SunRail Deland extension construction

jis · Aug 27, 2024

Qapla said:
Yes, looking at the parking lot seems to support this view. While Deland is nearly twice as large as Debary, the Debary Sunrail parking lot is about 4 times as large as the one they just built in Deland. This is interesting since Amtrak does not use the Debary lot since it does not stop there like it does in Deland, where it shares this smaller parking lot.

I think the parking lot size may have more to do with the fact that Debary is reached much easier from highways than Deland Station. If one is in a hurry to get to SunRail and take it to CBD of Orlando one may be tempted to drive a longer distance at a higher speed than negotiate local roads at 35moh or less in places. There is no way that the Deland station site was going to be more attractive for a auto focused society than Debary. Deland will be quite useful if good last mile transportation is provided to the CBD and a couple of town around Deland.

For Amtrak the parking spaces available before the rebuild of Deland was generally more than adequate, and after the rebuild it is likely to be way more than adequate. So what is available in Debary is not of much relevance.

Palmland · Sep 12, 2024

jis said:
For Amtrak the parking spaces available before the rebuild of Deland was generally more than adequate, and after the rebuild it is likely to be way more than adequate

It's been a month since SunRail started service from Deland so I stopped by to see what it looked like on a mid day, mid week. I was there about 2:30 and drove through the parking lot. It was advertised to have 100 parking spaces (not sure if that included handicap). I was pleasantly surprised to see only 15 empty slots and one handicap vacant. A SunRail train had pulled down past the platform to end of track. The SunRail host said they often do that when they take a lunch break. When the train left at 2:45 i counted about 10 boarding another couple couldn't believe the train left without them as they strolled up the platform.

Meanwhile, the northbound Silver Meteor arrived about 6 minutes late.It had 3 coaches and 2 V1 sleepers and 1 V II sleeper. It left 13 miutes late as it had to make two station stops. Not sure if I counted correctly but looked like 6 in coach and 8 in sleepers. This is one of my pet peeves with Amtrak: excessive dwell time at stations. Part of the platform beyond the canopy has new surface and safety stripe. Coach passengers boarded there. Shortly after the new pedestrian crossing for SunRail the old narrow platform continues and apparently Amtrak has decided to not use this, hence the two station stops.

In addition, the boarding was slow as the AC or coach attendant slowly marked off each passenger, checked her seat diagram, directed the passenger where to go. Many passengers struggled to lift their large suitcase up the steps with minimal crew assistance. The two Amtrak agents on duty at the station watched all this. Their activity consisted of telling passengers where to assemble on the platform and using a small luggage cart to load one bag on the baggage car. Amtrak worries a great deal about freight train interference, but they need to get their own house in order too.