TAMPA, Fla. — Brightline announced it will be opening a station on Florida's Treasure Coast in downtown Stuart, with service expected to start in late 2026. In Tampa, leaders have been hyping up their efforts to bring the high-speed rail service to the city for years, but what do we know about those plans?
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor was part of a delegation of officials to ride the Brightline route from Orlando to Miami in November 2023 after it opened. Upon her return, the mayor held a press conference in which she said the Tampa station would be located in Ybor City.
In terms of a timeline, she said there is only an idea of when it will open, not an official projected date.
"I would say on the optimistic side: four [to] five years, hopefully, we'll have passengers traveling between Orlando and Tampa," Castor said.
Castor also said the station will be put "in very close proximity" to where the TECO Streetcars are stationed in Ybor City but also clarified that Brightline has not officially acquired any real estate in the area to construct a station.
"We've been in conversations, and they've been in conversations," Castor said. "So once that's solidified, I'll let Brightline take the lead on identifying that location."
Brightline's Florida high-speed rail services have been funded by both the company and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), which has also been awarded funding through the federal government to expand service to Tampa.
In 2022, Florida received $15,875,000 through a grant from a U.S. Department of Transportation rail infrastructure program.
In December 2023, Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, announced a $500,000 federal grant to also go toward the project.
The extension from Orlando to Tampa "is already laid out...and it will basically go down the middle of I-4 and then come into the Ybor City area," Castor said previously.
State lawmakers in Florida have also been trying to speed up work to lay down the tracks.
A bill introduced by State Rep. Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, initially would have required FDOT to set aside a 44-foot-wide corridor along Interstate 4 for the Brightline connection from Central Florida to Tampa Bay.
Last month, lawmakers changed that provision of the bill. It would now require FDOT to simply "preserve future rail corridors and rights-of-way in coordination with the department's planning of the State Highway System."
The Florida House is set to take that bill up on Wednesday, March 6, and could take a vote on it.
At a recent transportation subcommittee meeting at the Florida House of Representatives, FODT Secretary Jared Perdue said there is currently land along I-4 preserved for passenger rail.
Brightline's senior vice president of corporate development, Christine Kefauver, told lawmakers at that meeting that the company sees itself "making tremendous strides on [the project] coming up soon."
"It's complex to get to Tampa," she added. "But we're up to the challenge."
In a new statement Wednesday regarding Brightside's future plans, Castor said:
"I'm very hopeful and optimistic that we'll have passengers riding on Brightline between Tampa and Orlando in five years, and I couldn't be more excited for all of the benefits that'll come along with it.
"Right now, we're waiting for the next stops in Orlando to be finalized along the Sunshine Corridor, after Orlando International Airport. When that's complete, we look forward to welcoming Brightline with open arms to our jewel of a city. A few months ago, I rode from Miami to Orlando and found it to be a wonderful experience that I know many of our residents will enjoy.
"Brightline will build a station in Ybor City close to the TECO Streetcar. Based on what we saw in West Palm Beach, which has a similar station to what Tampa’s will be, it will super charge economic development around that transportation hub. Ultimately, adding the Tampa connection will help ensure Tampa's future remains bright."