With a May 15 start date for SunRail service to DeLand targeted, leaders and transportation planners along other parts of the transit route are looking to expand the system.
SunRail’s supporters have ambitions to outgrow and exceed the original vision of providing an alternative for workers wanting to avoid driving on Interstate 4. The Sept. 28 meeting of the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission in Orlando dealt with the possible morphing of SunRail from a commuter line to a more massive metropolitan enterprise.
At least two proposals are gaining momentum: One is to extend SunRail to Orlando International Airport and to the Orange County Convention Center, and the other proposal is to add Polk County to the SunRail system.
The first of the visions is known as SunRail Phase 3, or the Sunshine Corridor.
“It’s in the range of $2 billion. This is a major infrastructure project,” Florida Department of Transportation District 5 Secretary John Tyler said.
That number was sticker shock to some in the audience.
Tyler added such a rail connection would be mostly “elevated,” meaning above the land surface with the tracks on towers or walls, so as not to require the demolition of existing development. The Sunshine Corridor, he later noted, is approximately 16 miles long.
“It’s been rebranded as 3A to the airport and 3B to the Convention Center,” Tyler said.
Such a project would rely on federal and state grants, but, Tyler added, one or more major theme parks, such as Disney World or Universal Studios, may be interested in contributing to the capital project.
The costs of the Sunshine Corridor would grow if it extends to International Drive and Disney Springs.
The other idea, the possible expansion of SunRail to include Polk County, would require amending the original commuter-rail agreements. Those pacts on governance of the system, finance and operations were ratified in 2007 by the five local partners in the venture. Those parties were — and are — the counties of Osceola, Orange, Seminole and Volusia and the City of Orlando.
Asked if Polk County’s admission into the SunRail network is viable, Tyler replied, “Absolutely.”
“Polk County is interested in bringing SunRail into their county,” he continued. “Some of the highest ridership that we have is at Poinciana station, the last stop on the line, so there are people coming from Polk County today to get on SunRail and ride it into Central Florida. So that’s why they are pursuing an effort to extend it into Polk County.”
Closer to home
All these talks of expansion come as the work on SunRail Phase 2A continues — namely, the installation of some parallel tracks and related work between DeBary and DeLand, along with the construction of the SunRail depot next to the DeLand Amtrak Station — and the long-promised completion of the original part of the system is nearing.
SunRail CEO Mike Heffinger said May 15 is the target date for the start of regular daily service between DeLand and Poinciana, and all points in between along the 61-mile corridor.
Once the DeLand SunRail service becomes a reality, attention will turn to the transfer of ownership of the system. The Florida Department of Transportation intends to relinquish ownership to the CFCRC, possibly as soon as next year. The date of Aug. 15, 2024, appears in the draft plan for the transition, but Tyler said there is not yet a firm date.
“The transition date has not been finalized, but it will happen. What we’ve agreed upon — and when I say we, the FDOT and the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission — is that it will happen sometime after the opening of the service to DeLand, and that is expected in May of next year, barring inclement weather,” he told The Beacon. “That’s our goal. So sometime after May, we need to negotiate a specific date, sometime after that.”
Under the commuter-rail agreements, the FDOT was to operate and pay all of the costs of SunRail for the first seven years of its service. The regular weekday service of SunRail’s Phase 1, which was between DeBary and Sand Lake Road In Orange County, began in May 2014.
Later, service was extended to Poinciana, originally supposed to be the southern terminus of the system. The Poinciana piece was known as SunRail Phase 2B, and the DeLand segment was known as SunRail 2A.
Expansion to DeLand was long stuck in the planning phase because of a lack of funding, especially on the part of the federal government. Meanwhile, the estimated cost of building it ballooned to nearly $120 million. Efforts to land grants to finish the original commuter line failed.
In 2021, the all-but-dormant effort to extend SunRail service to DeLand was revived when planners reimagined it with a process known as “value engineering.” Value engineering involved looking for ways to reduce expenses without compromising safety, and the revised cost was lowered to approximately $44 million. The FDOT solicited bids for the redesigned project, and Herzog was the lowest bidder. The state agency subsequently awarded the construction contract worth $43 million to Herzog.
Volusia County had to pay 25 percent of the cost, and the county borrowed $11 million from the State Infrastructure Bank to meet its obligation.
The bottom line
Though there is now no firm date for the Florida Department of Transportation to hand off the transit to the CFCRC’s five local partners, the regional commuter system known as SunRail is facing higher expenses and a widening deficit. Once the FDOT ends its role as owner and operator of SunRail, the local partners will become responsible for its budget shortfalls. The FDOT, however, will contract to assist in securing grant funds for SunRail.
SunRail’s 2023-24 operating budget totals almost $81.6 million. Revenues are projected to be about $34.2 million. That means the deficit will be approximately $47.5 million — up from the approximately $40 million in 2021.
The gap between outlays and income, Heffinger noted, is because of Positive Train Control, a safety system mandated by the federal government, and because of rising insurance premiums. PTC costs $10 million annually.
Interestingly, the fares paid by riders are estimated to be about $2.2 million, or less than 3 percent of the revenues. Other sources of revenue are advertising, charters for bus trips, fees paid by Amtrak and CSX for usage of the tracks, and grants.
As for the fares, yet another sidelight is that the ticket system SunRail currently uses costs $3 million. The FDOT intends to switch to a new Moovel fare system, which will cost $600,000. The Moovel system may be installed and operating in the coming months.
“We’re looking to go live in February 2024,” Heffinger said.
