The Florida Department of Transportation announced today that an intended decision has been reached regarding the procurement for the leasing of rights of way owned by the department and the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX), for purposes of constructing and operating intercity passenger rail service between Orlando and Tampa, Florida. The Request for Proposals (RFP) process began with a formal advertisement on June 22, 2018.
The department and CFX have selected Brightline to initiate negotiations for lease of rights of way. The Selection Committee consisted of: The department’s Assistant Secretary for Engineering and Operations (Brian Blanchard); the department’s Turnpike Executive Director (Paul Wai); and the Central Florida Expressway Authority Director (Laura Kelley).
Per Section 1.16 of the RFP, the department and CFX will attempt to negotiate lease terms acceptable to lease the right of way. Anticipated terms of the lease agreements can be found in the RFP.
The department and CFX have ninety (90) calendar days following posting of the intended decision to negotiate lease agreements, or extend the negotiation process by agreement.
