'All Aboard Florida' railway system coming to Central Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. – A new rail system will soon connect Orlando and South Florida.

At an news conference on Wednesday afternoon, "All Aboard Florida" project leaders announced a new train service will take passengers between Miami and Orlando International Airport beginning by the end of 2015.

OIA would be the first Florida airport with passenger rail service attached to it, according to All Aboard Florida's Michael Reininger.

"We will be making the trip between Orlando and Miami on our new trains in just under three hours," he said. "We will be connecting the two most important marketplaces in the fourth largest state."

The project will use 200 miles of existing Florida East Coast Railway track and require construction of 35 miles of new track parallel to State Road 528, which will connect the Space Coast to the airport.

Officials said 6,600 jobs expected to be created for implementing the infrastructure for the rail, with 500 permanent rail management jobs.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said she was excited the project was getting the green light.

"My own family is in South Florida," she said. "I will be using this train. I have a personal interest as so many people do."

It's not clear what the ticket prices would be set at, but officials said the travel time between OIA and Miami would be 3 hours.


About the Author:

Erik Sandoval joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2013 and became an Investigator in 2020. During his time at News 6, Erik has covered several major stories, including the 2016 Presidential campaign. He was also one of the first reporters live on the air at the Pulse Nightclub shooting.