Central Florida’s commuter rail system could be headed in a new direction: longer hours on weekdays and weekend service. At a meeting this afternoon, members of the SunRail Technical Advisory Committee discussed plans to consider expanding service hours from 6 am to 10:15 pm on weekdays and weekends. That means adding 8 trains during the week and 18 on weekends.
Tawny Olore, Program Manager for FDOT, says the technical advisory committee for SunRail will explore budget options and ways to coordinate with local governments to keep the expanded service up.
“We’ve got to look at our ticket vending machines, more maintenance folks. We’ve got to talk with Lynx about the additional buses, so it’s not just putting trains out there. We can accommodate it.”
Olore says a spike in ridership during off-peak hours—most recently on Black Friday—shows the need for more trains.
The Technical Advisory Committee will review budget estimates at its next meeting in January.
90.7's Renata Sago spoke to everyday SunRail riders, David Porter, Jeremy Webster, Thomas Crociata, and Nalini about the prospect of expanded service.
[audio mp3="http://wmfeimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/SunRailVox.mp3"][/audio]