All aboard! And then, all aboard!
Tourists and locals taking a cruise out of Miami will soon have another way to get to the port.
According to Brightline, soon to be Virgin Trains, the Miami-Dade County Commission has given the rail company the green light to build a station at PortMiami by 2020.
That means that once all of the track work is complete, there will be a high-speed rail option from Orlando International Airport to the port in Miami.
“This is a first-of-its-kind train to port station that will connect the cruise capital of the world with a car-free option for millions of cruisers looking to start their vacation a little earlier,” Patrick Goddard, President of Virgin Trains, said in a press release.
“This is a tremendous partnership and infrastructure investment between PortMiami, Miami Dade County and Brightline that will increase mobility, take cars off the road and provide our state’s visitors an easier way to get around.”
Brightline currently has stations in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, with plans to extend the line to Orlando. The company says the final leg to Central Florida will be operating by 2022.
It is exploring adding additional stops along its route, including in Boca Raton and Aventura.
Billionaire businessman and media mogul Richard Branson announced in November, 2018, that he had formed a strategic partnership with Brightline. The company is in the process of being rebranded as Virgin Trains.
According to the release, last year PortMiami served more than 5.5 million travelers, more cruise passengers than any other port in the world. PortMiami is currently home to 22 cruise lines, and will welcome Virgin Voyages in 2020. New cruise terminals and office headquarters will soon be opening or in the pipeline for leading brands including Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises.
