Orange County

First look at high-speed Brightline trains that will connect OIA, South Florida

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — For the first time, we’re getting a close look at the high-speed trains that will connect Orlando International Airport to South Florida.

Fresh off the assembly line, the trains will soon be moving from Sacramento, California to Florida for Brightline’s high-speed rail.

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Rail service between Miami and West Palm Beach was the first part of the project.

Work is more than 60% done on Phase Two that will connect to the new train station at Orlando International Airport. That leg is set to begin service in early 2023.

READ: Neighbors share concerns over future Brightline trains going along 417

Brightline also has its eyes on the next leg, to Walt Disney World and then to Tampa.

“This is the time for American rail,” said Michael Cahill, president of Siemens Mobility. “What we’ve known all along and now it’s become a real prospect … it’s a really good andidote to climate change.”

READ: Brightline’s position improves with new gaming compact, new Orlando stop

The idea is to get more people out of their cars by running biodiesel-electric trains between major Florida cities.

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Jeff Deal

Jeff Deal, WFTV.com

I joined the Eyewitness News team as a reporter in 2006.

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.

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