Good news Orlando Magic fans!
It looks like during the next season many of you will be able to take SunRail to weeknight games in downtown Orlando and back home after the games. Fans can thank SunRail’s southern expansion to Poinciana.
As Magic fans know, the present SunRail schedule only works one way – to the game -- because the last northbound train leaves downtown’s Church Street station at 9:25 p.m. (The way the Magic plays, leaving the game early may not be a bad thing.)
SunRail’s tentative new schedule proposes that the last northbound train will leave Church Street after 10 p.m.
SunRail managers have been reworking the schedule to include service to the new Meadow Woods, Osceola Parkway/Tupperware, Kissimmee and Poinciana stations. Two more train roundtrips are being added to serve the longer train route.
One of SunRail’s major priorities has been to better accommodate the real-world schedules of the staff and caregivers at Florida Hospital and Orlando Health hospitals. Even though those hospitals are two of the region’s largest employers – ridership at those stations has been disappointingly low because of shortcomings in the current schedule. Last year SunRail CEO Nicola Liquori pledged to use the opportunity of service expansion to improve the schedule and ridership.
The tentative schedule was discussed briefly at this week’s SunRail Customer Advisory Committee meeting. While Ms. Liquori and her team won’t be able to change water to wine, one of the positive developments appears to be a later departure time for the last northbound SunRail train. They plan to present the new schedule very soon.
This later service will not only benefit Magic fans but also date night for some couples. Magic fans headed southbound after the game still will be out of luck, though.
And no, there is no new weekend service. Remember, Ms. Liquori is limited by the budget she has been provided for Monday to Friday service. Any weekend service needs to be sponsored – either businesses or local government.
During a recent interview, Osceola Commissioner Viviana Janer, who also chairs the SunRail Commission, explained what it will take to get weekend service. Click here for that explanation.
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