Local rail news

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by drive carephilly

3. The ridership numbers seem comically low. MCO is the 2nd busiest airport in the US for origin/destination trips after LAX. The parking and traffic is a nightmare. If there was regular rail service, even just hourly, from Advent Health to the airport I would never drive to the airport again. Over 150,000 people per day make their to or from the airport, 90% of them are passengers (the other 10% employees) and of the passengers most of them are visitors in what is a very expensive rental car market. If they build the system out like intended and they offer 15 minute headways to the airport from AdventHealth and Kissimmee like they're saying and 15 minute service from the airport to Disney Springs - you're looking at closer to 100k pax per day within the first couple of years - the employment density of places like the airport, I-Drive, and Disney Springs is insane not to mention that they're also big attractions for locals too.

Agreed 100%.

I also would never drive to the airport again. And I imagine people in far out places like Lake Mary and Sanford wouldn't either.

And yes, the number seems insanely low, considering the amount of traffic those places generate. Just the tourists alone would fill those trains up in large numbers.

[firmbizzle]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

Agreed 100%.

I also would never drive to the airport again. And I imagine people in far out places like Lake Mary and Sanford wouldn't either.

And yes, the number seems insanely low, considering the amount of traffic those places generate. Just the tourists alone would fill those trains up in large numbers.

Definitely a no brainer to avoid parking/Uber fees. Would probably saving everyone at least $60/trip.

[Arcenal813]

Meanwhile, extending Sunrail to... Deland...?

https://www.wesh.com/article/mothers...deals/60649630

I have nothing against this in particular, aside from the fact that this doesn't really seem like a priority, especially since the station is in the middle of nowhere. Bizarre set of priorities for FDOT.

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by Arcenal813

Meanwhile, extending Sunrail to... Deland...?

https://www.wesh.com/article/mothers...deals/60649630

I have nothing against this in particular, aside from the fact that this doesn't really seem like a priority, especially since the station is in the middle of nowhere. Bizarre set of priorities for FDOT.

Yeah, ill conceived, IMO. Apparently that was part of the original negotiations with Volusia. It was basically guaranteed to them and the way the contracts were written FDOT couldn't turn it over to local authorities until the line was complete - which included the DeLand extension.

There's a single-track spur that branches off of the main line and heads towards downtown DeLand, about 1/4 mile from the Stetson campus. That section of track is about 3 miles long but trying to bring that online would cost $$$ because you're talking upgrading the track, 2 extra stations, a passing siding, new signaling and PTC compliance, and an insane amount of gates since there are around a dozen grade crossings and for several of them the tracks cut a diagonal through the intersection a la New York & Lyman in Winter Park.

On the positive side, there's now an Amtrak/SunRail interchange station north of Winter Park. I took the train up to Jacksonville a few months ago for a conference. Because parking is pretty limited at Winter Park I had to take Sunrail from Altamonte to Winter Park then pass through Altamonte again on Amtrak. It chewed up almost an hour of my time vs. being able to take Sunrail to DeLand and transferring there. On that note, we really need some extra trains between Tampa and Jax. Even just two more round-trips per day would make it so much easier to reliably use the train.