Tampa Bay area leaders ride Brightline in anticipation of future Tampa extension
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Rep. Karen Gonzalez Pittman didn’t need to look any further than her Thursday morning drive on I-4 to the Orlando Brightline station to know why she is supporting an extension to Tampa.
“What Google Maps said was gonna be an hour and 40 minutes turned into 2.5 hours,” she said. “I was stuck in traffic for 35 minutes to go eight miles.”
The Republican, who represents District 65 in the Florida House of Representatives, filed a bill to appropriate $50 million for railroad track to connect Brightline’s rail service in Orlando to Tampa.
Brightline’s station at the Orlando International Airport opened in September 2023.
Florida bill aims to pave the way for Tampa-Orlando Brightline train
The expansion to Tampa is considered Brightline’s phase three and would link central Florida to south Florida, where there are already stops in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
“It’s public-private,” Pittman said. “We’re asking for money from the state to pay for the tracks and then Brightline will take over and run the track and run the train.”
She said another $50 million appropriations bill next year would cover construction of the station, which is expected to be in Ybor City.
On Thursday, Pittman traveled with Tampa and Ybor City business leaders and Hillsborough County commissioner Michael Owen from Orlando to West Palm Beach on Brightline.
“First just to ride the Brightline,” Owen said. “This is my first time riding the train myself. Two, looking at the concept over in West Palm Beach because my understanding is that whatever we bring to Tampa, Hillsborough County is going to be very similar to West Palm Beach.”
Owen said he views most changes like this with hesitation and differentiated this project with the light rail options that have been proposed previously in Hillsborough County.
“Where we’re out now we’ve got to come up with new ideas. We’ve got to come up with other ideas besides just traveling roads,” he said.
After the first leg of the trip, Owen said the experience exceeded his expectations.
On the two hour Orlando-West Palm Beach route, speeds reach 125 miles per hour.
The proposed route to Tampa could reach closer to 150 miles per hour across the I-4 corridor.
Brightline uses dynamic pricing for tickets. They can range from $29 to $59 one way from Orlando to West Palm Beach for the “smart” category.
Seats in the “premium” category cost more.
“Something fun and different,” Suzanne Burkhead said.
Burkhead was traveling to Miami from Jacksonville for a cruise.
Her family decided to try out Brightline for their Orlando-Miami leg.
Anything, they said, to avoid I-4 traffic.
“Just go all the way to Tampa for a day’s trip and go back would be so much more convenient than driving,” Robert Burkhead said.
Nearly 200,000 passengers took the train from Orlando to South Florida during its first three months of service.
Overall, ridership for Brightline through November 2023 was more than 1.8 million.
The goal for this year is 4 million riders between Orlando and South Florida alone.
A Brightline spokesperson said it would take three years to build the Tampa extension after funding, design and engineering are finalized.
The proposed route would travel through Polk County on I-4.
Two Polk County commissioners who responded to News Channel 8’s request for comment, Bill Braswell and Neil Combee, said they would support a stop in Polk County.
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