A couple of things you need to know when riding
#SaturdaySunRail.
Riding #SaturdaySunRail is an important investment in the
future of SunRail. It makes the case that full-service SunRail – trains 7 days
a week and late night – is needed and will be used. Please ride.
Because #SaturdaySunRail is paid for by a public-private
partnership to support large-scale events in downtown Orlando, the train schedule
changes every time it runs on Saturday.
Last Saturday SunRail ran until 1 a.m. Sunday. This week
#SaturdaySunRail will shut down before midnight. Don’t get stranded.
 |
| Riders who got left while trying to buy tickets |
Pay
attention to when the train is scheduled to leave your home station. Make note
of when you need to be back at the station to catch the train home.
This
is a railroad and it runs on a schedule. If they’re late leaving one station,
that will make the train late arriving at other stations. Riders depend on
timely arrivals and departures.
For
the start of your SunRail trip, please get to the station at least 30 minutes
before the departure time so you can buy tickets.
There’s
a good chance there will be lines of people buying one-day tickets. SunRail
ticket vending machines suck. They are slow and clunky.
Last
week we watched the #SaturdaySunRail train leave some people on the platform
while they were trying to buy tickets from the janky vending machines. We felt
bad for those disappointed would-be riders.
At
most stations the train stops for less than 3 minutes to pick up passengers, so
don’t wait until the last minute to get off. To speed the boarding process,
please let people get off the train before you try to get on.
Just
between us, the best seats are on the train’s upper deck. On the lower deck
there’s plenty of room for you to bring your bicycle.
For
safety sake, please stay behind the yellow line while waiting on the platform.
Last
Saturday while waiting in Winter Park a newbie rider asked if SunRail had a
dining car. (Come on, don’t laugh.) Not only does SunRail NOT have a dining
car, you’re not supposed to eat on the train. However, you can bring a beverage
if it’s in a cup with a lid and a straw. It’s all about keeping things clean.
See
you on The Rail.
I LOVE SunRail. I just recently retired, but until then, I rode SunRail regularly. I would reinforce the advice about being early to buy tickets (I have a SunCard, so I have no problem, but I've seen others frantically arriving late and trying to get a ticket). Trains wait for no one! Actually, it isn't fair to the people ON the train. They need to get where they need to go and they may have connections to make.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I prefer the bottom floor, then the mid-level seats. Admittedly one gets better views from the top floor; however riding up there is equivalent to riding a camel! Lots of rocking,
One MUST understand that the SunRail schedule is just not some arbitrary thing invented by SunRail management. The tracks SunRail uses are SHARED by Amtrak and CSX (freight trains).
Can you begin to imagine the management required to make sure all these trains can use these tracks through our communities without accidents? There ARE areas in the SunRail transit area that are only single tracks. I have personally SEEN Amtrak trains waiting for SunRail to pass in a switch area or in a single track area. I never before understood the meaning of "railroad congestion", but I now have a whole new appreciation for the people who monitor and direct the traffic on our rail lines. There's a lot more to it than we know. That would make a fascinating article.