A presentation Thursday called the “first salvo” by Orlando’s mayor shows Brightline, SunRail and Universal working toward building passenger-rail tracks from Orlando’s airport to a station near the Orange County Convention Center and then to south International Drive.
Dubbed the “Sunshine Corridor,” the tracks and station would cost roughly $1 billion, though no design has been done for a cost estimate, and are envisioned for hourly Brightline trains and quarter-hour SunRail service.
As part of the presentation and for the first time publicly, Universal and International Drive partners disclosed pledges of $125 million for rail and station construction, 13 acres for a station site, a guaranteed $13 million in annual ticket sales and $2 million annually for maintenance.
The budding partnership is a major turnaround from an acrimonious dispute over Brightline’s initial plan to skip I-Drive on its way from Orlando’s airport to Walt Disney World and then Tampa because of costs.
The potential funding, timing and governance promise to be dizzyingly complex. SunRail operations will shift from state to local control and costs in two years, Brightline is pushing for an extension from Orlando’s airport to Tampa, and Orange County voters will go to the polls in November to decide on a proposed penny increase in sales tax for transportation.
But fueling optimism that challenges can be overcome are the billions of dollars in federal infrastructure funding that will cycle through multiple transportation agencies in coming years.
SunRail’s north-south service from Volusia County to Osceola County generally parallels Interstate 4 and has been been hampered with low ridership since service started in 2015. A link to the airport along with running more frequently and on weekends are widely considered essential for the commuter rail’s success.
“You are at a very, very rare moment,” said Corey Hill, a vice president at the planning consultant Kimley-Horn and a former federal rail executive, describing funding potential to local SunRail partners, Brightline executives and International Drive partners at the presentation.
Holding a public workshop for those participants, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said collaboration began in November when he hosted private meetings between Brightline and Universal.
A year ago, Brightline estimated that a rail route to the convention center and International Drive would cost exorbitantly more than its preferred route that would bypass those destinations.
Brightline has spent billions of dollars in private funds to build and operate service from Miami to West Palm Beach and for an extension to Orlando’s airport that is nearing completion.
The Central Florida Expressway, considering providing right-of-way for Brightline tracks, asked an independent consultant to review costs. That firm, Dewberry, agreed that a route from the airport to the International Drive area would cost between $600 million and $1.2 billion more than Brightline’s preferred route.
International Drive interests persisted, starting up a campaign called “Right Rail” to further their contention that Brightline should stop at the convention center and International Drive.
“We had two competing ideas for the best way to serve our community,” Dyer said. “I should mention that there was a lot of yelling and screaming in those initial meetings.”
But also in November, President Joe Biden signed into law the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that focuses on highways and public transportation, and suddenly put extraordinary funding within reach of Central Florida.
“We did come to an arrangement where everybody could work together,” Dyer said. “The vision is called the Sunshine Corridor.”
Dyer said the next steps include initial talks with federal agencies, a detailed study on potential ridership and forming a group to plan and carry out tasks.
The vision for an east-west SunRail corridor is beyond the original plans and agreements for the commuter rail system, extending from DeLand to near Poinciana.
Incorporating the east-west corridor into the SunRail partnership of Volusia, Seminole, Orange, Osceola and Orlando will require cracking open and rewriting original contracts.
That, by itself, could be problematic as some of the counties, particularly Volusia – a chronic critic of SunRail’s performance and cost inflation – are squabbling about the expense of running the system.
But the disclosure of Universal’s willingness to add money to an east-west expansion is a significant boost, Dyer said. The theme-park company’s investment alone could amount to the needed local match for federal grants, he said.
Last summer, Universal’s spokesperson Tom Schroder said “Brightlines’ current planned route is not the right one for our community.”
On Thursday, John Sprouls, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Universal Parks & Resorts, said the “planets seem to be aligning for us to finally be able to create commuter solution via rail for our community.”
Cited frequently during the gathering was the potential to serve major workforces: 75,000 employees in the International Drive area and 20,000 at the airport.
A Brightline senior vice president, Christine Kefauver, said her company has long conveyed that it would reconsider its route if Brightline did not have to cover all costs.
“We said if we had a funding partner, if we worked in partnership from a financial standpoint and it could become a more financially and economically viable option, then we are absolutely there.”
kspear@orlandosentinel.com
