ORLANDO, Fla. – In the spring of 2014, SunRail kicked off train service in Central Florida with thousands of people lining up for rides on the first day. There was curiosity about the beautifully styled trains running through the heart of Central Florida, but also hope and enthusiasm that a new light rail commuter system would get people out of their cars and help ease traffic. For some, SunRail would make commuting and getting to and from some parts of our area, a breeze.
To that, we’ve seen mixed results.
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By the end of its first five years of service, SunRail annual ridership had grown to almost 1.47 million travelers (fiscal July 2018-June 2019). That growth was steady, but the pandemic threw ridership numbers into chaos (down to a little over 620,000 riders for fiscal July 2020 to June 2021), a drop of around 55%. Crowds haven’t quite gotten back to the 2019 high: in fiscal year July 2023 to June 2024, annual ridership was just over 1.13 million.
While some SunRail passengers praise the trains for their convenience and ease of use, others complain about limited late evening schedules and no trains at all on the weekends and most major holidays.
SunRail also hasn’t been cheap.
The state originally budgeted over $1 billion on the project: about $432 million to acquire the corridors for the tracks and another $615 million for capital costs. For fiscal year 2023 to 2024, SunRail’s annual budget was $81,577,558 (operating costs were $61,277,558).
SunRail’s 61 miles of tracks now stretch north to south from DeLand to Poinciana, and it now has 17 stations.
With that 10-year anniversary comes a change in ownership for SunRail. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has run SunRail since its launch but plans to hand over ownership and financial responsibilities to the City of Orlando, Osceola County, Orange County, Seminole County, and Volusia County on December 31, 2024. FDOT will completely step away from all SunRail operations by December 31, 2027 (the expiration of the Interim Operating Period).
On the horizon for SunRail: connecting the I-4 north/south corridor to a new route to the Orlando International Airport to the east and another spur to the Convention Center, International Drive, and Disney Springs to the west.
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