South Florida Brightline high-speed trains will reach Orlando in August

Brightline high-speed trains which currently run between Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties will reach Orlando by August, the company announced Friday.

The privately owned high speed train company has unveiled a new station that will serve as a destination point for South Floridians who wish to visit the central city or visit its many amusement parks. 

The 235-mile (378 km) rail axis will connect downtown Miami to Orlando International Airport, with stops in Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Palm Beach.

Ticket sales will begin next May, with one-way tickets for the Smart service starting at $79 and Premium seats starting at $149.

The company said it also plans to offer ticket packages that would cost less than $199 for a family of four.

"Today's milestone is the latest piece of transformative infrastructure that is now complete as we prepare for the start of service, which we've been building for a decade," said Mike Reininger, Brightline's CEO, in introducing the new station.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the station represents more than just new rail service, "it's a critical connection for our community to jobs and opportunity."

The company defines itself as "America's only provider of modern, green, high-speed rail services."

Currently serving Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach in South Florida.

In August 2022, Brightline received a $25 million federal grant to increase safety and reduce the rate of fatal accidents that often occur on its network.

The station, presented this Thursday, where Brightline's corporate color, yellow, predominates, has an area of 37,350 square feet (3,469 square meters) and is located next to the Orlando International Airport (MCO), the company said in a statement.

The train station connects directly to the airport's parking lot C, which will have more than 350 marked parking spaces for Brightline passengers.

Brightline wants to bring its service to city pairs that are "too close to fly and too far to drive," and has "immediate plans" to connect Las Vegas, Nevada, with Southern California.