Editor

While it’s too early to buy your tickets at Publix or 7-Eleven, commuter rail for Central Florida is still on track, with stations in the first phase of construction expected to open in 2013.

Florida Department of Transportation District 5 officials Monday at a County Commission workshop outlined progress in building the 61.5-mile commuter rail system, called SunRail, from DeLand to Poinciana (ending at a station on the southwest side of the intersection of Poinciana Boulevard and Old Tampa Highway). The first phase, from DeBary to Sand Lake Road, is expected to open by 2013; the second phase, which would go from Sand Lake Road to the Poinciana Industrial Park and from DeBary to Deland, would open in 2015.

As planned, commuter trains during peak hours (5:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.) would run every 30 minutes; during off hours, the trains would run every two hours.

Todd Hammerle, Department of Transportation SunRail project manager, said the system could be expanded to run every 15 minutes during peak hours if demand warranted an increased frequency. He added that there would be no additional capital costs with a frequency increase, only the cost to buy more trains.

"It would take 92 minutes to go from one end to the other," Hammerle said, referring to a ride from DeLand to Poinciana, adding that the initial one-way fare would be $2.50, with an additional $1 for a transfer to a Lynx bus line.

Initially, the state would fund the purchase of the track for $432 million from the CSX company, a change that means Osceola County would not have to provide an estimated $37.7 million for that purpose. Capital costs would be another $615 million, with 25 percent paid by the state, 25 percent by local counties (including the city of Orlando) and 50 percent with federal funding.

According to the plan, the state would operate and maintain the system for the first seven years, after which a rail commission would operate it. The county’s share of costs after seven years would be between $1.2 million and $1.7 million annually.

According to SunRail officials, design-build contracts for the first phase of construction will be activated this summer, with actual construction work expected to begin early in 2011. Also, officials said the contract for ticket equipment would be activated this summer as well. Riders would be able to purchase smart cards from various retail outlets, at transit stations or online to ride the system and the cards also could be used for the Lynx bus system.

The first station in Osceola County would be at Osceola Parkway, with a park-and-ride lot to be on the west side of the CSX tracks, on Tupperware property.

SunRail officials said Tupperware is “looking at a rail village” on its property, which would be a mixed-use development where people would come together to live, go to work and shop.

The next Osceola County stop would at the Amtrak station in Kissimmee, with parking to be at the Civic Center and on CSX-owned property. Lynx also would build a bus drop-off area to serve the transit station. The final stop would be the Poinciana station.

In addition and until the second phase of construction is completed, a new Lynx bus route – funded by the state – would be established to link Osceola County to the Sand Lake Road SunRail station.

Department officials also discussed alternatives for the county if annual operating and maintenance costs are higher than anticipated and the county could not cover those costs. If that were the case, then the Department of Transportation would start picking up that tab, but not without consequences.

George Lovett, director of transportation development for the Department of Transportation District 5, said if forced to provide funding, the department ultimately would tap into money allocated for Osceola County roadways. That funding, incorporated into a “work plan,” is based on a formula taking into account the county’s population and its share of the federal gasoline tax.

“We would identify a project to cut with the least amount of pain,” Lovett said. “Local government should look for ways to fund its share and then, if needed, DOT would look at its five-year work plan to see what funds could be used.”

County Commissioner Fred Hawkins Jr. asked Department of Transportation officials whether at $2.50 per fare would mean SunRail would be profitable.

Tawny Olore, a consultant for the department, said commuter rail typically is not self-sufficient and requires a subsidy, as would be the case with SunRail.

“Roads aren’t free either – you pay for them at the gas pump,” Olore said. “The state funded 25 percent of the capital costs of SunRail, all of the track, and all operating and maintenance costs for seven years. That gives local governments time to figure out how to fund this,” she said.

Hawkins also asked Olore how he could “sell commuter rail to county residents.”

Olore said it is a matter of convenience to be able to use mass transit to commute to work and not be stuck in traffic. Plus, she said commuter trains would stop at two major medical centers, allowing older county residents an easy way to get to medical appointments.

“Plus, with commuter rail, some families may be able to get rid of the expense of a second car,” she said, adding that fares for SunRail would cover anywhere from 25 percent to 38 percent of the cost of the system.

SunRail also would interconnect with a statewide high-speed rail system that would run through Central Florida. The first phase of that system would go from the Orlando International Airport to stops at the Orange County Convention Center and in Celebration and then head southwest on the median of Interstate 4 to stops in Lakeland ending in Tampa, achieving speeds of 168 mph. A second phase would run from Orlando to Miami, either along I-95 or the Florida’s Turnpike. Later phases would interconnect other major metropolitan areas, including Tallahassee and Jacksonville.

Department officials said a trip from the Orlando International Airport to Tampa would take 64 minutes and this part of the system is forecast to carry 2 million passengers a year. The estimated cost for a ticket to ride the train would be $30, with the initial phase expected to be in operation by 2015.