Sunshine Corridor

Alignment

The Sunshine Corridor would give SunRail an east–west branch off its north–south line, serving Orlando’s airport and tourist district. FDOT’s 2024 Transit Concept and Alternatives Review (TCAR) found commuter rail the best fit and split the corridor into options that can be built in phases:

• Option 3A connects the existing SunRail main line to Orlando International Airport over existing Orlando Utilities Commission track, entirely within existing right-of-way. It grew out of the 5.5-mile SunRail Phase 3 airport extension that entered the Federal Transit Administration’s project development process in 2015. Trains would run to the airport from Kissimmee and LYNX Central Station. Estimated cost: under $400 million.
• Option 3B is a new east–west line from the airport to the Orange County Convention Center, running along Taft-Vineland Road and SR 528. It would serve International Drive and Universal’s parks, and Universal plans to donate land for the station. Estimated cost: $1.75–2.4 billion. A variant, 3BT, adds an interchange station on the SunRail main line between Meadow Woods and Sand Lake Road.
• Option 3C continues southwest along I-4 to South International Drive. Estimated cost: $1.22–1.74 billion.
• Option 3D is an optional short spur across I-4 to Disney Springs, either added to or replacing the South International Drive station. Estimated cost: $173–247 million, including an extra trainset.

The TCAR estimated trip times from the airport of 14 minutes to the Convention Center, 24 to South International Drive, and 25 to Disney Springs. It projected that with Options 3A–3C, SunRail as a whole would carry 5.4 million riders a year at opening and 7.9 million by 2040, or 9.4 million by 2040 if the branch ran to Disney Springs instead. SunRail carried about 1.3 million riders in 2025. SunRail would own the corridor, and Brightline would lease it to run its trains on toward Tampa in the I-4 median.

FDOT still owns and runs SunRail. The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission (Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia counties and the City of Orlando) asked FDOT to lead the corridor’s next study, and FDOT is due to hand SunRail’s operations to the commission by the end of 2027.

Updates

2026-09 — Brightline’s parent companies file for Chapter 11

Seventeen parent companies of Brightline Florida, the corridor’s intended co-user, filed for Chapter 11 on September 24. The operating railroad did not file and service continues. The affiliate holding the Tampa extension rights stayed out of the case, but it had missed interest payments on $1.2 billion of bonds secured by those rights.

2026-03 — SunRail handover to local control set for end of 2027

The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission held its last budget discussion under FDOT ownership. Day-to-day costs are to be shared among the four counties and Orlando by ridership, and FDOT is due to stop operating SunRail by the end of 2027. Seminole County approved $11.5 million and Volusia County pledged $1.2 million toward transition costs.

2025-11 — Orlando sets aside $100 million

The City of Orlando set aside $100 million toward SunRail’s expansion to the Convention Center, Disney Springs, and the airport. Reports at the time put the total cost at about $4 billion.

2025-04 — Commission advances a $6 million PD&E study

On April 24 the commission voted unanimously to move the corridor into a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study, expected to take about two years and to be led by FDOT. FDOT and Universal’s parent company each pledged $2 million. Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties, the City of Orlando, and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District each pledged $500,000. The study is a prerequisite for state or federal construction funding on a project then estimated at $4.4 billion or more.

2024-10 — FDOT completes the alternatives review

FDOT’s TCAR final report recommended commuter rail over bus, bus rapid transit, and trackless-tram options. It set out the 3A–3D segments, their cost ranges, and ridership forecasts, and called for moving on to a PD&E study ahead of a future application for federal Capital Investment Grants.

2024-04 — FDOT puts the corridor at $4 billion; Orange County shelves transit tax

FDOT told SunRail’s board that the full link from the airport to I-4 would cost about $4 billion, compared with about $400 million for an airport-only SunRail connection. The cheaper option would block Brightline’s path to the I-4 median, and FDOT expected costs to be split among state, local, private, and federal sources. Earlier that month, Orange County dropped plans for a 2024 transportation sales tax referendum that could have opened the airport link by 2031.