The train that will run from South to Central Florida is slated to stop at Walt Disney World and SunRail’s Meadow Wood station at about the same time it opens its Orlando airport station, Virgin Trains’ president said Thursday.

“It’s our expectation to get it done and to build out to Disney,” Virgin Trains president Patrick Goddard said of a time frame that hinges on permits and financing. “It is entirely conceivable that that can happen with the delivery of the Orlando station.”

Virgin officials said their top priority is getting 30 to 36 months of construction started “imminently.”

Virgin Trains. Sir Richard Branson, white shirt, tours the renamed Virgin MiamiCentral. Sir Richard Branson, white shirt, tours the renamed Virgin MiamiCentral. (Virgin Trains.)

As recently as Tuesday, Virgin Train officials had emphasized that the company was in negotiations with several landowners in the area of the region’s theme parks for a station site.

Goddard said, however, that Virgin Trains last year signed a letter of intent with Disney.

“We’ve had an excellent relationship with Walt Disney World,” Goddard said. “They are big supporters of our project.”

Goddard spoke by phone after touring Virgin Trains in South Florida with Sir Richard Branson, founder of the venture-capital Virgin Group, which last year partnered with the owner of the train system previously known as Brightline.

The system is now officially called Virgin Trains, but the public rebranding will play out this year and included Thursday’s dedication and renaming of the train’s Miami station as Virgin MiamiCentral, a hub of retail, restaurants and residences.

“That’s the first glimpse of the brand transition,” Virgin spokesman Ben Porritt said.

Last year, the train company secured rights to issue $1.75 billion in tax-free bonds. It did so late last month and is looking to finalize the bond issuance in the coming few weeks.

Virgin Trains. Richard Branson. Richard Branson. (Virgin Trains.)

Goddard said that the $1.75 billion is sufficient to start construction from the current run of Virgin Trains between Miami to West Palm Beach, which went into operation last year.

The company also is pursuing a link to Tampa, with construction possibly starting while the tracks from West Palm Beach to Orlando are still under construction, according to company officials.

The company also will seek approval Friday to issue another $950 million in bonds. That funding would be instrumental in completing construction for the Orlando link, Goddard said.

Branson said that his Virgin Atlantic airline delivers more passengers to Orlando from Europe than any other airline. He said, among other destinations, Virgin trains from Orlando will deliver passengers to Virgin cruise ships in South Florida.

“So Orlando is very important to us,” Branson said. “Connecting Orlando to Miami is a real dream. It will transform the lives of many people.”

Branson said his company’s presence has kept the Orlando link on track.

“Under the Virgin Trains banner, the team was able to raise nearly $1.8 billion here in the last three weeks,” Branson said. “That’s the money we need to build to Orlando.”

Branson said Virgin has “98 percent brand recognition in America and nearly 100 percent in Europe, whereas Brightline is really only known in Miami.”

“So I think the Virgin brand has helped in the process,” Branson said. “I think many people will learn about Virgin Trains in Orlando and jump on them.”

Goddard added that a Disney station “would integrate with their transportation system, hotels and theme parks.”

A nearly 20-mile extension to Disney would include a stop at SunRail’s Meadow Woods station about 10 miles south of downtown Orlando in south Orange County, meaning that the region’s commuter-rail system would finally have a link to Orlando’s airport.

Having started up five years ago, SunRail under the Florida Department of Transportation management no longer even has a proposal in place for linking with Orlando International Airport.

The prospect of Virgin Trains providing a link between SunRail and the airport has tantalized local leaders. But many differences between the two systems would have to be resolved.

SunRail’s base fare is about 10 cents per mile, while Virgin Trains’ charge about 30 cents a mile. With the higher fares of the two trains, Virgin offers more of a luxury experience; SunRail prohibits food and beverage on its trains, while Virgin serves them.

Goddard has said previously his company is ready to resolve operational differences.

“The Meadow Woods connection with SunRail obviously would be a pretty meaningful integration with the Central Florida transportation network,” Goddard said on Thursday.

kspear@orlandosentinel.com

kspear@orlandosentinel.com

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