Next SunRail commission meeting will be BIG!

Mark down Jan. 9 on your calendar.

That’s the date when the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission will hold its next meeting. 

Commission members in November

That commission of locally elected government officials oversees the management of SunRail. The commission’s members include Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, Seminole County Commissioner Carlton Henley, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Volusia County Council Chairman Jason Davis and Osceola Commissioner Viviana Janer.

In our opinion the upcoming meeting will be the most important one that has been held since SunRail began operations last May.

Four hot topics that are sure to be discussed include:

1.    The SunRail #NightTrain. This new late-night train, which we have campaigned for since July, wasn’t even on the agenda the last time the rail commission met in November. You can be sure commission members will pay close attention to ridership of the train that begins its last southbound run in DeBary at 9:05 p.m., and its last northbound trip from Sand Lake Road at 10:20 p.m.

#NightTrain in Winter Park

Up to this point the #NightTrain is an experiment. If it gets strong ridership it will help us make a stronger argument to expand SunRail service to the weekends. That’s why it’s absolutely critical for each and every one of us use  #NightTrain during the next two weeks to explore and enjoy Central Florida in the evenings during the holidays and after work hours. Don’t procrastinate, ride this week.

2.    Extension of SunRail service to DeLand in Volusia County. State engineers have finished 30 percent of the plans for that extension. However, Volusia County Council members are starting to whine about paying the county’s share of the costs. The money is due on Jan. 3, but county council members are scheduled to discuss this matter on Jan. 8 – the day before the rail commission meets. SunRail is scheduled to start serving DeLand in 2016 – if the money comes through.

3.    Preparations for the I-4 Ultimate project. SunRail was launched to provide commuters with a transportation alternative during the massive 21-mile construction project that will begin in late January 2015 and continue through 2021. Everyone is expecting that construction will prompt more commuters to jump on SunRail. We’re eager to hear about the preparations.

4.    Passenger advisory council selection. Orlando and Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties are expected to name their representatives to this group at the next meeting. Osceola County will name its representatives in 2016 when the train service is expanded down through Kissimmee to Poinciana in 2016. We’re excited that this council is being established to serve as a voice for SunRail riders. If you want to serve, click the name of your local government's representative on the rail commission.

As far as we’re concerned, when it comes to SunRail, the best is yet to come.

See you on The Rail.

The SunRail #NightTrain is a winner

In case you’ve been wondering, SunRail’s new #NightTrain is a big hit.

Tuesday night, after the Orlando Magic game the newly added SunRail late-night train was carrying a heavy load when it left Church Street for the last northbound run of the evening. And the riders were ecstatic.

Tuesday was just the second night for the new #NightTrain that was introduced on Monday as a test of expanded SunRail service.

As expected, Monday night’s passenger load on the #NightTrain was nothing to write home about. Only about 100 people used that train, but that was no surprise given that it’s Christmas week and there was nothing special going on in downtown Orlando.

But it was an entirely different tune on Tuesday. By early evening on Tuesday we heard reports that there were lots of people riding SunRail downtown for the Magic game. Until now most Magic fans couldn’t seriously considering taking SunRail to the Amway Center because the last train for the evening passed through Church Street before the end of the basketball game.

Under SunRail’s new test schedule the northbound #NightTrain pulls into Church Street at 10:30. That gives Magic fans lots of time to exit the Amway Center and stroll over to the Church Street SunRail station. (Fans were particularly happy because the Magic won for a change!)

Many fans arrived at the SunRail station at 9:45 p.m. and a few even had time to get a drink at nearby nightspots and reach the train station with lots of time to spare. In addition to basketball fans, we also chatted with several folks who just left a John Lennon tribute concert on Church Street and some tourists who left their car at Sand Lake Road and rode SunRail to explore downtown Orlando.

Now everybody is asking us when weekend SunRail service will start. With the kind of strong ridership we witnessed on Tuesday night, hopefully SunRail weekend service will be here soon.

We need you tonight on the SunRail #NightTrain

Tonight the stakes will be very high.

Both the news media and the SunRail and mass transportation haters will be paying very close attention to the SunRail night train service that begins tonight.

Even though tonight will be the first day for the new schedule the critics are licking their lips ready to declare the night train a failure because no one is riding. You can believe that future expansion of SunRail service (weekend service and more trains during the day) hinges on the success of the night train.

Other communities, such as our neighbors in Tampa Bay who desperately want to expand their mass transit offerings, will be paying close attention too. Let’s show them what SunRail riders can do!

We need to show the haters that our community fully embraces this new SunRail schedule, and mass transit in general (including Lynx and Votran).

There are lots of places to go and things to do tonight, including the multiplex movie theater in downtown Orlando, dining and fun in downtown Orlando, downtown Winter Park, downtown Lake Mary and downtown Sanford. And so to quote Lisa Minnelli: “What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play…”

Remember the way we all rode during the #RideBlkFri campaign? Let’s ride like that again tonight and every night this train is running. Let’s get your coworkers and neighbors out there on SunRail tonight. And when you ride, please post photos under the hashtag #NightTrain

The last southbound SunRail train will leave DeBary at 9:05 p.m. and the last northbound SunRail train will leave Sand lake Road at 10:20 p.m. For a detailed schedule visit www.SunRail.com

See you on The Rail.