Brightline took its first ride in 2018 from West Palm Beach to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Since then, the expansion of Brightline has continued across Florida. Currently, a proposal is being drafted for bringing Brightline to Tampa. 

   Brightline is an intercity rail route that presently runs from Miami to Orlando. Brightline’s mission is to create a traveling route to provide a solution for the problem of a trip being too long to drive but too short to fly.

   One day after Mayor Jane Castor and other elected Florida officials visited Brightline facilities, a proposed expansion was suggested to the Tampa area. “The route is already laid out from Orlando to Tampa. It will basically go down the middle of I-4 and then come into the Ybor City area, where the Brightline station will be located,” said Castor in an interview with WFLA. 

   Civilians are concerned because transportation projects often take several years to complete; however, because a private rail company will complete the project in partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation, it is believed only to take four to five years. 

   “Transportation is the most important to our community and to the continued growth of the Tampa Bay Region,” says Castor in an interview with WFLA. Brightline was awarded $15.9 million in federal funds last year as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant Program.

   Furthermore, Brightline intends to invest $31,750,000 into the project. According to Castor, the Tampa train station will be built “in very close proximity” to the TECO streetcar, which runs between Ybor City and downtown Tampa. With the Brightline expansion, it is predicted that by 2028, the route in Tampa will be up and running.