Which Saturdays should SunRail run?

With the exception of Nov. 5^th, the private-public Team SunRail partnership has yet to post a full calendar showing which Saturdays SunRail will run.

So we thought we would help them by making our own #SaturdaySunRail suggestions:

Saturday, Nov. 12. The Come Out With Pride festival – postponed from Oct. 8th – is scheduled to be held at downtown Orlando’s Lake Eola. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend the event that celebrates our LGBTQ community.

Saturday, Nov. 19. The Florida Classic annual football showdown between Florida A&M University and Bethune-Cookman University – two of America’s best known Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The game at downtown Orlando’s Camping World Stadium (formerly known as the Citrus Bowl) and surrounding events draw nearly 100,000 annually.

Saturday, Nov. 26. Small Business Saturday is traditionally held the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it’s intended to spotlight small businesses that are the backbone of the U.S. economy. There are hundreds of small businesses you can reach by getting off at SunRail stations at Sand Lake Road, Church Street, LYNX Central Station, Florida Hospital, Winter Park, Maitland, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary and Sanford. Many small businesses have special offers for customers on Small Business Saturday.

By the way, on Nov. 5^th Camping World Stadium will be hosting the Electric Daisy Music Carnival. Hard for us to describe this event that features music, amusement park rides, costumes and lots of people.

Hope to see you on The Rail.

#SaturdaySunRail disappointment

What a disappointing Saturday!

Like thousand across Central Florida, we were looking forward to the first run of #SaturdaySunRail train on Oct. 8.

However, in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew reaching land, FDOT cancelled SunRail train service on Friday and Saturday.

The cancellation announcement was very disappointing. However, mentioning the word “hurricane” brings back nightmares for many local residents.

We lived through Hurricane Charley in 2004. The widespread devastation that storm caused across Metro Orlando is difficult to describe to anyone who wasn’t here. It took almost a year to clear much of the damage and debris. Today you can still find scars inflicted by Hurricane Charley if you know where to look.

Turns out Hurricane Matthew’s recent visit had far less impact on Central Florida than anticipated. In fact, Saturday’s weather was mild. It would have been a perfect day to run the train.

Yet there was no way for anyone to know in advance how things would turn out on Saturday. We imagine the disappointment was particularly acute for those planning to attend the massive Come Out With Pride Festival last Saturday in downtown Orlando’s Lake Eola. That event has been postponed until a TBD date in November.

SunRail officials and festival organizers made the difficult – yet right decision -- to cancel. Nothing is more important than public safety.

As for SunRail, once you shut down a railroad it takes time to get it up and running again. Workers need to make sure there’s no debris on the tracks; ensure trains and stations haven’t been damaged, and check that railroad signals and crossing gates are functioning properly.

All is not lost. The business and community partnership sponsoring #SaturdaySunRail promise to offer train service on most Saturdays between now and the beginning of February.

The Saturday service is being offered to make it easier for people to reach leisure events downtown Orlando and along the SunRail corridor. You can help sponsor #SaturdaySunRail by clicking here.

#SaturdaySunRail will roll. When it does, we’ll see you on The Rail.

Official SunRail press release

SunRail to Suspend Service Beginning Thursday Afternoon

Orlando – Due to Hurricane Matthew, the Florida Department of Transportation is suspending

SunRail commuter rail service Thursday afternoon.

The last southbound train (P317) departs DeBary at 12:00 p.m., and the last northbound

train (P318) departs Sand Lake at 1:15 p.m. This will allow staff time to prepare for the

impending storm.

Hurricane preparations include:

• securing gates at over 130 grade crossings, including removal of longer gates

• demobilizing, inspecting and storing train sets

• securing equipment

After the storm and when conditions stabilize, a complete inspection of the corridor is necessary

to assess the storm’s impact and to prepare the corridor to reinstate rail service.

Unfortunately, due to the uncertainty of the storm, we will be unable to operate normal

service on Friday, October 7, 2016 or special event service for Saturday, October 8, 2016.

We will continue to work with our partners to identify the next opportunity to offer

SunRail service on Saturday.

SunRail anticipates resuming its normal operations Monday, October 10, 2016 with 36 regularly

scheduled train trips per day.

Please check www.sunrail.com for updates.

Will SunRail be running for Come Out With Pride?

Will I be able to take SunRail to the Come Out With Pride Festival at Lake Eola?

SunRailRiders has been campaigning for weekend SunRail service for more than 2 years. We’re the guys who launched the petition drive to get weekend train service.

Just this past weekend we got word that a group of local stakeholders was launching an effort to raise private money to pay for weekend SunRail service. They said they hoped to begin service on October.

Come Out With Pride is on Oct. 8. Our sources tell us that the stakeholders plan to have #SaturdaySunRail service started in time for Come Out With Pride. The exact schedule for that Saturday and other Saturdays will be announced this Thursday.

For the latest details follow us at www.SunrailRiders.com, www.Facebook.com/SunRailRiders and www.Twitter.com/SunRailRiders