to $1 billion. The whole reason Brightline didn’t want to go to the Convention Center is because it was going to cost about $2 billion, about double the FL 417 route that they preferred.
 
Disone

Disone

Well-Known Member
Twirlnhurl said:
New article in the Orlando Business Journal about costs of Brightline extension to Universal and Disney:


As much as I want this to happen, $2 billion to just get to the convention center is a lot of money (the 22 miles of I-4 Ultimate between Kirkman and Lake Mary was $2.1 billion in 2012 dollars). A Disney-area Station would be in addition to the $2 billion. I am really concerned that the route selected is really going to kill the chances this ever gets built.
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IMO... That's exactly what universal studios is trying to do. They're not really interested in having the train come so much as they're just making sure it doesn't go direct from airport to Disney.
 
Rich Brownn

Rich Brownn

Well-Known Member
TrainsOfDisney said:
This goes into very “blue sky” thinking - but ideally Disney would work with Brightline to create a direct to property train. It would operate from MCO to Disney property every half hour. Constantly.

There would be 2 stops, one at Disney Springs, and 1 at Epcot. The line from Disney Springs to Epcot would double up for Disney transportation linking Epcot and Disney Springs as well.
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Disney is only interested if Universal is bypassed
 
Twirlnhurl

Twirlnhurl

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
Universal is seeking a special district to impose additional taxes on the South Campus so that they can provide funding to the endeavor and future service.
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That's true, but if the train never comes, that funding can lead to other transportation improvements in the area.

And if the train does come, it will likely be in phases, so if the MCO to Convention Center segment gets built, there is no guarantee that a later phase to Disney or Tampa would ever be built.

Sure, FDOT has secured the right-of-way, but that doesn't mean it will be cheap to build that segment. Based on the amount of bridging and the complexity of that segment, I wouldn't be surprised if Convention Center to Disney is an additional $500 million.

Universal has a very real chance of getting a train while Disney's chances are significantly lower.

I think the odds that a train opens from MCO to Convention Center by 2035 is around 15%, and the odds it makes it as far as the Disney area is probably more like 5%.

I would love to be wrong.
 
Disone

Disone

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
Universal is seeking a special district to impose additional taxes on the South Campus so that they can provide funding to the endeavor and future service.
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Sure but there's other things they can do with that special district than the train station. If you follow the money their money has always gone to the opposition of high speed rail project connecting Orlando to Tampa via Disney. They've canceled the Orlando the Tampa train so many times I've lost count.
 
TiggerDad

TiggerDad

Well-Known Member
Twirlnhurl said:
New article in the Orlando Business Journal about costs of Brightline extension to Universal and Disney:


As much as I want this to happen, $2 billion to just get to the convention center is a lot of money (the 22 miles of I-4 Ultimate between Kirkman and Lake Mary was $2.1 billion in 2012 dollars). A Disney-area Station would be in addition to the $2 billion. I am really concerned that the route selected is really going to kill the chances this ever gets built.
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15 minute intervals seem more akin to a subway than heavy rail.
 

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