SunRail


SunRail is a commuter rail system in the Greater Orlando, Florida, area. Services began on May 1, 2014. The system comprises 17 stations along a former CSX Transportation line connecting Volusia County and Osceola County through Downtown Orlando. The SunRail system is financed by the state and federal governments and the counties it serves. SunRail is Florida's second commuter rail system after South Florida's Tri-Rail.
A southern extension to Poinciana via Kissimmee, with four additional stations, opened on July 30, 2018. On August 12, 2024, SunRail started a new service to DeLand as part of the northern extension.
In, the line had a ridership of, or about per weekday as of.

History

Cost and funding

The total cost of the system was originally estimated at $615 million for construction plus $432 million to purchase the right of way and tracks. However, the cost of construction ended up being above the $615 million quoted, and the agreement still allows CSX to run a limited number of freight trains along the line at night, although the majority of the freight traffic has been rerouted west to CSX's "S" Line.
The budgeted operating costs were $47 million, and the rider fare revenue is $2 million, resulting in an operating deficit of approximately $45 million, or over $50 per passenger.
Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties and the City of Orlando partnered to build the project. The project was financed by the federal government, the state of Florida, and the local partners. Fifty percent of the funding came from a federal transit "New Starts" grant. The local partners were responsible for 25 percent of the cost and another 25 percent was paid by the State of Florida, which included the cost of track improvements, construction of train stations, and purchasing of locomotives and rail cars.
On December 22, 2010, it was announced that the state of Florida had created an escrow account with $173 million. The money was planned to be used to purchase the tracks SunRail operates on, and also allowed the state to formally request $300 million from the federal government to cover construction costs.
During its first year of operation, SunRail made a total of $7.2 million from a combination of fares, advertising and fees paid by CSX and Amtrak to run their trains through the corridor. However, SunRail spent a total of $34.4 million during that same year, ending it with a $27.2 million deficit and an average daily ridership of 3,700 passengers.

Project planning and approvals

At the end of July 2007, Orange County, Seminole County, Osceola County, Volusia County and the city of Orlando all voted on and approved the Sunrail project. Osceola County had agreed in principle, but was still examining how to fund its $9.3 million share at the time.
An agreement was reached between Florida Department of Transportation and CSX for the purchase of the tracks on November 29, 2007, and the Florida Legislature approved the CSX-Florida Department of Transportation agreement in order for project construction to begin. However, the legislature failed to vote on the agreement to purchase the right of way and tracks from CSX in the 2008 session. At issue were provisions regarding liability and indemnification. Commenting on the bill, state senator Paula Dockery said, "I don't envision a time anytime soon where thoughtful senators are going to say that there's some kind of good public policy involved in taking liability away from somebody who was at fault and putting it on the taxpayers of the state of Florida."
The contract between CSX and Florida DOT was in place through June 30, 2009, and the legislature planned to use another opportunity to consider and approve the agreement in the 2009 legislative session. The bill made it through all necessary Senate committee approvals and the first segment of the project had already been approved to enter Final Design by the Federal Transit Administration on August 11, 2008.
On January 14, 2009, the SunRail name and logo were presented to the public by Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer. Progress continued to move slowly forward on the project until the state legislative session on April 30, 2009, when the project was once again defeated by a 23–17 vote. The movement against the project, which was once again led by state senators Paula Dockery and Mike, continued to revolve around an amendment that would have approved a $200 million insurance policy for SunRail. Another political problem for SunRail was an overall lack of support for the project from the South Florida delegation effectively killed the bill.
After the second failure, with the deadline to purchase the tracks in question from CSX looming, the state initially pulled the plan from the legislative agenda, endangering as much as $307 million in federal funds that had been promised to SunRail, which would have been taken away if the plan failed. Nearly $27 million of that federal money had already been spent to purchase rail equipment and land for stations and it was unknown whether or not the state of Florida would have had to pay the money back to the federal government. However, CSX rescinded the deadline on June 29, permitting more negotiation time for insurance arrangements. An agreement on insurance was finally reached, and lawmakers convened a special session in December 2009 that passed the House on December 7 and the Senate on December 8. Additional federal money may be attracted to reduce the financial cost to the state.
On December 8, 2009, the contractual requirement necessary to move forward with SunRail was passed along with funding for South Florida's Tri-Rail system. At the bill's signing Senate President Jeff Atwater said "Today, Florida is embracing the opportunity to lead the nation in developing a comprehensive transportation system, thereby ensuring our competitive edge in the 21st Century global economy. A comprehensive transportation system, creating opportunities and avenues to connect employers and employees, is integral to building a stronger future for Florida."
Negotiations with Amtrak subsequently led to a dispute over which party would bear liability for incidents on Amtrak trains operating on the route, which would be owned by SunRail—Amtrak wanted SunRail to assume responsibility for such incidents, while SunRail wanted Amtrak to be liable. The purchase of the trackage from CSX could not be completed until an agreement with Amtrak was reached. On December 10, 2010, it was announced that Amtrak and the state had apparently reached a deal regarding the issue, as Amtrak had dropped its opposition to the sale.
On January 29, 2011, Florida governor Rick Scott froze all SunRail contracts and ordered a six-month legislative review of the project to determine whether the project was a good investment. However, on July 1, 2011, Florida Department of Transportation secretary Ananth Prasad announced that Scott had finally approved the project.

Construction

The Phase 1 construction contract was awarded to two primary general contractors; RailWorks Track Systems, Inc. of New York City, who would be responsible for right-of-way and track improvements, and Atlanta-based Archer Western Contractors Ltd., who would be responsible for building the stations. Work would include double tracking the existing line; the installation of new wayside signals; improvements to existing grade crossings; construction of the station platforms, canopies and adjacent parking areas; as well as building of the Operations Control Center and Vehicle Storage & Maintenance Facility at CSX's Rand Yard in Sanford.
Ground was broken at the future Altamonte Springs station site on January 27, 2012, marking the official beginning of construction for Phase 1 of the SunRail project. The first load of steel rail for double tracking the route between Sanford and Longwood was delivered not long after in early 2012. A second set of rails for double tracking the route between North Street in Longwood and Gore Street south of Downtown Orlando was delivered at the end of March 2012, and a third set, which supplemented various locations between Sanford and Orlando, was delivered at the end of July 2012. The sections of standard 115-pounds-per-yard rail were long, weighing 31 tons each. On September 28, 2012, the St. Johns River drawbridge in Sanford was closed for 54 hours while construction crews demolished and replaced the bridge approach spans. By the time Phase 1 construction was completed in early 2014, nearly of main line single track were double-tracked, three existing CSX freight yards were reconfigured, wayside signal and grade crossing signal improvements were made along the corridor, a total of 12 stations were built, and a new Operations Control Center and Vehicle Storage & Maintenance Facility were constructed.

Operational history

SunRail curtailed late night train service on December 21, 2015 citing ridership. A mid-day train to service leisure riders was introduced.
SunRail has tested a few Saturday train operations. The test was from November 2016 to January 2017 but it did not happen every Saturday. Train service has been run on a Saturday after the supposed end date of January with the latest being on March 18. This day set a ridership record with 12,842 passengers and is attributed to several events running in Orlando, specifically the Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival and an Orlando City Soccer Club soccer match. This headcount far outpaces the daily weekday ridership record of 8,842. Several major businesses including the Downtown Orlando Partnership and Downtown Development Board are donating funds to pay for Saturday service. It's estimated the cost is $20,000+ each Saturday. Each company involved gives money towards the operating expenses in exchange for on-train advertising, logo placement on stations and billboards, and social media promotions. Weekend trains will run between afternoon and evenings and are adjusted to serve specific events. The cost of running trains on Saturday is about $20,000. This service was to start in November 5.