# Sunrail gets Grant to expand into Kissimmee



## Caesar La Rock (Sep 28, 2015)

Well this was no surprise.

KISSIMMEE – A collection of elected and government leaders signed a 10-foot-tall placard Monday signifying that $93 million in federal dollars soon will be spent in Osceola County expanding the SunRail commuter train as far south as Poinciana.

"Ridership will grow, spurring more demand," predicted Therese McMillan, the acting administrator of the Federal Transit Administration.

SunRail now stop just north of the Osceola line at Sand Lake Road, but construction should start in November on the four stations, plus new tracks for the 17-mile extension.

The new leg is supposed to be up and running by December 2017.

Read more:Source


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## Palmetto (Sep 29, 2015)

I hope they fix the rail in Orlando. It was a slow, bumpy ride thru there on Sunday. Glad to hear that the service is expanding. From what I know, it's doing okay as far as ridership expectations go.


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## jis (Sep 29, 2015)

It has actually beaten ridership projections so far.

This extension brings it within 55 miles of my home, and if and when they get to a clock face all day service it will become my preferred way of visiting the Orlando area, specially with the various linking bus and other services in place and predictable. Avoid the crazy traffic in Orlando, a reason that I try to avoid driving anywhere west of the airport.

It will be interesting to see how they rebuild the Kissimmee station with double track. Hopefully they will let the station building stay in place as is, and improve the parking lot.

Edit: Since posting the above I found a complete plan of the Kissimmee station. The building is going to be refurbished and maintained preserving its heritage look. The parking lots will be rebuilt. There is a proposal to build a parking structure at Kissimmee too.


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## cirdan (Sep 29, 2015)

Will they need additional equipment for this, or does the present equipment cover this expansion?


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## jis (Sep 29, 2015)

cirdan said:


> Will they need additional equipment for this, or does the present equipment cover this expansion?


Quoting from the CFCRT Transportation and Maintenance Operation Plan regarding SunRail Phase II South:



> The Project scope includes two locomotives, three cab passenger cars and one coach passenger car, approximately 11.81 miles of additional second track that will be added to the existing 2.87 miles of double track, a new railway wayside signal and communication system, grade crossing upgrades, station platforms and canopies at all four stations, park and ride lots at four stations, and other elements necessary to achieve Project implementation. A proposed Vehicle Storage and Light Maintenance Facility (VSLMF) adjacent to the proposed Poinciana Station will serve as an end of the line fueling and layover facility for up to four train sets. Train wash services and heavy vehicle maintenance will continue to be provided at the existing Amtrak Auto Train Yard in Sanford.


So the additional rolling stock would appear to be "two locomotives, three cab passenger cars and one coach passenger car".

Further reading the same document shows:



> The Vehicles for Phase 2 South were procured under options in the Phase 1 contracts and are on site at the Vehicle Storage and Maintenance Facility. FDOT exercised the option with Motive Power, Inc. (MPI) to purchase the two additional locomotives required for Phase 2 South on May 1, 2012. The Coaches and Cab Cars for Phase 1 were provided by Bombardier. FDOT exercised the option with Bombardier to purchase the one additional coach and three cab cars required for Phase 2 South on August 14, 2012.


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## Rail Freak (Sep 29, 2015)

What's the difference between the Coach & Cab passenger cars?


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## jis (Sep 29, 2015)

Rail Freak said:


> What's the difference between the Coach & Cab passenger cars?


Cab cars have a engineer's cab at one end with the requisite additional collision posts etc. So they are heavier and a few fewer seats than the Coach Cars.


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## Caesar La Rock (Sep 29, 2015)

I also heard that if ridership is high enough once operation of phase II begins, Sunrail is able to purchase the two DMU sets from Tri-Rail.


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## XHRTSP (Sep 29, 2015)

How is $186 million the price tag for only 17 more miles on a route which already has pax rail service? I realize these things are expensive, but I need some help understanding the breakdown.


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## MattW (Sep 29, 2015)

Has there been any chatter of extending service even just a few times a day as far as Tampa?


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## jis (Sep 29, 2015)

No.

CFCRT (the guys who own and fund SunRail) is essentially a compact of Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Osceola Counties. They are not going to extend west of Osceola County until Polk and Hllsborough Counties decide to come to the table with large amounts of money, either from their own coffers, or convince Tallahassee to open up their coffers, enough to make CSX want to give trackage rights on their tracks between Auburndale and Tampa. Until then there will be no talk of going beyond Poinciana. And frankly I don;t foresee Polk county at least jumping in even if Hillsborough (bus) county decides to.

OTOH there has been chatter about extending to Daytona, and Volusia County has gone so far as to do some preliminary investigation along those lines.


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## cirdan (Sep 30, 2015)

XHRTSP said:


> How is $186 million the price tag for only 17 more miles on a route which already has pax rail service? I realize these things are expensive, but I need some help understanding the breakdown.


Often its more expensive to go in and do things on a line that already has service as you can't suspend that service for the duration and so need to work to a stricter saftey regime, and the windows you can work in are short so a lot of logistics goes into preparing material and equipment, making sure the equipment is moved in and out quickly and correctly etc. If you have total posession of a site things can be far more relaxed.


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## Anderson (Oct 3, 2015)

Jis roughly has it. The relevant authority owns tracks as far as Deland. Volusia County wants the line to go out towards Daytona (the main population center in the county as well as a substantial tourist destination). However, going to Deland would be easier and cheaper (building lots of new trackage out to Daytona won't be cheap, even if a few stations go in as part of the expansion).


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## Caesar La Rock (Oct 3, 2015)

Problem is Deland doesn't have the ridership for Sunrail to go there at the moment. It's also the reason why the southern phase is being build and the airport phase is also being discussed.

Unless Jacksonville's First Coast Commuter Rail is built and extended South on the A-Line to Deland, I don't see Deland being a stop for Sunrail in the near future. The First Coast Commuter Rai, I haven't heard much from it either.


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## jis (Oct 4, 2015)

Going to Daytona will involve building new track along the I-4 ROW from Sanford to I-95 like AAF is building along 528 ROW, and then building an essentially elevated track from I-4 to FEC along 440 ROW after vaulting all the EIS hurdles, specially for the piece from I-95 to downtown. Alternatively it could terminate at the Airport/Speedway area.


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## Anderson (Oct 4, 2015)

Caesar La Rock said:


> Problem is Deland doesn't have the ridership for Sunrail to go there at the moment. It's also the reason why the southern phase is being build and the airport phase is also being discussed.
> 
> Unless Jacksonville's First Coast Commuter Rail is built and extended South on the A-Line to Deland, I don't see Deland being a stop for Sunrail in the near future. The First Coast Commuter Rai, I haven't heard much from it either.


This is a good point (the Jacksonville project, that is): I do suspect that an Orlando-Jacksonville corridor (whether a transfer is needed at DLD or not; ideally, of course, the two agencies would work out an inter-operation deal...but that often proves to be annoyingly difficult) would generate quite a bit of ridership up and down the line.


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## MattW (Oct 4, 2015)

Would Jacksonville commuter rail even go all the way to Deland? I could see a Jacksonville-Orlando-Tampa regional rail corridor, but for a Jacksonville-centered commuter rail, Deland is something like 110 miles with the only other city of note being Palatka at 60 or so miles from JAX.


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## Anderson (Oct 5, 2015)

MattW said:


> Would Jacksonville commuter rail even go all the way to Deland? I could see a Jacksonville-Orlando-Tampa regional rail corridor, but for a Jacksonville-centered commuter rail, Deland is something like 110 miles with the only other city of note being Palatka at 60 or so miles from JAX.


It depends. If the city/state/region bought out the line (and if CSX was selling part of it I think they might insist on Jacksonville taking the whole line (to DLD) rather than leaving CSX with a random in-the-middle chunk without major intervening traffic. The other thing to note is that even if CSX didn't sell, they'd be pretty hard-pressed to demand onerous improvements in the middle of this track (a few sidings would be one thing, but a major overhaul like they often try to get seems almost implausible).

Probably your best bet in the region would be to, _presuming FEC isn't interested in JAX-ORL or JAX/ORL-TPA traffic_, seriously examine a few "Regional-type" trains between the two areas which would augment the commuter schedule but run as "express" trains within the commuter zones (e.g. skipping some of the stops).


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## jphjaxfl (Oct 5, 2015)

Anderson said:


> MattW said:
> 
> 
> > Would Jacksonville commuter rail even go all the way to Deland? I could see a Jacksonville-Orlando-Tampa regional rail corridor, but for a Jacksonville-centered commuter rail, Deland is something like 110 miles with the only other city of note being Palatka at 60 or so miles from JAX.
> ...


At this point, Green Cove Springs would be as far as Commuter Service from Jacksonville would go and this has been discussed, but no funding. Commuter Service on the FEC route has been discussed as far as Daytona, but no funding.


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## jis (Oct 5, 2015)

Meanwhile around Tampa.....

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/masstransit/csxs-offer-finally-opens-the-door-to-commuter-rail-in-tampa-bay/2248337


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## Caesar La Rock (Oct 5, 2015)

jis said:


> Meanwhile around Tampa.....
> 
> http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/masstransit/csxs-offer-finally-opens-the-door-to-commuter-rail-in-tampa-bay/2248337


Well I'll be damned, CSX opened up the door to commuter rail. Who would of thought that would happen?


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## Anderson (Oct 6, 2015)

Caesar La Rock said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> > Meanwhile around Tampa.....
> ...


I'm not surprised...if CSX can hive off "non-core" lines to agencies while retaining trackage rights during off hours, they seem increasingly prone to doing so: They usually get a substantial one-time infusion of cash, they're relieved of at least some maintenance costs, and the impact on their operations tends to be negligible (if a freight local has to operate overnight, who cares?). And do remember that CSX was willing to sell to both Tri-Rail and SunRail.


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## cirdan (Oct 6, 2015)

Anderson said:


> Caesar La Rock said:
> 
> 
> > jis said:
> ...


Although on the other hand you could argue the payment they get does not make a big difference on their overall balance. They lose the right to run their trains when they want (which can have cost implications for example in terms of optimizing equipment utilization). I don't know the small print but possibly the agreements also effectively caps future growth and expansion. Effectively CSX are losing control of assets.

I do think political considerations may have tipped the balance.


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## Palmetto (Oct 6, 2015)

CSX is willing to sell their Homestead Sub to SFRTA as well, all the while retaining trackage rights. There's an interest in commuter rail in the Miami area, as the powers that be come to realize they can't pave their way to mobility.


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## Eric S (Oct 6, 2015)

Anderson said:


> Caesar La Rock said:
> 
> 
> > jis said:
> ...


CSX has also done this quite a bit recently in the Boston area, selling lines to MBTA/MassDOT.


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## Anderson (Oct 6, 2015)

FWIW, I don't think this is functionally different than the almost innumerable cases of selling non-core lines to shortline operators, something that both CSX and NS have done quite a bit of over the years. As a rule, it seems that the Class Is want to operate high-margin main lines and not a lot else...and I think CSX has been more aggressive on this front than most others. I suspect that when they came to this conclusion it didn't take _that_ much prodding.

Also, isn't the Homestead Sub an isolated chunk after CSX sold the main line to SFRTA?


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## cirdan (Oct 7, 2015)

Anderson said:


> FWIW, I don't think this is functionally different than the almost innumerable cases of selling non-core lines to shortline operators, something that both CSX and NS have done quite a bit of over the years. As a rule, it seems that the Class Is want to operate high-margin main lines and not a lot else...and I think CSX has been more aggressive on this front than most others. I suspect that when they came to this conclusion it didn't take _that_ much prodding.
> 
> Also, isn't the Homestead Sub an isolated chunk after CSX sold the main line to SFRTA?


This would be consistent if Sunrail hadn't just bought the track but also taken over freight operations, shortline style (or given them to a separate agency as in Northern Indiana).

As it is, CSX is still lumbered with actually having to run those low-margin trains. So I can't really see what CSX has gained on the deal.


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## jis (Oct 7, 2015)

Shedding the cost of maintaining the infrastructure.


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## Alex M. (Oct 7, 2015)

CSX also reduces its tax liability.


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## Caesar La Rock (Oct 7, 2015)

I forgot about this, but Sunrail also plans on implementing PTC throughout the corridor.

http://corporate.sunrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/SunRail-PTC-RFP-E5Y16.pdf


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## neroden (Oct 7, 2015)

Anderson said:


> I'm not surprised...if CSX can hive off "non-core" lines to agencies while retaining trackage rights during off hours, they seem increasingly prone to doing so: They usually get a substantial one-time infusion of cash, they're relieved of at least some maintenance costs, and the impact on their operations tends to be negligible (if a freight local has to operate overnight, who cares?). And do remember that CSX was willing to sell to both Tri-Rail and SunRail.


Wick Moorman of NS actually openly stated at one point that he thought government ownership with passenger priority and lines maintained for passenger service, and freight "trackage rights" as a tenant was a better business model. Even for mainlines. (NS is already the tenant on two of its mainlines, so they may be more comfortable with this than CSX.)

It's not just the relief of maintenance costs... the Class I (NS or CSX) stops paying *property taxes* on the line. If it's owned by a government, nobody pays property taxes on the land. The trackage rights easements, for whatever reason, don't generally get assessed property taxes either (though theoretically they could have them assessed).

Furthermore, the quality of track maintenance for passenger service is way above and beyond what any of the Class I freight haulers needs for freight service, so they get "overmaintained" lines for nothing.

Basically, 90% of the maintenance costs go to the government, 100% of the property tax liabilities disappear... if they've still got enough slots to run their freight business (and the agreements *always* promise that they will have enough slots to fulfill their common carrier obligation) what's not to like?

Financially it's a very good deal for them.


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## neroden (Oct 7, 2015)

jis said:


> Meanwhile around Tampa.....
> 
> http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/masstransit/csxs-offer-finally-opens-the-door-to-commuter-rail-in-tampa-bay/2248337


...anyway, I hope the local governments have enough sense to buy the lines. And enough sense to use 'em for something. It would be worth doing a study to figure out how they could best be used for commuter rail.


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## Anderson (Oct 8, 2015)

neroden said:


> Anderson said:
> 
> 
> > I'm not surprised...if CSX can hive off "non-core" lines to agencies while retaining trackage rights during off hours, they seem increasingly prone to doing so: They usually get a substantial one-time infusion of cash, they're relieved of at least some maintenance costs, and the impact on their operations tends to be negligible (if a freight local has to operate overnight, who cares?). And do remember that CSX was willing to sell to both Tri-Rail and SunRail.
> ...


Where is NS a tenant on their mainline? NEC/Main Line (ex-PRR) or somewhere else?


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## Eric S (Oct 8, 2015)

North Carolina Railroad?


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## MikefromCrete (Oct 8, 2015)

In North Carolina between Raleigh and Charlotte, the route of the Piedmonts, where NS runs on the state-owned North Carolina Railroad. NC may also own some other routes used by NS.

Also the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway, between Cincinnati and Chattanooga, is owned by the city of Cincinnati and leased to NS.


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## Alex M. (Oct 9, 2015)

As far as states owning tracks for freight and passenger carriers is one thing. I cringe, however, at the thought of the Feds owning the national network. The bozos in Congress cannot even decide who they want as Speaker. They can't even agree how to fund the Highway Trust Fund.


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## neroden (Oct 19, 2015)

MikefromCrete said:


> In North Carolina between Raleigh and Charlotte, the route of the Piedmonts, where NS runs on the state-owned North Carolina Railroad. NC may also own some other routes used by NS.
> 
> Also the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway, between Cincinnati and Chattanooga, is owned by the city of Cincinnati and leased to NS.


Yep, those are the two I was thinking of.


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## cirdan (Oct 19, 2015)

jis said:


> Shedding the cost of maintaining the infrastructure.


but I guess CSX is paying trackage rights when it runs freights, so are overall costs really going to be lower?

At least when a RR owns the tracks it can defer maintenance to a time that it is more opportune for the balance sheet, whereas when it is trackage rights it has to pay here and now no matter what.

So either trackage rights are insanely low, in which case the commuter authority is indirectly subsidizing CSX, or otherwise CSX has some other justification, for example being a good corporate citizen or this being some part of a bigger deal with the kickback for CSX bering elsewhere. Seeing passenger trains cause far less damage to track than freights, any setup in which the freight RR is not also paying the lion's share towards track work is a finnacial handout for the freight RR. But if CSX is actually paying the lion's share of maintenance, then there is no finnacial gain in it for them, so one must question the motive.

Doesn't make sense to me.


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## jis (Oct 19, 2015)

Trackage rights usage is not that expensive when you are running just a few freight car delivery and pickup runs a week. I am guessing that the CSX accountants know what they are doing, way better than you or I can know what the actual numbers are.

The motive is pretty straightforward reduction in cost and since unlike some here, I don't see the freight railroads as unmitigated devils, I am quite happy to see passenger rail thrive with better control of its own destiny while letting freight railroads reduce their cost of operation. I would strongly encourage takeover of tracks for passenger rail use wherever it can be done for a reasonable price.

CSX has entered deals involving either straight out sale of trackage and property or long term lease of the same at various places and all of it so far has been to the advantage of passenger rail.

The "subsidy" argument goes both ways. If passenger railroads are subsidizing freight on tracks owned by them, presumably the freight railroads are also subsidizing Amtrak where Amtrak runs on freight railroads. So in balance I suppose it all balances out.


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## MikefromCrete (Oct 19, 2015)

Don't forget that CSX will no longer have to pay property taxes on the Sunrail route, that is probably a rather large expense. I don't think that track maintenance for freight trains would be a big expense for Sunrail since CSX would probably just use the route for local trains serving local industries. I imagine most through freights will use the alternate freight-only route. Just about all the trackage sold by CSX to MBTA as well as the proposed Miami-area routes are simply local industrial lines, which have lost importance in recent years.


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## jis (Oct 19, 2015)

Besides most passenger railroads these days maintain tracks to at least 286 level if not 312 level as far as freight is concerned. Without that, some of the behemoths that pass for passenger locomotives these days will split the tracks anyway. If the freight RR requires a standard of maintenance beyond what the passenger railroad plans to maintain they can always pay for the differential in maintenance. However, I believe this is very unlikely to come to pass.

Yep, through freights to the north will use the CSX truck through Ocala, Gainsville. What is being offered is not part of any trunk.


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## cirdan (Oct 19, 2015)

MikefromCrete said:


> just use the route for local trains serving local industries. I imagine most through freights will use the alternate freight-only route.


Is there an alternative route for CSX? I didn't realze this. If this is the case, it changes the picture entirely?

So if you count FEC, there are three separate main lines going into Miami? That's pretty good.


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## jis (Oct 19, 2015)

No. there are two main lines going to Miami, one is CSX + Tri-Rail (south of West Palm) and the other is FEC (plus AAF by trackage rights soon, and maybe Tri-Rail by trackage rights soon thereafter). The CSX stuff that they are offering for sale is south of Hialeah to the Homestead area with a few longish industrial spurs, not the trunk between West Palm and Auburndale. I guess one needs to get in front of a map to get oriented.

After the sale CSX will own nothing south of West Palm Beach. They already use Tri-Rail via trackage rights tog et to Miami from West Palm Beach. Similarly, they use trackage rights on Sun Rail to get to Orlando from Auburndale, or from Deland.

If the trackage on offer in Tampa is acquired by Hillsborough County then they will be accessing Tampa too via trackage rights. But whether that will happen or not is an open issue as of today.


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## MikefromCrete (Oct 19, 2015)

cirdan said:


> MikefromCrete said:
> 
> 
> > just use the route for local trains serving local industries. I imagine most through freights will use the alternate freight-only route.
> ...


There are two CSX routes in central Florida: one runs through Orlando and that is now used by Sunrail and Amtrak. The other runs through Ocala and is freight-only. South of Lakeland there is only one CSX route. And south of West Palm Beach that is owned by Tri-Rail. The FEC is a separate route that is now freight-only and will be used by All Aboard Florida and maybe Tri-Rail.


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## Caesar La Rock (Oct 19, 2015)

Just to let everyone know, CSX does run freights through the Sunrail corridor during the off peak hours. Sunrail runs a train every two hours, so it allows them to sneak some freights in. It doesn't happen as frequently compared to the pre-Sunrail era, but it does happen nonetheless.


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## Caesar La Rock (Oct 20, 2015)

Construction of the second phase is delayed until early next year.

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2015/10/sunrail-phase-2-south-construction-start-delayed.html?ana=e_orl_bn_newsalert&u=le1O48c4zijx0ETR5Sf%2Fng0d04608e&t=1445360926


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## jis (Oct 21, 2015)

Caesar La Rock said:


> Just to let everyone know, CSX does run freights through the Sunrail corridor during the off peak hours. Sunrail runs a train every two hours, so it allows them to sneak some freights in. It doesn't happen as frequently compared to the pre-Sunrail era, but it does happen nonetheless.


This of course raises the interesting question about whether someday CSX might choose to sell off or lease out the segment between Poinciana and Tampa too, if there are any takers of course


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## Caesar La Rock (Oct 24, 2015)

jis said:


> Caesar La Rock said:
> 
> 
> > Just to let everyone know, CSX does run freights through the Sunrail corridor during the off peak hours. Sunrail runs a train every two hours, so it allows them to sneak some freights in. It doesn't happen as frequently compared to the pre-Sunrail era, but it does happen nonetheless.
> ...


I'm moreover shocked Sunrail is running at all, since CSX did turn down the idea about commuter rail in Orlando years ago (either late 80s or 90s). I guess anything is possible nowadays.


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## Anderson (Oct 24, 2015)

Caesar La Rock said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> > Caesar La Rock said:
> ...


Well, FEC has done an about-face as well (and how!). It would seem that either dispensing with tax obligations and one-time payments with continuing operation rights have begun to outweigh the "annoyance" of dealing with a commuter (or passenger rail) system.

This is actually an outgrowth of the "cut back to a core system" approach we've been seeing throughout the country as a whole (NS selling the line in MI, CSX dumping the rest of the East Hudson line in NY into a long-term lease, BNSF more or less looking to do the same with the Raton Pass line). The main difference between this and, say, SP dumping tracks to California in the 90s is that this is at least theoretically being done on a "rational" basis: For the most part these lines are "surplus to requirements" for the freights beyond either acting as a "backup line" or doing some limited local moves.

Also...this pattern, after a fashion, has been going on since at least the 70s with abandonments and short-line spinoffs. The main difference is that local/regional/state authorities are buying up the lines instead of them going to a Class II/III operator or simply being dumped/handed over to the cyclists.


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## neroden (Oct 26, 2015)

I would add that the "scheduling" benefit of owning the line is pretty much squandered by your average class I freight railroad, who don't seem to know how to schedule their way out of a paper bag. CN advertises that deliveries will arrive on the day they promise, and that's what passes for scheduled, because it's more scheduled than the others. Oy.

So the only thing they lose is that they have some cap on number of freight trains they can run -- a cap which isn't absolute or permanent. Because of the common carrier rules, the contracts always allow them to run more freight trains if they pay for the upgrades in advance. So basically the freight railroad is only selling off the potential future value of capacity which they own but are not currently using. Financially, I'm sure that looks like a low-return-on-assets asset on the balance sheet!


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## Caesar La Rock (Oct 26, 2015)

Major news about Sunrail going to the Airport. The FTA has okayed the extension of Phase III.

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2015/10/breaking-sunrail-connector-to-orlando-airport-gets.html?ana=e_orl_bn_newsalert&u=le1O48c4zijx0ETR5Sf%2Fng0d04608e&t=1445909214


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## jis (Oct 26, 2015)

That is very good news indeed. Another piece of the puzzle starts falling in place for the Orlando International intermodal station to become a regional hub.


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## jis (Dec 20, 2015)

More good news about SunRail:

SunRail to expand to Orlando International Airport



> He said FDOT will use $5 million to launch an environmental impact study next month on extending a five-and-a-half mile stretch of SunRail from the Sand Lake Road Station to Orlando International Airport's new Intermodal Station.
> 
> He said $20 million in construction funds are forecast to be used for the the project in 2020, but if everything goes smoothly, it could happen sooner.


SunRail is also applying for a $70 million federal grant to fund half of Phase IIb which extends service from Debary to Deland.


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## MattW (Dec 21, 2015)

Any idea what the speed on the airport spur will be? I think CSX has it as 25 right now.


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## jis (Dec 21, 2015)

The passenger line will be built as a new track on that ROW and freight will then use that track in all likelihood. What the speed limits are on the current track don't mean much.


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## jis (Apr 1, 2016)

Construction on SunRail Phase II South to Poinciana begins today. And no this is not an April Fool's joke...

http://www.masstransitmag.com/news/12188789/sunrail-commuter-rail-route-to-poinciana-gets-green-light


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## CSXfoamer1997 (Apr 4, 2016)

They should perhaps also allow trains to run on weekends, as well as holidays.


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## jis (Apr 4, 2016)

There are plans to do so after the Poinciana extension is completed. As usual, it will be a question of finding the money to be able to do so.


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## CCC1007 (Apr 4, 2016)

CSXfoamer1997 said:


> They should perhaps also allow trains to run on weekends, as well as holidays.


Since they own the corridor already, the only reason for no weekend service that I can see is that there is a lack of operating funds for such service.


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## jis (Apr 4, 2016)

Indeed! They have to dispatch the corridor anyway for Amtrak and freight over weekends. It is a question of getting the operating funds for actually running the trains. They have enough rolling stock to do so, even for the Poinciana service, so that is not an issue either.


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## Caesar La Rock (Apr 4, 2016)

Of course, operating on the weekend is a risky business, provided something is done about Lynx and Votran operating on the weekends. However, I have a feeling they'll find a solution. Uber is doing alright in that department.


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