A new high speed rail link that will connect Orlando and Tampa is expected to make travel between the state’s tourism hotspots easier than ever for those on holidays in Florida.
WTSP.com reports that the $2.5 billion (£1.7 billion) project has already been half paid-for with stimulus money, and will connect Florida’s holiday capitals of Orlando and Tampa by 2015. The five planned stations for the first phase of the project are Downtown Tampa, Poly County, Walt Disney World, the Orange County Convention Center and Orlando International Airport.
The journey plan has already caused controversy however, due to there being no planned stops in Downtown Orlando, for those heading out on shopping trips in the city, or at Tampa International Airport, which makes the line less convenient for those taking flights to Tampa.
Other popular Florida destinations that could also have benefited from stops on the high speed line include the Busch Gardens resort and Tampa’s beaches, however the state has announced that all these decisions were made due to there not being enough space to build a dedicated train route through these destinations, as well as a lack of funds to create a bridge that would be needed to connect the route to Tampa Bay beaches.
The high speed rail line is hoped to be useful to Florida visitors as well aiding the commute of the state’s local businessmen, who make the trip between Orlando and Tampa on a daily basis.
