Brightline to Orlando: All Aboard!

By GERRY BARKER

We have written about and championed Brightline since we had to don hard hats and tour the construction of the West Palm Beach station, back in 2017. Over the past six years, Brightline's success has only gotten bigger and brighter. But perhaps the most anticipated initiative of all was connecting to Orlando. And now it's happened.

On Sept. 22 (Pam's birthday, by the way), Brightline officially opened their new station at the Orlando Airport and welcomed their first passengers. Was it well received? Less than two weeks later, Brightline announced they were doubling its train service between Orlando and Miami, "running 30 trains daily starting October 9, with 15 daily departures from Miami and Orlando. " The first train leaves Orlando at 4:38 a.m., arriving into Miami at 8:11 a.m., and the final train leaves Orlando at 8:54 p.m.

This week, we took Brightline roundtrip to Orlando, going Premium up and Smart coming back. I have to admit it felt a little strange to be heading north instead of south after all these years, seeing familiar landmarks that we usually only see by car as we headed up the coast, past Stuart, Vero Beach, Melbourne and Cocoa Beach.

It takes a little over two hours, and at one point, its speed reached 125 MPH on the last leg into the Orlando station. The station, located in the airport's new terminal C, is beautiful, and the location at the airport couldn't be better. It's already popular for travelers coming to Miami to catch a cruise, providing easy and convenient access from the airport all the way to the Miami station and  s short connection to the port. Pricing starts at $79 one way for Smart, and $149 for Premium. 

As we entered the station for the return trip, we were handed a commemorative "2023 Inaugural Ride" pin for being among the first group to ride. Brightline to Orlando becoming reality is certainly something to celebrate.