ORLANDO, Fla. — SunRail, the Orlando-area commuter rail system, will open its four-station, 17.2-mile “Southern Extension” today, expanding the system to 48.9 miles and 16 stations.
The four new stations are Poinciana, Kissimmee, Tupperware, and Meadow Woods. The Kissimmee station becomes the third offering a connection to Amtrak service.
As part of the expansion, SunRail is offering a “First 50 Free” promotion, with free rides for the first 50 passengers checking in for each train at the new stations. The promotion runs through Aug. 17.
The opening of the expansion follows by one week the introduction of a new schedule which added more midday and late-night service. There are now 20 round trips on weekdays. The system does not operate on Saturdays, Sundays and seven major holidays.
The original 31.7-mile, 12-station SunRail route opened in spring 2014. The system operates with Motive Power Industries MP36PH-Q locomotives and Bombardier bilevel passenger cars.
I rode the Sunrail 2 years ago. Nice equipment, but the train is SLOW! Maybe too many stations for that short of distance, but the train never had a chance to ‘get up to run 8’. I don’t think we ever hit 40.
There’s still a lot of work needed to make SunRail the success it ought to be, especially nights and weekends, and, of course, a link to the airport (not normally something I’m enthusiastic about, but in this case Orlando airport’s new ground transportation terminal is intended to make it the local transportation hub, so it’ll be where you catch an AAF train to Miami, for example.) This is definitely a step in the right direction though.
Is it just me or is it really the case that we are seeing the expansion of local heavy rail?
ANNA – Yes you are onto something. Years ago, heavy rail (or regional or suburban or commuter) was Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, SanFran, a few others. Plus some cities with a few token trains you couldn’t really depend on, like Toronto or Milwaukee, about the level of service Nashville now has. Back then, no one could guess at the magnificent systems now thriving in Los Angeles, Salt Lake, Wilmington (Delaware), Washington DeeCee, etc.
…often have difficulty in obtaining funding.
Yes, heavy and light rail are expanding. However, like most things in the US, politicians have a preference for new projects over existing. Thus, maintaining or expanding older systems, notably in the Northeast, often have tr