Sunshine Corridor: SunRail and Brightline Stop at Universal Studios and Airport Connection

Northern Expansion Stations | SunRail Corporate - about 12 miles from DeBary to DeLand, and scheduled to open in the summer of this year.

If Brightline does build through to Universal and Disney, they need to acquire different coaches. They are going to need high-density coaches with lots of space for luggage that they can sell at a price that competes with MEARS, Uber, Lyft and other services.

I honestly kind of wish they'd buy them now. Brightline's pricing model is not that great if I'm in Orlando and want to pop down to Miami, if it's me and 1 or more other people, it's probably cheaper to drive than pay $140 or so round trip per person. The seats for the business-minded clients are good, but they need a lower price point seat for the family vacation.

I really don't see people on long term trips to Disney taking the train. We stay at Port Orleans Riverside when we go, and that trip by train would require transferring to a pontoon boat at Disney Springs, which ain't happening. Maybe if the train went to the Ticket & Transportation Center, but Disney Springs isn't really set up for resort guests checking in or checking out. Mears will continue to be the most direct and stress free connection from MCO (man, do I miss Magical Express).

The other thing to consider as well, is that Disney Springs buses only run to resorts to deter people from using the free garages for park access. The same applies in reverse, with only resorts offering service to Disney Springs starting late morning (parks used to offer late afternoon buses to the Springs, but those were cut during the pandemic and have yet to return).

As much as I love the idea of multimodal transportation, I don't really picture a family from Miami taking the train to Disney Springs, to then get on a bus to a resort, to then get on a bus to a park. I think Disney would need to have a dedicated "bubble" station, a-la the old Manhattan Transfer, where once you get off the train you can only get on a Disney bus direct to your resort or park.

Who pays?: OrlandoSentinel.com

IMNSHO (lol) it seems clear at a minimum SunRail (or whoever funds SR) should fund the link from their line to the airport. A combination of Brightline, SR, Universal, the Convention Center (or whoever funds CC) and Disney should be on the hook up to Disney Springs. After that, it's BL to Tampa.

SunRail link to airport, theme parks would multiply riders and cost billions

$4 billion construction price tag raises daunting question of who will pay to build and operate it



Expanding SunRail to Orlando’s airport and the region’s tourism corridor would boost ridership at least sixfold in the first year of operation but come at an eye-popping cost of about $4 billion, state officials said Thursday in providing their first public projections for the commuter train’s next phase.

“There’s a lot of sharpening of the pencil to determine the true cost of this project,” said John Tyler, secretary of the Florida’s Department of Transportation’s Central Florida district, speaking to local mayors and city commissioners on SunRail’s board. Those costs would have to come from the taxpayers, with a combination of local, state and federal funding, as well as significant private contributions.
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The study unveiled by the state transportation department Thursday depicts several scenarios. Connecting SunRail to just the airport, for example, would cost an estimated $400 million and boost annual ridership to a projected 3.7 million.

The Sunshine Corridor is drawing support from Universal Studios Orlando, which has committed to providing land for a station and other incentives, and Brightline Trains, which wants to expand its current intercity service from Orlando’s airport to Tampa by using the corridor.
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