Sanford station (SunRail)

This article is about the SunRail station. For the Amtrak Auto Train station, see Sanford station (Amtrak).
Sanford station
SunRail commuter rail station
Location 2720 West State Road 46
Sanford, FL 32771
Coordinates 28°48′47″N 81°17′55″W / 28.813168°N 81.298673°WCoordinates: 28°48′47″N 81°17′55″W / 28.813168°N 81.298673°W
Owned by Florida Department of Transportation
Line(s)

SunRail:

  SunRail
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 5
Connections Lynx: #34, #46E, #46W, NeighborLink 651
Construction
Structure type At-Grade
Parking 232 Spaces
Bicycle facilities Yes
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Fare zone Seminole
History
Opened May 1, 2014
Traffic
Passengers (2014) 262 daily
Services
Preceding station   SunRail   Following station
Lake Mary
toward Sand Lake Road
SunRail
DeBary
Terminus
  Future services  
Lake Mary
toward Poinciana
SunRail
Phase 2 (2017)
DeBary
toward DeLand

Sanford station is a train station in Sanford, Florida, serving the SunRail commuter rail system. It is the penultimate station in SunRail's phase one. It opened May 1, 2014,[1] and marks the nine year return of ordinary passenger rail service to Sanford, Florida. Sanford station is the northernmost SunRail station within Seminole County, Florida. It is located on State Road 46, diagonally across the road from the Sanford Amtrak Auto Train station. Other Amtrak trains that use the right-of-way with SunRail are the Silver Meteor and Silver Star trains, neither of which stop at either Sanford station.

History

Sanford station was built along tracks originally laid down by the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railroad, which was acquired by the Plant System, and later by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Sanford's Atlantic Coast Line Depot, however was built along the tracks used by the South Florida Railroad, which was also acquired by the Plant System and later acquired by ACL. The station was originally built by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1913 and rebuilt in 1953. As with many ACL Depots, it was merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1967 and became a Seaboard Coast Line Railroad station. Like most passenger stations, it was acquired by Amtrak upon its inception in April 1971. That same year the Auto-Train Corporation installed a station nearby in December. Auto Train took passengers and their cars and other vehicles to Lorton, Virginia, and later Louisville, Kentucky. Lack of success from the Louisville expansion, high crew costs and several accidents threw the company into bankruptcy.[2] Auto-Train Corporation was forced to end its services in late April 1981. Amtrak acquired Auto Train in 1983, and still carries this service to this day.

In its waning years, the former ACL Depot served the Silver Star, Silver Meteor, and Sunset Limited until Amtrak closed the station on August 1, 2005, leaving only Auto Train service for Sanford. The 1953-built ACL station deteriorated through the years and was eventually torn down. In the meantime, the Central Florida Commuter Rail system vowed to return passenger service to Sanford, as well as the rest of the Greater Orlando region. The station officially opened on May 1, 2014, and has the largest parking area of all SunRail stations.

References

  1. ↑ SunRail begins service without a hitch (Orlando Sentinel; May 1, 2014)
  2. ↑ Images of Rail: Auto-Train by Wally Ely (Arcadia Publishing, 2009)

External links