Take SunRail to Emeril's favorite Kissimmee restaurant

SunRail and celebrity chef are two things we never thought we would see in the same article, yet here we are.

With the southern expansion of SunRail into Osceola County riders now will be able to take our favorite train to celebrity Chef Emeril Lagasse’s favorite Kissimmee restaurant – Savion’s Place.

Yes, that Emeril!

The owner of Savion’s Place – Chef Pouchon Savion -- was featured on Emeril’s Florida, a nationally broadcast TV show.

For years many Orlando area residents tended to look down their nose at Kissimmee as a “Cow Town” for its long history and heritage as one of the top livestock producers in the United States.

SunRail is not only providing a new transportation link for Osceola County residents, but it is pulling back the curtain on Kissimmee.

While some of the cowboy culture lives on in Kissimmee and elsewhere in Osceola, that community has become very diverse during the past three decades.

Savion’s Place is just one of many surprises awaiting those who take a day trip to check out Kissimmee.

The main drag in downtown Kissimmee is Broadway. That street and is maybe a half block from the Kissimmee SunRail station.

Along Broadway, and its side streets, there are all kinds of surprises awaiting visitors – from food to shopping. The food variety stretches from barbecue to Mediterranean – with a lot in between.

In addition, barely 5 minutes from the SunRail station is the spectacular Lake Tohopekaliga (Toho to locals) waterfront. Bring a picnic basket and blanket.

On Facebook you should like Kissimmee Main Street to keep up to speed on some of the great activities being held in the historic downtown corridor.

Before you can say it, we agree with you it would be great if SunRail ran on the weekends. It doesn’t. We still need your support to make 7-day service a reality.

Meanwhile, nothing should stop riders from making the best of what we have right now.

We think it’s noteworthy that the last northbound SunRail train departs the downtown Kissimmee station at 10 p.m., so it’s possible to catch a southbound SunRail train after work in downtown Orlando. Ride down to Kissimmee; have a nice dinner; do a little shopping and ride back in comfort to Orlando, Winter Park and points north.

Meanwhile, see what Emeril had to say about Savion’s Place by clicking here.

See you on The Rail!

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Open letter to SunRail's new CEO

Dear Ms. Nicola Liquori,

Congratulations on your new role as SunRail CEO. We wish you every success!

Some riders were dismayed that you don’t have a passenger-rail background. We appreciate their concern, but we’re not overly worried because strong leadership can be as important as detailed technical knowledge and experience. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower led Allied forces to victory in World War II even though he never personally commanded soldiers on a battlefield.

The areas of focus that you detailed at the September Technical Advisory Committee meeting make sense. However, we were disappointed that customer satisfaction was not listed among your priorities.

SunRail ridership continues to sag because customer satisfaction is not -- and has not been -- a top priority.

Specifically, we call your attention to the train schedule. SunRail is almost completely useless unless you’re going to a traditional Monday through Friday 9 to 5 job.

What about the caregivers at Orlando Health (ORMC) and Florida Hospital? They don’t work a traditional schedule limited to weekdays.

How about the thousands of people who work at Orlando International Airport and in the hospitality and tourism industry? That’s a pool of thousands of prospective riders who want to use SunRail, but they can’t because of the train’s awful schedule.

We’ve been waiting two years for a real leader. We hope that’s you.

Please pay attention to what current riders -- and would-be riders -- are saying (especially the hospital caregivers). Don’t be misled by SunRail’s high-priced consultants. If they knew what they were talking about SunRail’s problems would have been solved long ago.

No service on weekends and holidays; no late-night service, 2 ½-hour service gaps during off-peak hours just don’t cut it. Those deficiencies are huge customer dis-satisfiers. You don’t need a Madison Avenue marketing guru to figure that out.

The schedule needs to be fixed now, not in five years. Waiting any longer will guarantee SunRail’s failure.

Fix SunRail’s schedule, extend service to DeLand, and your success will be guaranteed.

Sincerely

SunRail riders

SunRail hospital schedule needs surgery - STAT

Back when SunRail was being planned most people expected that the train stations at Orlando’s biggest hospitals would be among the busiest stops. That’s a reasonable assumption considering that Florida Hospital and Orlando Health are two of the region’s largest employers.

Reality proved to be vastly different from the assumptions. The stations at Florida Hospital and Orlando Health rank among the bottom three for ridership. It’s not that caregivers and other workers at the hospitals don’t like SunRail. The problem is that the train schedule doesn’t work for many of them.

SunRail at Florida Hospital

Hospital caregivers tell us that the biggest problem is in the evening for the northbound SunRail train. The shift ends for many of the caregivers at 7 p.m., but the northbound SunRail train arrives and departs too early from the train stations at both hospitals.

It’s not as though the minute the shift ends the nurses and other caregivers instantly drop everything and walk out the door. They have to finish what they’re doing; update patients’ charts and brief the next shift.

The handover process is time consuming but necessary to ensure safe medical care for patients. In addition, caregivers at Orlando Health have to walk at least two blocks to the train station.

To be fair, back in August SunRail tried to address this situation by adjusting the schedule so the 7:22 p.m. train at Orlando Health now arrives at 7:37 p.m. Instead of 7:34 p.m. that train now arrives at the Florida Hospital station at 7:49 p.m.

Good try, but this situation demands more attention. If caregivers coming off shift at 7 miss the northbound train they have to wait at least 2 hours for the next train. Would you do that? Most people wouldn’t, so caregivers drive to work because they can’t count on SunRail to get home.

SunRail at Orlando Health

Caregivers say it would be better if SunRail changed the schedule so the northbound train arrived at Orlando Health at 8 p.m. That train would also serve caregivers at Florida Hospital.

No doubt changing the SunRail train schedule is more complicated than just writing numbers on paper. Changing the northbound train schedule affects the southbound train schedule. In addition, every time the schedule is changed, it can affect the hours that train crews are on duty. Federal rules limit how long crew members can work. Despite those concerns, the ultimate goal is to increase ridership by making SunRail a convenient alternative to driving.

We love hospital caregivers – nurses, orderlies and techs. We love doctors, too. But anybody who has ever been in the hospital knows that the caregivers are the ones who get the job done. Let’s make it easier for them to get home.

SunRail's new night train, not late enough?

We’ve heard a few people complaining that SunRail’s new night train – starting next week – doesn’t run late enough.

To those whiners we can only say: Chill out!

Let’s get real: This is Central Florida, not New York City. We don’t need 24-hour train service.

We’re grateful SunRail has added the late-train to the schedule. This late train can do wonders for restaurants, entertainment and cultural venues along the SunRail corridor. At this point we're mainly focused on getting everybody to take full advantage of this new night train. Strong ridership on the night train sets the stage for weekend SunRail service.

SunRail’s deal with CSX requires SunRail to get their trains off the tracks before midnight to make way for freight trains. As it is, SunRail's new night train ends its run in DeBary at 11:30 p.m. 

Let's keep in mind there are many businesses along the SunRail corridor and elsewhere in Central Florida that count on those overnight freight trains to haul supplies and products.

Starting next week Orlando Magic fans can use SunRail to get to and from games on weekdays. We understand that many performances at the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts won’t end in time for patrons to use the train to get home. Sure, that’s disappointing, but it’s impossible to please everybody all the time. Maybe the performing arts center can consider starting performances a little earlier so their patrons can use SunRail. Everybody needs to bend a little. SunRail has shown good faith by expanding their service.

As for late-night revelers who want to ride SunRail home at 3 a.m. after a night of slamming drinks, all we can say is tough luck. We don’t want SunRail to become a rolling drunk tank. If you want to drink yourself into oblivion, then it’s your responsibility to find a safe way to get home.

Please wear your thinking cap on SunRail

Some people must forget to wear their thinking caps when they board SunRail.

This morning we watched a woman miss her stop at the southbound Church Street SunRail station because she took too long to get off.

The woman who missed her stop was riding with a coworker on the upper level. The coworker made it off, but the other woman got trapped on board when the doors closed and the train pulled away from the station. The conductor was in a different car and couldn’t see the problem unfold.

The coworker explained the dilemma to the station ambassador who politely suggested that it’s always a good idea to gather your belongings and prepare to get off before the train reaches the station.

The coworker said, ‘Well, they should announce that.”

Seriously?

Does anyone need to tell you to come in from the rain if you don’t want to get wet?

Come on folks, a little bit of “walking-around-sense” is needed if you’re going to use SunRail.

The train is on a schedule and can’t wait 10 minutes at every station for people to figure out what they’re doing. People who take a long time to get off are being unfair to all the other riders.

Get with the program. We’ve written it before and we’ll write it again: Step lively, folks!

Step lively, riders!

Much of the time we write about things SunRail can do to make the service better. There are also things we – SunRail riders – can do to make the trains run better.

One of the things that always amazes us is how people wait until the last minute to get off the train at their station. We watch some people on the upper level wait until the train comes to a complete stop and the doors open before gathering their belongings to get off.

Seriously?

What are they waiting for? 

Next stops are always announced in advance. What’s wrong with going downstairs so you’re ready to get off as soon as the train stops?

Riders who delay getting off the train interfere with passengers who are boarding, and that slows down the train’s arrival at the next station.

Step lively folks and let’s do our part to keep the trains on schedule.