First look inside Brightline Orlando Station at MCO and details of pricing and schedules

Apr 21, 2023 in "Brightline"

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Brightline Orlando Station

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Posted: Friday April 21, 2023 12:13pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Brightline, the eco-friendly intercity rail company, yesterday unveiled its all-new Brightline Orlando Station at Orlando International Airport (MCO).

The new Brightline station at MCO links Central and South Florida, with one-way fares starting at $79 for SMART and $149 for PREMIUM. SMART fare bundles for families of four will be available for less than $199 one way. Orlando ticket sales will launch in May for summer 2023 dates.

Watch the video below for a tour of the new station.

The 37,350 square foot station is located in Orlando International Airport's new 80,000 sq. ft. Train Station facility adjacent to Terminal C. The Train Station connects directly to the airport's Parking Garage C, which will have more than 350 parking spaces branded for Brightline guests. The Train Station provides direct access to the other airport terminals A and B via the airport Terminal Link (automated people mover) in under five minutes.

Brightline Orlando Station

Once inside the station, passengers can purchase tickets from guest services or one of several self-service kiosks, and check luggage before proceeding through touchless turnstiles into the security screening tunnel.

Brightline Orlando Station

Once through the security tunnel, guests arrive in the expansive two-story station space, featuring Brightline ammenities including:

Mary Mary Bar, serving hand-crafted cocktails and light bites. The signature sit-down bar is positioned at the far end of the station with a panoramic view overlooking the train platforms.

Brightline Orlando Station

MRKT PLACE offers in-station shopping for last-minute gifts, sundries and refreshments.

Brightline offers two classes of service, SMART and PREMIUM. Brightline's PREMIUM service includes complimentary meals, snacks and beverages, a dedicated first class lounge, free checked luggage, priority boarding and a dedicated coach.

Throughout the station, all guests will have access to free high-speed Wi-Fi, charging stations at every seat, 87 big screen televisions and a BrightKids children's play area located in the SMART lounge.

Brightline Orlando Station

Passengers will access trains by escalator or elevator to first level platforms. These platforms are 1,000 feet long and can accommodate a train with up to 10 coaches and two locomotives.

Brightline Orlando Station

Orlando to South Florida Brightline Train Schedule Details

Service will begin in Summer 2023 and will include 16 daily round trips with hourly departures between Miami and Orlando. Brightline's non-stop trains have a run time between Miami and Orlando of two hours and 59 minutes. Regular service from Orlando to Miami will stop at all Brightline stations including West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Aventura with a run time of three hours and 30 minutes.

Brightline's opening schedule include:

Weekdays

Hourly southbound departures from Orlando to Miami starting at 5:00 a.m. until 8:50 p.m.
First southbound train from Orlando arrives in Miami at 8:30 a.m.
Hourly northbound departures from Miami to Orlando starting at 6:50 a.m. until 9:45 p.m.
First northbound train from Miami arrives in Orlando at 10:15 a.m.

Weekends

Hourly southbound departures from Orlando to Miami starting at 5:00 a.m. until 8:50 p.m.
First southbound train from Orlando arrives in Miami at 8:30 a.m.
Hourly northbound departures from Miami to Orlando starting at 5:45 a.m. until 9:45 p.m.
First northbound train from Miami arrives in Orlando at 9:15 a.m.

Additional dedicated trains will continue to serve commuters and the South Florida region between Miami and West Palm Beach with early morning departures at 5:00 a.m. from West Palm Beach and late night departures until 12:45 a.m. out of Miami.

Brightline Orlando Station

Discuss on the Forums

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koc1723May 17, 2025

There will be people who say they will take the train. I bet if I got a survey or asked at MCO if I would take a train to Disney/Universal, of course I would answer yes, but that is not the full answer. The big caveat is the time, convenience and price. I recently got back from a WDW trip and MCO to our resort (Coronado Springs) was about $65 for a lyft. I was a party of 4, so about $30 roundtrip per person, not bad. It would need to compete in that range, but probably be cheaper since I was dropped off at my resort and even better very close to my room. Convenience, any transfers from the train to buses needs to be fast and easy and not add to the cost. (could they do some luggage transfer option?) When I traveled to London UK (pre-pandemic) and took the Heathrow Express it achieved most of these things, but I was without my family for that so my math would change for any trip to WDW. If I have to stop at 9 stops before getting off the train to only transfer to bus with another 5-6 stops. No thank you (for many reasons but time is the greatest). They would need to consider express trains to Disney and Universal to make this work. It is why the CTA in Chicago was not a primary method to get to the loop from ORD, way too many stops. This study needs the end to end journey in mind and Disney/Universal needs to involved to ensure it makes sense. I suspect any study done in the way described will not actually get to this level of detail, but maybe they will surprise me.

lazyboy97oApr 29, 2025

These studies have been done multiple times already. Much of the proposed right of way was first mapped out over a decade ago for the Florida High Speed Rail project. Rights of way have even been reserved for years now by FDOT along the highways. You can go look at the Beyond Ultimate drawings and see them, including the turn from the Beachline to I-4. A big part of why the Beachline route was to cost Brightline more than the FL-417 route is because it is so built up. It’s not cutting through undeveloped land. The real icing on the cake is that there is already a rail connection between SunRail and the airport. The tracks are already there. They’re still in use and owned by the City of Orlando through the Orlando Utility Commission. A SunRail train could go to the airport today but it is being studied again.

Splashin' RyanApr 29, 2025

Again, not unnecessary, this "red tape" is meant to make sure the project not only doesn't majorly disturb the little wildlife Central Florida has left, but also aims to make sure it doesn't cause harmful effects to humans like exacerbating flooding to nearby housing areas or disrupting travel flows down the line (which all have exponentially grown or changed in central florida since the first study). You cannot just say "red tape boohoo" without understanding why it is there. Every piece of research or review is there because it wasn't considered in a previous project, which led to negative effects. It's not like they're just adding hoops and barriers for fun when they do these projects.

MisterPenguinApr 29, 2025

Where can I purchase a ticket to ride the study?

lazyboy97oApr 29, 2025

The problem isn’t the spending but the red tape, unnecessary delays, and change of funding mechanisms. Transit between the airport and attractions has been studied multiple times and is being studied yet again.

Splashin' RyanApr 29, 2025

Maybe you're new to infrastructure projects, but this is neither that long of a study nor that expensive for a rail project in the US. Feel free to look at california high speed rail or even flordia or vegas (west) brightline Also you and everyone else must remember that highway spending and planning in Florida outweighs transit in every possible way. For example, the majority of I-4 projects around oralndo that wrapped up right after covid cost $2.4 billion and that was before covid inflation. Now you might say, "well, it reduces traffic" but in reality it will only induce demand in the long run. If you are frustrated with traffic that still happens on the highways, then you HAVE to be willing to have the government spend on public transit like this. The efficiency and economic opportunities rail and transit provide pay for itself in no time compared to ever-increasing road construction that requires endless maintenance.

lazyboy97oApr 29, 2025

The governments involved should have just told Universal to put up or shut up. Brightline said they needed $1 billion to do Universal’s preferred route and Universal could have just paid that and instead they have killed the project for years.

AylaApr 29, 2025

Nothing new has happened. The funds for the two year, $6 MILLION study were approved. Once that obscene amount of money is spent "looking into it", then they'll maybe spend an even more obscene $5 BILLION building it.

JoeCamelApr 29, 2025

PurduevianApr 29, 2025

No new information, but thought it was interesting that this was picked up by a fairly random YouTube channel that does a lot of videos on public transit and interesting infrastructure.

Bob HarlemApr 29, 2025

SunRail extension to Orlando airport, theme parks moves ahead Should work without a paywall: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/04/29/sunrail-extension-to-orlando-airport-theme-parks-moves-ahead/?share=omedu0hssakrsitoehdt