Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal

The Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal, also known as the Brightline Orlando Station and South Airport Intermodal Terminal, is an intermodal passenger transport hub located at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida. The complex, which was partially funded by the Florida Department of Transportation, is the current terminus of Brightline, an inter-city rail service which provides service to Miami via the Florida East Coast Railway.

Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal
The station for the automated people movers to the main terminal
General information
Other namesBrightline Orlando Station
South Airport Intermodal Terminal
Location1 Jeff Fuqua Boulevard
Orlando, Florida
United States
Coordinates28.41453°N 81.30818°W / 28.41453; -81.30818
Owned byGreater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA)
Platforms1 island platform
4 side platforms
Tracks4
Construction
Structure typeElevated
Parking2,400 spaces; paid
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedNovember 17, 2017 (2017-11-17)[1]
September 22, 2023 (2023-09-22)[2] (Brightline)
Services
Preceding station Brightline Following station
Terminus Brightline West Palm Beach
toward MiamiCentral
Future services
Preceding station SunRail Following station
OCCC
towards International Drive South
 SunRail
Sunshine Corridor (proposed)
 Terminus
Location

The terminal building and the adjacent parking garage opened on November 17, 2017.[1] The facility is connected to the main airport terminal roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north via an automated people mover (APM) system. Brightline began revenue service to the complex on September 22, 2023.[3][2]

History
Orlando Intermodal Terminal under construction (2017)

The facility mostly reuses plans from the proposed Florida High Speed Rail system. In that plan, the Orlando International Airport station was to be the northern terminus of the initial Tampa-to-Orlando route along Interstate 4. The plan was effectively cancelled when Florida governor Rick Scott announced he would reject federal funding for the project. The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority had already invested considerably to accommodate the station and high-speed rail line, such as the extra length of the south taxiway bridges over the southern airport access road, which will now be used by Brightline.[4] As part of the $684 million intermodal complex, the airport authority has also built a 2,400 space parking garage.[3][1]

Future use

The SunRail commuter rail line is considering a 5.5-mile (8.9 km) extension to the airport terminal. The extension would travel 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the existing SunRail line along an Orlando Utilities Commission rail spur, which runs along the southern boundary of the airport's property. The route is used exclusively by coal trains to serve the Curtis H. Stanton Energy Center in eastern Orange County. From there, two options are currently under consideration; one plan would have SunRail trains branch north off of the existing OUC line and onto a new 2-mile (3.2 km) spur that would terminate at the planned South Airport Intermodal Terminal. The second option being explored would be to build a transfer station along the OUC line where passengers would transfer from SunRail trains onto light rail trains that would run along a dedicated 2-mile line between the transfer and airport stations.[5][6]

In addition to Brightline and SunRail, the station might also serve one of two proposed rail connections to International Drive. There were plans for an elevated maglev train system, but those were scrapped in 2015. The current plan is for a light rail line that would most likely connect the airport and with the Orange County Convention Center, Florida Mall, and the Sand Lake Road SunRail station before reaching International Drive.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Thanksgiving Passenger Traffic, New Automated People Mover Complex and Parking Garage "C" – Orlando International Airport (MCO)". Orlando International Airport (MCO) (Press release).
  2. Mazzei, Patricia; Chokshi, Niraj (September 22, 2023). "Arriving Now: Fast Passenger Trains From Miami to Orlando". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  3. "Orlando Int'l Airport to become transportation hub with new train station". WFTV. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  4. "Florida High Speed Rail Industry Forum" (PDF). Florida High Speed Rail. December 2, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  5. Tracy, Dan (November 16, 2013). "SunRail will not link with Orlando International Airport for five or more years". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  6. Tracy, Dan (October 30, 2015). "SunRail link to Orlando airport gets closer look". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  7. Dineen, Caitlin (December 9, 2015). "Orlando airport board opts to pursue right-of-way". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
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