SunRail extension to Orlando airport, theme parks moves ahead
A long imagined plan to give SunRail passengers a train ride to the Orlando airport or the tourist attractions has taken a big step toward reality.
The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission unanimously agreed on Thursday to conduct a key $6 million study that will look into the feasibility of the proposed Sunshine Corridor, a SunRail extension from the Orlando International Airport to the Orange County Convention Center and the theme park district.
The two-year study — known as a project, development and environmental analysis or more commonly as a PD&E — would delve into the projected ridership of the Sunshine Corridor, the system's maintenance, operational costs, environmental impacts, station locations and exact routes.
Officials say the PD&E study is required before the federal government and the state of Florida would even consider providing any amount of funding to build the project.
At an estimated cost of at least $4.4 billion, the Sunshine Corridor likely could not be built solely with local funds, supporters say.
A press release called the commission's approval a 'significant step forward.'
'This will be another transformational project for our region,' said John Tyler, secretary of the state's Department of Transportation's Central Florida District.
According to plans, the Sunshine Corridor would run trains eastward from the existing SunRail tracks in Orange County to the airport. It also would extend westward to the Orange County Convention Center, International Drive and Disney Springs, an outdoor venue with shops, restaurants and entertainment that attracts tourists and local residents.
The Sunshine Corridor would also provide about 12 miles of track toward a planned Tampa extension for Brightline, the high-speed train that now runs between Miami and the Orlando airport.
Supporters say the SunRail extension would help ease traffic congestion around the airport, which handles more than 60 million air travelers a year.
Last year, SunRail had 1.2 million passengers, a 12% increase from the previous year, according to the Florida Department of Transportation, or FDOT. Last month, 5,982 riders boarded SunRail trains, up 13% compared to March 2024.
It took months to line up funding for the study. FDOT, which would oversee the PD&E, agreed last year to chip in $2 million toward the study. Seminole, Osceola, Orange counties, as well as the city of Orlando, then agreed to each add $500,000. Universal Destinations & Experiences has committed $2 million and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District $500,000.
In 2022, Universal donated 13 acres for a SunRail station at the Orange County Convention Center along the Sunshine Corridor route. A special taxing district was later formed for the donated land to help generate funding for the project.
Volusia County — which has two SunRail stations along SunRail's 61-mile route — had not yet agreed to commit funding toward the study, FDOT'S Tim Freed said Monday, making it the only county on the line to hold back. Volusia officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Seminole Commissioner Amy Lockhart and chair of the Commuter Rail Commission — which oversees SunRail operations — calls the Sunshine Corridor 'a huge quality-of-life improvement' for the region's employers, workers, tourists and residents throughout the region.
'The unanimous vote [by the commuter rail commission] to advance the Sunshine Corridor PD&E study reflects our shared vision to expand passenger rail to serve even more Central Florida residents and visitors in our area,' she said in a DOT press release.
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