Brightline announced Tuesday that it has finished construction of tracks at Orlando International Airport.
The South Florida company is closing in on completion of a 170-mile extension from West Palm Beach and is about a year from beginning passenger service between Miami and Orlando, with multiple stops in between.
The most intense portion of the extension has been 31/2 miles through the heart of the Orlando airport campus. It required six bridges, two underpasses and other major installations, all confined to a skinny work zone. Interior finishes are about to start at Brightline’s train station at the south side of the airport.
Meanwhile, a new Brightline train arrived at the airport recently, towed 3,000 miles from a Siemens factory in California.
For the extension from South Florida to Orlando’s airport, Brightline ordered five new trains to go with the existing five used currently for passenger service between Miami and West Palm Beach.
Of the fleet, seven trains are to be based, washed, serviced and fueled at Brightline’s new maintenance hub, which is also at the south end of airport property. Brightline plans for hourly service in both directions between Orlando and Miami.
Operating around the clock, the maintenance hub will have nearly 125,000 square feet under roof able to hold entire trains and about 175 technicians, engineers and managers.
The newly arrived train, with two locomotives and four passenger cars, is called Bright Blue 2.
– Original Credit: Brightline
– Original Source: Brightline
“To see Bright Blue 2 drive onto the Vehicle Maintenance Facility site was emotional for all of us,” said Mike Cegelis, Brightline’s executive vice president for development and construction.
Work on the extension from South Florida began in 2019.
With completion of 6 miles of track at the maintenance hub, Bright Blue 2 will start to make appearances at the airport later this year as crews gain experience there.
The double tracks at the airport have been likened to threading a needle. They weave through baggage paths and people movers, dive under a taxiway and skirt along the main terminal.
As part of its access agreement with Orlando’s airport authority, Brightline also constructed space for light or commuter rail track at the airport.
Brightline’s train speeds through the airport will be limited to 35 mph. East of the airport along State Road 528 in a vast, open area of Orange County, trains will operate at up to 125 mph.
kspear@orlandosentinel.com
