COCOA — A planned Brightline passenger rail station in Cocoa secured a $56.48 million federal grant Tuesday, clearing the largest remaining funding obstacle for the project.
U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, announced the award from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The money will help build a multimodal station near Clearlake Road and U.S. 1 at the so-called Cocoa curve, where Brightline already owns land along its existing Orlando-to-Miami route.
The Cocoa station would sit roughly 53 miles north of Sebastian, putting a Space Coast rail stop within about an hour’s drive for Indian River County residents.
The grant represents the bulk of the more than $80 million needed for the station. Local and state sources will cover the rest.
The Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization has committed $15.5 million. The city of Cocoa and the Brevard County Tourism Development Council each pledged $5 million. An additional $2 million state appropriation approved earlier this year will pay for an access road. A separate $2 million federal appropriation from January also supports the project.
City and county leaders had applied for the same federal grant once before and were rejected. Officials said the latest effort succeeded after years of coordination among local, state and federal partners.
Haridopolos said the station will improve the rail system’s finances by adding a Space Coast stop.
“Brightline is here to stay. We’re not sure who the eventual owner of the company will be, but they’re not going anywhere,” he said. “We’ve already seen an increase in ridership. It’s starting to work. We think the Cocoa stop will improve the bottom line.”
He credited sustained work with the Department of Transportation and strong local backing.
“I made this a priority. I built a strong relationship with the DOT and the administration and for the last 19 months we just focused on what we needed to do to secure these dollars,” Haridopolos said. “The city of Cocoa was very passionate about it, too. They rallied local support with all the stakeholders back home.”
In a statement, the city of Cocoa said securing the competitive grant required extensive preparation and cooperation across agencies. The city called the award a reflection of shared goals for Space Coast transportation.
Brightline CEO Nicolas Petrovic said the company looks forward to building and operating a station that connects Brevard County to the rest of the state.
Brightline has faced financial pressure this year. Credit rating agencies lowered assessments of its bonds, and the company reported a 2025 loss exceeding $233 million even as ridership and revenue reached records. Local officials said the station project remains on track regardless of Brightline’s ownership or balance-sheet issues.
Officials hope the Cocoa station can open by 2030. The rail corridor already runs through the area; remaining work centers on the station itself, related track improvements and connecting roads.
