Will Brightline stop at Disney Cruise Line at Port Canaveral and other things to know

All aboard the high-speed rail, unless you live in Brevard.

Last month, Brightline unveiled its multi-million-dollar train station at Orlando International Airport.

Here are some things to know about Brightline, the Orlando train station and the high-speed rail’s ties to Brevard.

When does train service start? Brightline station to soon begin service between Miami and Orlando

14 things to know before booking. Brightline nears completion of Miami to Orlando route

Will Brightline stop at Disney?

No. Early plans included three train stations in Orlando: the airport, Orange County Convention Center and Disney Springs. According to a July 2022 story in The Palm Beach Post, Brightline scrapped plans for the Disney Springs location in favor of a place near the entertainment, dining and retail complex.

If you take Brightline from West Palm Beach to Orlando, you’ll essentially sit on a train for about two hours and it drops you off at the airport. Then you’re on your own. There are bus routes from Orlando airport to Disney World, Universal Orlando and other nearby theme parks.

Early Brightline plans included train expansion to Orlando, Orange County Convention Center and possibly a Disney property

We asked AI for help. Brightline stop on Treasure Coast? ChatGPT, Google Bard, Twitter, Facebook weigh in

Will Brightline take you to Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Carnival or any other cruise line at Port Canaveral?

No. The high-speed rail will travel along SR 528, and the route passes through Cocoa, but that’s the extent. Guests will have to take other forms of transportation from Orlando International Airport to Port Canaveral, the world’s busiest port in terms of cruise passengers.

Where are the routes?

Tickets will go on sale soon for Brightline's new up-to-125 mph rail service linking Orlando with South Florida, with trains carrying up to 240 passengers each.

Where is the Orlando train station?

The 37,350-square-foot passenger station is next to Terminal C at Orlando International Airport.

The expansive two-story train station connects with the Orlando airport's Parking Garage C, which will have more than 350 spaces designated for Brightline passengers.

What is Brightline’s Orlando train station like?

Features include 87 big-screen televisions, two lounges, charging stations at every seat, a children’s play area, a private conference room and twin 1,000-foot boarding platforms.

It is not known when Brightline will start carrying passengers to the Orlando train station. Dates have not been finalized for the service launch.

Eventually, Brightline will operate 16 daily round-trips with hourly departures between Miami and Orlando. Nonstop trains will make the 235-mile trek in 2 hours, 59 minutes. Regular service from Orlando to Miami will stop at all Brightline stations — West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Aventura — with a run time of 3½ hours.

We hosted a poll: Where should Brightline put a high-speed rail stop on the Treasure Coast?

What are Brightline’s ties to Brevard?

While the high-speed rail does not have a train station in Brevard, nor are there immediate plans to build one, the train passes through Brevard from Orlando to West Palm Beach and vice versa.

Brightline installed a second set of tracks along the north-south Florida East Coast Railway bed and built new bridges across five other Brevard County waterways: St. Sebastian River, Goat Creek, Turkey Creek, Eau Gallie River and Horse Creek.

Remember those train crossing detours? Brightline replaced rusting downtown Melbourne train bridge with twin steel bridges

According to the company, Brightline has made safety improvements at all 156 railroad crossings along the 129-mile corridor between Cocoa and West Palm Beach.

In July 2020, Brightline began construction work to replace the rusting downtown Melbourne train bridge — which dates to the 1920s — with two steel-and-concrete bridges. The $17 million project remains ongoing.

A press release states: “Those improvements vary per crossing, but may include new crossing gates, signal systems, pedestrian gates, pavement markings and roadway profiles. Where trains will operate at 110 mph, crossings have quad gates or medians to prevent motorists from driving around lowered crossing gates.”

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: No Brevard stop but Brightline improved 156 rail crossings from Cocoa to West Palm