Commuter Rail in Orlando

COMMUTER RAIL PROPOSALS There are currently two proposals to bring Commuter Rail to Orlando. Commuter Trains would use existing tracks and operate in the morning and aftrenoon rush hours. PROPOSAL NUMBER 1 - FLORIDA CENTRAL RAILROAD This proposal was offered by the Florida Central Railroad, a company that operates a freight line northwest of Orlando. THE ROUTE The route would run from downtown along US 441 through Apopka. It would then turn Northwest past Lake Jem and enter into Tavares. From there it may go as far as Eustis. STATUS This proposal is under study at this time. It would involve upgrading the tracks so that trains could operate at 40 mph. PROPOSAL NUMBER 2 - JOHN MICA / CSX This proposal was put fourth by Congressman John Mica. Some of the money lost due to the defeat of the first Light Rail project may be able to be used to help get this porject off the ground. THE ROUTE This route would run on the CSX freight tracks from Deland to Kissimmee with stops along the way. The tracks are already used by Amtrak passenger trains however the route also sees 24 CSX Freight Trains each day, mostly at night. The thinking is to have 4 trips in the morning Rush Hours and 4 in the Evening Rush Hours. STATUS A study is being conducted by CSX to see how operations will effect current train schedules. RETURN TO MAIN PAGE

A Tri Rail commuter train arrives at Boca Raton Florida.