Disney and Brightline—soon to be Virgin Trains USA—are currently in advanced talks to develop a train station on or near Florida’s Walt Disney World Resort, according to a report by the Orlando Sentinel.
If ultimately constructed, the station—located along a proposed rail line connecting Tampa and Orlando International Airport—would be a huge deal in that it would provide travelers with another affordable means of reaching the popular tourist attraction.
“As the top vacation destination and largest single-site employer in the United States, Walt Disney World Resort is an obvious choice for a rail station between Orlando International Airport and Tampa,” Disney officials said in a statement. “While we have not yet made any definitive commitment, we have mutually agreed to more formally explore developing a train station on our property.”
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Brightline Senior Vice President Ben Porritt echoed Disney’s statement in one of his own.
“We are continuing to explore the possibility of building a station on Walt Disney World Resort property, which we believe will help transform the region,” Porritt said in a statement to TravelPulse. “A proposed station would provide a direct rail connection to Orlando International Airport and serve as the initial segment for Virgin Trains’ future extension to Tampa.”
“A Disney station would offer the 126 million visitors and 21 million residents of Florida a car-free option to the state’s most visited attraction and one of the world’s greatest destinations,” added Porritt.
Brightline is currently in the midst of a $4 billion expansion connecting West Palm Beach with Orlando International Airport. That project, which will connect Orlando all the way to Miami, is expected to be completed in 2022.
