All Aboard Florida secures right of way for Orlando-Miami passenger-rail project

All Aboard Florida's proposal to provide passenger-rail service from central to southern Florida advanced yesterday when the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority's board approved an easement purchase agreement with the company.

The agreement enables All Aboard Florida to construct rail infrastructure parallel to the State Road 528 Corridor. Coupled with a lease agreement that the Florida Department of Transportation approved in June, All Aboard Florida now has secured the right of way needed to build a passenger-rail line between Orlando and Miami, All Aboard Florida officials said in a press release.

In a separate transaction on Wednesday, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority's (GOAA) board approved several agreements that will allow All Aboard Florida to develop its Central Florida station at Orlando International Airport's future intermodal facility. The GOAA pacts will provide a rail easement between State Road 528 and the future intermodal facility; a premises lease for the future intermodal facility; and a land lease to construct All Aboard Florida's maintenance facility.

"[We] achieved two major milestones this week," said P. Michael Reininger, All Aboard Florida's president and chief development officer. "We will now focus on designing and engineering the project so we can begin construction by the end of this year."

Owned by Florida East Coast Industries Inc., All Aboard Florida plans to develop a privately owned passenger-rail system that would connect south Florida to Orlando.