Brightline Refinances Ahead Of Plans For New Tampa To Orlando Train

FLORIDA — With plans on the table for a new Tampa-to-Orlando high-speed train, Brightline is taking the steps to make this happen, according to multiple reports.

The company will refinance all of its debt from building the new Miami-to-Orlando route, and will include its expansion plans along Interstate 4 into its finances, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported.

"In connection with the planned overall refinancing of the company, we intend to sell or otherwise confer the assets, rights and obligations related to the Orlando-Tampa project to an affiliate for future development," Brightline said in its financial disclosure document.

An executive with the rail service recently told a state House panel that the company is “making tremendous strides” on the new route.

“It is complex to get to Tampa, but we’re up to the challenge,” senior vice president Christine Kefauver said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “We’ve been in the Sunshine Corridor conversation for about two years, and we really do see us making tremendous strides on that coming up soon.”

The Brightline high-speed rail train from Miami to Orlando officially launched on Sept. 22. Now officials of the privately owned rail company are eyeing an extension of the rail line to Tampa.

“The route is already laid out from Orlando to Tampa,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said last month. “It will basically go down the middle of I-4 and then come in to the Ybor City area, where the Brightline station will be located."

The extension is currently under review by the Florida Department of Transportation but could conceivably become a reality by 2028.

Before launching the new city-to-city rail service, the first step is the Sunshine Corridor Partnership, which will connect the SunRail commuter services in Central Florida to Brightline at Orlando International Airport. It will also connect with the Orange County Convention Center, south International Drive and the Disney Springs area.

The Florida Department of Transportation was also recently awarded a $500,000 planning grant to study the corridor between Orlando and Tampa, TBBJ said.

In addition to Brightline, Amtrak, which runs one train daily between the cities, could also benefit from the study.

"The proposed corridor would provide new or enhanced service on one or more existing alignments, and potentially a new alignment between Orlando International Airport and Tampa," the federal funding award said. "The corridor sponsor would enter step one of the program to develop a scope, schedule, and cost estimate for preparing, completing, or documenting its service development plan."

Tampa is the next big market for Brightline, the company's CEO said at a Nov. 6 news conference.

"You connect Tampa to the rest of this system and suddenly 75 percent of the state is within close proximity to a Brightline train. We like that a lot," Brightline CEO Mike Reininger said.

Last year, Brightline received a $15.9 million federal grant for preliminary designs for an Orlando to Tampa route.

Related: 45-Minute Trip From Tampa To Disney To Be Reality On Brightline Train