Commissioner's Corner: Learning how to ride the rails

SunRail is open for business and is transporting commuters along 32 miles of track from Sand Lake Road to DeBary. The project is the culmination of years of effort from federal, state and local governments to reduce the dependency on Central Florida’s congested roadways.

Tickets are available at kiosks at each station. A reloadable card is also available for those who plan to ride frequently. Base fares are $2 for one-way tickets and $3.75 for round-trip tickets. Passengers will be charged an additional $1 each time their train crosses a county line. For more information on fares, station locations, or train schedules, visit sunrail.com

SunRail’s total cost is approximately $1.05 billion, with $615 million allocated for construction and $435 million dedicated to right of way acquisition. State and local governments will each pay for 25 percent of total project costs. The federal government will fund the remaining 50 percent. The state will be responsible for SunRail’s operations and maintenance costs for the first seven years of service. Local governments will fully fund the service indefinitely beginning in the eighth year of operations. Costs will be partially offset by fares from SunRail’s ridership.

Trains will run every 30 minutes during the peak hours of 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. During normal hours trains will depart their home station every two hours in either direction. SunRail will only run on weekdays and no service will initially be offered on weekends. Phase one includes seven stops in Orange County including its southernmost stop at Sand Lake Road. Additional Orange County stops include the Orlando Amtrak station, Church Street, Lynx Central, Florida Hospital Health Village, Winter Park and Maitland. Seminole County has four stops at Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary and Sanford. Phase one’s northernmost station is located in DeBary in Volusia County.

SunRail’s construction was divided into two phases. When complete, the 61.5-mile line will include 17 stops in four counties. The addition of phase two will nearly double the length of the line. Phase two will add three new stations in Osceola County at Poinciana, the Kissimmee Amtrak station, and Osceola Parkway. Both Orange and Volusia counties will each receive an additional stop at Meadow Woods and DeLand, respectively.

I hope that SunRail provides an effective transportation solution for many Orange County commuters. My staff and I are available to answer any questions you may have about SunRail, transportation, or any other Orange County issue. We can be reached at 407-836-7350 or by email at [email protected]