Please help SunRail, Mr. President

Dear President Trump,

We hope you enjoy your visit to Orlando today (6/18).

Public transit – particularly the SunRail train – made it easy for many of your supporters to attend your campaign event at the Amway Center in downtown Orlando.

Since SunRail was launched 5 years ago, the passenger rail system has inspired billions of dollars in development and expanded employment opportunities for many Central Florida residents.

SunRail is nowhere near its full potential for making Central Florida great.

We need your attention and support to:

·        Complete SunRail’s initial plan to expand SunRail service to DeLand – the Volusia County seat. That expansion provides an affordable and smart transportation option that will take more cars off Interstate 4. This also gives more Volusia County residents broader employment opportunities in Seminole, Orange, and Osceola counties. It would also link 4 colleges/universities – Stetson University, Rollins College, the University of Central Florida and Valencia College – not to mention Florida A& M University law school in downtown Orlando and Barry Law School in east Orange County.

·        Construct a SunRail train link to Orlando International Airport. That direct link to the airport is the key to expanding service hours on SunRail – which at this time are limited to weekday bankers’ hours

·        Buy more trains. Currently, SunRail only has enough rolling stock for 10 trains – a locomotive with two passenger coaches. With 7-day service and later hours, more trains and more crews will be needed to give our community the service that it deserves.

We would be grateful if you included SunRail in the infrastructure plans we’ve heard you mention.

Special SunRail service for Tuesday's Trump events

The Florida Department of Transportation is announcing additional evening SunRail service on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 as President Donald Trump holds an event at the Amway Center in downtown Orlando.

SunRail will operate its normal service schedule until 10:00 p.m. Beginning at 10:00 p.m., SunRail will operate three northbound and three southbound trains departing exclusively from Church Street Station.

After departing Church Street Station, trains will be drop off service to all stations only, meaning station stops will be limited only to passengers exiting the train at their final destinations.

Trains will not be picking up additional passengers along the way. The nighttime train schedule is as follows:

Northbound Church Street Station Platform (north of South Street):

·        10:15 p.m.

·        10:30 p.m.

·        10:45 p.m.

Station stops at: LYNX Central, AdventHealth, Winter Park, Maitland, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary, Sanford, DeBary

Southbound Church Street Station Platform (south of South Street):

·        10:00 p.m.

·        10:15 p.m.

·        10:45 p.m.

Station stops at: Orlando Health/Amtrak, Sand Lake Road, Meadow Woods, Tupperware, Kissimmee/Amtrak, Poinciana

SunRail anticipates higher than normal volume on all trains throughout the day. To ensure safety, SunRail reserves the right to limit onboard storage of bicycles and strollers during special events or times when trains are crowded. Additional staff will be on hand to provide assistance. Bus connections may not be available during the additional service times. Please check https://www.golynx.com/.

Please be careful around trains, railroad crossings, and while at station platforms. Be smart. Be safe. For more information about SunRail, including fares, schedule and station locations, please visit www.sunrail.com or download the new SunRail app.

This is the best and worst of times for local public transit

This is the best of times and the worst of times for public transit in Central Florida.

First the bad news. Earlier this week (5/21) a referendum to add a penny to the sales tax in Osceola County was resoundingly defeated by voters. In addition to road projects, a portion of that money was also supposed to be used to improve SunRail and Lynx bus service.

No one loves the idea of increased taxes. Granted sales tax increases cause a special burden on people struggling to make ends meet. Improved public transit – weekend SunRail and improved bus service – also expands opportunities for those same workers.

We also know that Osceolans love and make great use of public transit. You can see that every day for yourself every weekday mornings on northbound crowded trains headed out of Osceola, and at the downtown Kissimmee intermodal station (shown in the accompanying photo) where workers board buses. It was not too long ago that there was no Lynx bus service in Osceola County.

The voters have spoken and now the burden falls on Osceola elected officials to identify other sources of money needed to keep growing public transit for residents.

The good news, however, outweighs the bad.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings last week announced plans to pursue the one-cent sales tax increase in Orange County to improve public transit. That is an important move because the reason public transit is so weak is because there is no dedicated source of funding for it. Hopefully, Mayor Demings and his supporters will take the time to understand why the initiative failed in Osceola.

As a reminder, no public transit system in the world can pay for operations solely from the fare box. Typically, a transit system can pay about 30 percent of the costs from fares. Beyond that, they need government support.

Remember, public transit is a service. The police and fire are also very expensive services paid for by the government. Unlike police and fire, transit raises some of the money needed to pay for its operating costs. Keep in mind that all transportation – from the street outside your house to the airlines – receive government subsidies.

The most exciting news came this week when Virgin Trains (formerly Brightline) announced that it started construction on tracks between West Palm Beach and Orlando International Airport. This has been discussed for years and now it’s happening. We can’t wait.

The best is yet to come.

See you on The Rail!

Try downloading SunRail's new app

SunRail’s App is up and running.

We just downloaded the app today (5/13) on our iPhone and it looks pretty good. (Just go to the app store and type SunRail. We’re told it also works on Android smartphones.)

It’s just a shame that it has taken this long because many people have been clamoring for an app since SunRail’s launch. Riders on the move need an app, not the pseudo dingbat SunRail had for years.

The previous management at SunRail said an app wasn’t needed. That really made no sense since every company or organization has an app for the convenience of fans.

Credit for making the decision to create this app should rightly go to SunRail CEO Nicola Liquori who has developed a reputation for cutting through the silliness to get things done.

She was the leader who approved the text alert system to notify riders when there are service interruptions.

The debate over initiating a text message system lasted for a year and after Ms. Liquori came aboard, she moved ahead.

Sadly Ms. Liquori doesn’t have the budget or the authority to expand service to weekends and late nights, but she was the first SunRail executive to publicly admit the lack of weekend service was a major pain point for riders and would-be riders.

Now that the app is available, we would love your feedback on its functionality.

See you on The Rail.

SunRail repairs and delays may continue through Tuesday

Monday (5/6) got off to a rocky start for many SunRail riders because a downed power line damaged train signals and control systems from Sanford to Longwood.

The storm damaged some railroad crossing gates where crews had to use flags to stop the traffic and usher the trains through the crossing. The reduced speeds slowed down train traffic throughout the 49-mile SunRail system.

The morning delays were made even worse when a SunRail train hit a car that was on the tracks around 8:30 a.m. No one was hurt in that wreck.

The storm damage has proven to be the biggest problem on Monday.

A SunRail spokesman said, “Crews are working to fix the damage and resulting outages, which are fairly extensive.

“The work will last throughout the day, meaning delays will persist during off-peak times today, as well as affect the afternoon peak, half hour schedule. The repair work is likely to extend into tomorrow and possibly Wednesday, but the delays are expected to be shorter as more of the system comes back online.”

Despite the situation on Monday, SunRail has a strong record of meeting train schedules, as the accompanying chart shows a greater than 95% on-time record.

To stay informed, please check www.sunrail.com, SunRail on Twitter, or to receive SunRail text message alerts sent directly to your mobile device, text SunRail to 31996 to subscribe.

The text message system, which was requested by riders, has proven to be very helpful. This morning, the first warning regarding problems and delays was transmitted at 5:02.

Happy birthday, SunRail!

What a difference 5 years make!

We clearly remember the pre-dawn darkness of the morning of May 1, 2014 when we boarded the first regularly scheduled northbound train departing from the Sand Lake Road SunRail station.

You would have thought it was a moon launch from Cape Canaveral. The station and the train were packed with reporters, railfans and some genuine commuters seeking a less stressful way of getting to work.

The first few days of SunRail service were amazing – almost overwhelming. So many people tried SunRail during the first weeks that extra trains were added to accommodate the overflow crowds.

The excitement was understandable because local train service for the Orlando metro area – an idea that had been dreamed about and debated for decades – opened a new era for Central Florida. SunRail created a new transportation corridor along the I-4 corridor, one of the nation’s fastest growing areas.

From its first day, SunRail connected three counties and most of this region’s major employers, including downtown Orlando, Orlando Health and Advent Health (formerly Florida Hospital) downtown Orlando and the Sand Lake Road station, which has a quick bus connection to Orlando International Airport. It’s noteworthy that SunRail also attracts riders from neighboring Lake and Polk counties. They would rather ride the train that fight congestion on I-4 and other highways.

Last summer SunRail grew by 4 stations – to a total of 16 – thanks to the Southern Expansion into Osceola County (and connected a fourth county). That expansion nearly doubled SunRail’s daily ridership to the point that on many mornings and afternoons there is standing-room only at some train stations.

Looking out the train window during the past 5 years it’s easy to see how SunRail has super-charged growth in Central Florida. Take Maitland station, for example. Five years ago, there was nothing at that station. Today, there’s an attractive apartment complex next to the station. Apartment complexes have also been built at the Lake Mary, Longwood, and Lynx Central Station. More Transportation-Oriented Developments are under construction at Tupperware and Sand Lake Road. Plans are also in the works for DeBary and Kissimmee.

The billions in new construction have meant more real-estate tax money to improve the quality of life in the counties where SunRail operates.

Though SunRail was launched mainly to serve commuters, it has also developed a strong following of leisure riders heading to lunch in Winter, Sanford, and Kissimmee; the museums and theaters at Loch Haven Park, and sporting, cultural events and date nights in downtown Orlando and other destinations along the SunRail corridor.

While the launch of SunRail may not be quite as big a deal as the opening of the Magic Kingdom, it has changed Central Florida. SunRail at 5 years old shows a bright and promising future. As Central Florida leaders work to embrace the opportunities ahead, SunRail has the potential to connect the region even more.

For more information, click here.

Riders deserve clean SunRail stations

SunRail will celebrate its 5^th anniversary in a few days. Before that happens, can somebody please clean the SunRail stations at Lynx Central Station and in Sanford?

The accompanying photo was taken at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday (4/24) on the northbound platform at Lynx Central Station. There was trash on the platform and the fenced area between the platform and the neighboring apartment complex.

It’s clear the platform area had not been cleared in a long time. Some trash has blown onto the railroad tracks.

One problem complicating the situation is that homeless people camp at the station overnight. Many sleep in the station on flattened cardboard boxes. Some sleeping pads were still on the platform Wednesday morning.

There are mystery substances smeared on the platform. The platform needs daily power washing.

Every morning hundreds of people get off SunRail trains and walk through this mess on the way to the sprawling Orange County Courthouse. In a few months, this station also will be used by people headed Creative Village and the downtown campus of the University of Central Florida and Valencia College.

The maintenance issue in Sanford is not as egregious as Lynx, but it is still very serious. A few weeks ago, we wrote about litter at that station. The biggest pieces of litter have been picked up, but the bus loop next to the station is strewn with thousands – no exaggeration – of cigarette butts. (See the accompanying photo.) Many of these cigarette butts have been faded by the weather, so it’s clear they have been there for a long time.

A Sanford official told us that one reason for the problem is that the federal Department of Homeland Security won’t let the city deploy cigarette butt receptacles because terrorists can use them to hide bombs. He pointed out that’s why they have see-though trash receptacles with transparent bags.

Good point!

That rule applies to all the SunRail stations, such as the one at Sand Lake Road where you would be hard-pressed to find two dozen cigarette butts or any trash.

How does Sand Lake Road stay so clean?

“I just stay on top of it,” said the Sand Lake Road maintenance man that everybody knows as Dan.

Cigarette butts are not just unsightly, they are an environmental hazard. Though cigarette butts and filters look like cotton, they aren’t. They’re plastic. We were surprised to learn that cigarette butts make up more than one-third of the litter that is collected annually worldwide.

The discarded cigarette butts leach toxic chemicals, including arsenic and lead into the soil and water. There are huge stormwater pipes at the train station. 

Waste from the station ends up in nearby Lake Monroe. It’s ironic that beautiful mosaics of alligators and manatees decorate the sidewalk at the Sanford SunRail bus loop.

SunRail it’s addressing the maintenance issues at Lynx with contractors who are supposed to do the work. SunRail officials also said they’re discussing the issues at Sanford SunRail with the City of Sanford and Seminole County.

The maintenance at the Sand Lake Road station is the gold standard that should be applied throughout the system.

Please get ‘er done and keep those stations clean. The riders and the community deserve it.