SunRail factoid: How long can the train be?

Volusia County Council Chairman Jason Davis asked a great question at last week’s Central Florida Commuter Train Commission meeting.

Assuming that SunRail ridership grows, what’s the maximum number of passenger coaches SunRail can have in a single train? As you probably know, SunRail usually pulls two passenger coaches, but sometimes adds a third coach during heavy ridership times in the afternoon.

Tawny Olore, the FDOT engineer who serves as the SunRail project manager, said the SunRail locomotives are capable of pulling up to five passenger coaches. She went on to explain that SunRail’s current platforms are long enough for three passenger coaches. That said, there are strategies to handle additional passenger coaches, such as having passengers enter doors of the three coaches at the platform and then walking through to a fourth coach that wouldn’t open its doors.

Welcome to SunRail's nastiest platform

It would be nice if this was a Halloween story but it’s way too scary.

The southbound platform at SunRail’s Lynx Central station is N-A-S-T-Y. The northbound platform appeared to be much cleaner.

We’re not sure what transpires overnight on the southbound platform, but it’s pretty bad, as you can see in the accompanying photo.

At 6 o’clock this morning that platform was covered with everything from cigarette butts to what we think was human waste (we’re talking No. 2).

At almost all the other SunRail stations the platforms are close to pristine – a testament to diligent work by janitorial workers who clean stations during the day.

We don’t know whether the filth we found this morning on the southbound platform at Lynx Central station occurred overnight, or if the janitorial worker has been on vacation, but that platform needs a deep clean. We’re talking high-pressure washer, boiling hot water, bleach and other disinfectants. There was also questionable brown substance smeared on a couple of benches.

Clearly smoking – which is banned on the platforms -- is another big problem at this station. We started counting cigarette butts on the southbound platform and we quit when we reached 50. We saw riders waiting for trains smoking. There was a technician at the station trying to fix the 3 broken ticket vending machines, and even he was smoking!

SunRail’s Lynx Central station needs lots of attention, please.

What grade does SunRail deserve?

How would you grade Central Florida’s SunRail commuter train system?

It’s hard to believe that SunRail will soon be 6 months old. It began service on May 1.

So how would you grade SunRail?

We think overall SunRail deserves high praise for the launch of commuter train service in our community, but there’s lots of room for improvement.

Now let’s get to specifics:

Facilities

The stations are generally well designed. We particularly like aesthetic touches at stations, such as the metal sculpture wading birds at Sand Lake Road and the orange-crate art at DeBary.

Spaces are free and plentiful at most of the stations where parking is provided. However, the automatic ticket vending machines are slow and sometimes unreliable. There continue to be problems with a few crossing gates. But the worst problem is the poorly designed platform canopies that provide scant protection from the sun and rain. Whoever designed those canopies deserves a kick in the pants.

Grade: B minus

Trains

The SunRail trains are great. They’re comfortable and well designed. The train crews, especially the conductors, are fabulous.

Grade: A

Fare

The fare is an outstanding bargain. Try driving round trip from South Orange County to DeBary in Volusia County for $7.50. Can’t be done.

However, many riders are rightly pissed off with the labeling of tickets in the vending machines. One ticket selection is for a 7-day ticket, even though SunRail only runs Monday through Friday. Many riders feel they’re getting ripped off because you only get 5 days of rides on a 7-day ticket, and you must use the ticket on 5 consecutive days.  This untruthful labeling highlights just reminds people that SunRail doesn’t run on weekends. Labeling is equally deceptive for 30-day tickets.

Grade: C

Reliability

 SunRail has an excellent on-time record. But when things go wrong, it’s time for Katie to bar the door. Most of SunRail problems are caused by people and vehicles trespassing on the tracks, despite a robust public-education program.

SunRail’s responses to these problems have been uneven. SunRail needs to be much better prepared for the unexpected because things are bound to go wrong. Riders depend on SunRail to get them to their destinations, regardless problems.

The biggest service deficiency is that SunRail does not provide service on the weekends or during late-night hours. SunRail remains stubbornly reluctant to expand service despite a petition signed by more than 2,000 people. Weekend service would mean a tremendous boost to businesses and cultural venues throughout Central Florida.

Grade: C minus

Customer service

We live in the hospitality capital of the world, yet SunRail doesn’t seem to have much aptitude for customer service. They're not rude, they're neglectful.

Getting rid of the SunRail Ambassadors who worked on the station platforms was a terrible idea. Even though they were hired as temps, they proved to be invaluable in answering questions, helping with balky ticket vending machines and reinforcing operating and safety rules. Riders really appreciated the assistance provided by the Ambassadors.

SunRail does a poor job of communicating with riders waiting on platforms when there are service interruptions. We’re happy SunRail is now working on a text messaging system to contact riders, but why wasn’t that done before SunRail started operations?

Based on what we’ve seen SunRail needs lessons in disaster planning and customer recovery. To improve they should reach out to the airlines and Disney -- businesses that have extensive experience and knowledge in those subjects.

Grade: D

SunRail’s overall grade: B minus

Lynx and Votran also deserve a B grade for providing the essential public bus service that connects many neighborhoods to SunRail stations.

So what’s your grade for SunRail?