New Rail Service Between Orlando And Miami On Track For 2022

ORLANDO, FL — Virgin Trains broke ground Monday on the much anticipated Orlando to West Palm Beach leg of the higher speed rail service that will link Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach to Orlando International Airport beginning in 2022.

“Officially launching construction to Orlando marks a huge milestone for Virgin Trains and the realization of our vision to reinvent passenger rail in America,” said Virgin Trains President Patrick Goddard. “Connecting Orlando and Miami, two of our nation’s greatest cities, will provide tremendous economic and environmental benefits that will be an asset to Florida for generations.”

In an interview with CNBC ahead of Monday's event, Chairman of Virgin Trains and co-founder of Fortress Investment Group Wes Edens said the cost of a ticket is likely to be around $100. Edens did not say if he was referring to a round-trip ticket or one-way ticket. Virgin Trains did not immediately clarify the statement.

"There are hundreds of millions of trips that happen from Miami to Orlando and vice versa," Edens told CNBC. "Capturing 2, 3, 4 or 5 percent, the line is very, very full and very profitable."

A search of travel website Orbitz on Tuesday found a low fare of $172.60 for a round trip flight between Miami International and Orlando International departing this Friday and returning on Sunday. The same trip would cost $166.25 from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport but a whopping $740.61 from West Palm Beach International Airport.

Officials who attended Monday's ceremony in Orlando included Congresswoman Val Demings, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, GOAA Board Chairman Domingo Sanchez and Deputy Administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration Quintin Kendall.

"A rail connection between Florida's major cities has been a long-time vision," explained Orange County Mayor Demings. "A higher speed rail connection between Miami and Orlando will be a valuable asset to central Florida's tourism industry and help create a super region with South Florida."

Sir Richard Branson told Patch and other news organizations back in April that he is "100 percent confident" the former Brightline train line will also be extended to Tampa and Disney World in short order.

"Interestingly, in America, rail has not really been something that has worked particularly well if you go back as of the last 100 years," Branson said as he rode the line's three existing stops with reporters in tow. "The car has sort of reigned supreme. I think the team of Brightline, which is now called Virgin Trains, has proven that it can work — that people actually want to get out of their cars. They want to not have to sort of hang about at airports, and they love to be on trains."

Orlando is already the nation’s most visited city, according to Virgin Trains, which noted that travel to Florida is at an all-time high.

"Orlando International Airport welcomed a record-breaking 47 million passengers last year and according to Visit Florida, over 126 million out-of-state visitors traveled to Florida in 2018," the train line said. "With service to Orlando expected to begin in 2022, Virgin Trains projects over six million annual riders in Florida and $6.4 billion in direct economic impact to Florida. The project between South and Central Florida will generate more than 10,000 jobs and over $650 million in federal, state and local tax revenue over an eight-year period."

Train officials said the expansion from Orlando to South Florida represents a total private investment of $4 billion. Virgin Trains also plans to construct and operate a new rail service between Las Vegas and Southern California.

The Florida line will initially operate a total of 10, seven-car train sets between Miami and Orlando. Each will carry 356 passengers.

The higher speed train reaches speeds of 79 mph between Miami and West Palm but will reach speeds of up to 125 mph once the next stop at Orlando International Airport is added. The fastest speed will be on the stretch between Cocoa and Orlando International where the line plans to construct 40 miles of new grade separated track.

That is a far cry from the noisy and heavy cargo trains that have had the more than 100-year-old Florida East Coast railway tracks to themselves since the late 1960s. The cargo trains reach maximum speeds of about 60 miles per hour and are much louder than the Virgin trains.

Train officials have dubbed the expansion the "red spike era' as a play on the ‘golden spike’ ceremony in 1869 that marked the joining of the Central Pacific Railroad from the West with the Union Pacific Railroad in the East and the completion of the United States’ first transcontinental, coast-to-coast railroad line.

The new phase of the railroad includes 170 miles of new track that will run into the new South Terminal at Orlando International Airport. The project will use 225 million pounds of American steel, 490,000 ties and 2.35 million tons of granite and limestone that will be transported by 20,000 rail cars.

"Additionally, approximately two million spikes and bolts will be hammered and put in place over the next 36 months," train officials said.