In what is a welcome piece of news for guests visiting Disney World from outside the Orlando area, Disney and Virgin Trains USA are in advanced talks for a train station to built on or near the resort. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Michael Cegelis, Virgin’s EVP for Infrastructure, told local officials that talks with Disney are in a “rather advanced state now.”
This station, whether built on or near Disney property, would be a part of the proposed rail line to Tampa. The Tampa rail line would start at the Orlando International Airport, the termination of the Miami to Orlando line which is slated to open in 2022.
“While we have not yet made any definitive commitment, we have mutually agreed to more formally explore developing a train station on our property,” stated a Disney official, “As the top vacation destination and largest single-site employer in the United States, Walt Disney World Resort is an obvious choice for a rail station between Orlando International Airport and Tampa.”
Virgin is still working with the Central Florida Expressway Authority, the Florida Department of Transportation and the Orlando Utilities Commission to negotiate leases and right-of-ways for the Orlando to Tampa line. Additional proposed stops on this rail line include the SunRail Meadow Woods station and Lakeland.
Construction of a Walt Disney World rail station would provide guests another option in traveling to and from the resort. A high-speed rail line would provide a quick and inexpensive option for guests traveling from the airport, downtown Orlando, and even Tampa.
Stay tuned to WDWNT for updates on this story and many more.
Then it should branch out all the way up the east coast, and out west, run another through the heartland. We need more high speed rail, and not use the inept and inefficient failure of government rail, I mean Amtrak.
Make sure you get 5G installed along the tracks.
To those that argued with me on the boards. All I have to say is I told you so. Happy holidays!