Transit Briefs: Brightline, SunRail, Calgary Airport Rail Connection, Metrolinx

Brightline

Brightline and Canada’s Porter Airlines are partnering for savings just in time for the 2025 season. Through a first-of-its-kind partnership for the intercity rail system facilitated by VISIT Florida, guests booking on Porter Airlines receive 50% off adult SMART fares on select Brightline trains between South Florida and Orlando.

Porter Airlines has responded to strong demand for Florida service from Canadian gateways by offering up to 126 weekly departures from four Canadian airports including Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), Ottawa International Airport (YOW) and Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) to the sunshine state. Four Florida destinations now served by Porter feature Brightline stations: Orlando (MCO), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), West Palm Beach (PBI) and Miami (MIA).

“Florida is a favorite destination for travelers from Canada, particularly beginning in December as many winter residents make their way to Central and South Florida to escape the cold,” said Brightline Chief Commercial Officer Travis Christ. “We welcome this partnership with Porter Airlines and VISIT FLORIDA to easily connect across Central and South Florida this season.”

“Florida is a popular destination for our passengers and this partnership makes it even easier for them to explore the Sunshine State,” said Porter Airlines Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Offier Edmond Eldebs. “Our direct flights, combined with Brightline’s connectivity, provides the opportunity for travelers to easily enjoy multiple regions of the state by arriving at one airport and departing from another.”

SunRail

Local municipalities are now paying for SunRail operations after the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced they would discontinue funding last year, according to a Spectrum News 13 report.

According to the report, Technical Advisory Committee members on Jan. 8 announced that all partners have come up with the funds, and on Dec. 31, they transferred the money needed to operate the commuter train for 2025.

The SunRail system currently operates over 61 miles, with 17 stations through Volusia, Seminole, Orange, and Osceola counties.

Calgary Airport Rail Connection

Councilors on the City of Calgary’s Infrastructure and Planning Committee received a briefing this week on progress and next steps of the Calgary Airport Rail Connection Study, which included the city’s preferred route for a rail line to the airport, according to a Global News report.

The study began in late 2023 after the Government of Alberta allocated $3 million to the City of Calgary to “find the optimal route for a rail line that connects downtown with the airport.”

According to the report, the briefing “underscored the importance of an east-west rail connection between Calgary International Airport, an extended Blue Line LRT and the future northern leg of the Green Line, while also connecting with the province’s proposed regional and high-speed rail lines in the Deerfoot Trail corridor.”

“Building on findings from the 2020 Airport Transit Line Study, the preferred option ensures the east-west connection remains intact, linking northeast and northwest Calgary communities where approximately 60 per cent of the demand for airport service was identified,” the briefing read, according to the Global News report.

According to the briefing, input was gathered for the study from the Government of Alberta, City of Calgary, Canada Infrastructure Bank, Calgary Airport Authority, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway and private rail developers.

The briefing note, Global News reports, said the study “identified the east leg of the line as a potential first phase, which would connect with the Blue Line LRT at a future station at 88th Avenue N.E.” Currently, the line ends at Saddletowne.

According to the report, the province allocated $43.3 million over three years for the construction of the expanded Blue Line, with city council also earmarking funds to help with design and field studies.

The total cost to extend the Blue Line LRT is estimated at $160.6 million, according to the city, Global News reported.

Before the final report into the study is released to the public in the next couple of months, Global News reports, it will be shared with the provincial government, “in the hopes of integrating with its developing Passenger Rail Master Plan.”

Metrolinx

Premier Doug Ford has asked Metrolinx to study the possibility of building a bypass for freight trains between Brampton and Milton that would allow more frequent GO passenger service in the area, according to multiple news reports.

The proposed bypass, called the “Missing Link,” would run between the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) main line near Trafalgar Road in Milton to the CN bypass line at Bramalea, adjacent to Highway 407, and “has the potential to unlock new GO lines, stations and transit-oriented communities, supporting the province’s plan to build more homes near transit,” Ford wrote in a letter Thursday to the Metrolinx board, according to a Toronto Star report.

Ford’s letter (below), posted to X on Thursday, “directs Metrolinx to explore the possibility of building the new freight rail bypass with the two railways and the federal government. The province has also ordered a preliminary analysis of the benefits the proposed connections would bring, including possible increased service along the Kitchener and Milton corridors,” according to the Toronto Star report.

According to the report, in 2015, the city of Mississauga looked into the “Missing Link” between Milton and Bramalea, as two-way, all-day GO service was made impossible due to freight rail traffic. According to a feasibility study on the Missing Link plan created by Mississauga in 2015, the estimated cost of the project would be about $5.3 billion.

The proposed bypass is part of what Ford refers to as “GO 2.0,” part of a plan to extend transit across the Golden Horseshoe. In his letter, Ford also instructed Metrolinx to do a preliminary analysis of the benefits of GO 2.0 for passenger rail operations, compared to existing GO train expansion plans, according to a CBC News report.

In a statement, CPKC spokesperson Terry Cunha said “there would need to be an extensive review before relocating rail lines.”

The review would need to consider the impact to customer service and the cost to all stakeholders, “which will be significant,” said Cunha, according to the CBC News report.

“Evaluating the feasibility of relocating railway infrastructure is an enormously complex matter and the magnitude of the challenges should never be underestimated,” Cunha added.

Ontario Minister of Transport Prabmeet Sarkaria, who co-signed the letter to Metrolinx, said the plan will “unlock thousands of new trips for passengers every year,” according to the CBC News report.

“This will enable more services, more commuters getting to and from where they need to go in a quicker, faster, more affordable way,” Sakaria said.