What to expect as construction begins for Virgin’s high-speed train in Orlando

The new locomotive will be accepting passengers in 2022

ORLANDO, Fla. – You may have heard that Central Florida is getting another train. Coming at the end of 2022, we will be able to speed from Orlando to West Palm on Virgin Trains, a high-speed train.

Reaching speeds over 100 miles per hour and carrying over 200 passengers, people will be able to commute from Miami to Orlando or vice versa. All to be picked up and dropped off at Orlando international Airport.

With 170 miles of new track, 55 new bridges, 160 new jobs and a train maintenance facility designed to be the most advanced in the region, things definitely look bright for commuters.

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But to get to that point a lot of things need to happen. Here’s what to expect. First let’s get this out of the way, I-4 will not be affected by this. For the first portion, we will begin to see single lane closures and highway shoulder work.

Usually, we see this type of work during nighttime hours, but we will see some daytime work also. Now that we have entered into 2020, we will begin to see overnight full closures of State Road 528, resulting in new lanes and some new traffic patterns.

All this construction isn’t that bad. Think about it, we are getting a real high-speed train and most of the inconvenient major construction will take place in Brevard County.

We are still three years away from the final completion of this project. This is still the beginning and we have a lot more construction to go.

Stick with me throughout this journey and I’ll keep you posted.


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About the Author:

Steven Montiero, better known as “Trooper Steve," joined the News 6 morning team as its Traffic Safety Expert in October 2017. A Central Florida native and decorated combat veteran, Montiero comes to the station following an eight-year assignment with the Florida Highway Patrol.

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