DeLAND, Fla. – The ownership of the SunRail system is changing hands.
Instead of being run by the state, it will now be managed by four counties and the city of Orlando, which the train travels through. This change means that these local governments will also have to pay for the service, and the costs have just been announced.
Volusia County leaders are a bit hesitant about their share of the costs. Currently, it is projected that Volusia County will need to pay $6.7 million each year for SunRail. This amount is much lower than the city of Orlando, which is expected to pay $18 million a year, the largest share among the five local governments involved.
The costs are based on how many people use the train.
“We’re the smaller county in the membership and the ridership. While the DeLand station is packed almost every day, the ridership is just not that high,” said Jeff Brower, the chair of the Volusia County Council and Volusia’s representative on the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission.
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Brower also mentioned that the cost for Volusia County might not stay at $6.7 million once the ownership change is complete.
“It’ll go up every year because FDOT is not going to continue to contribute $36.7 million a year for it,” he said.
He added that if there are projects to extend SunRail in the future, the costs could increase even more.
“If we add the Sunshine Corridor and go to the Orlando airport and to all of the I-Drive attractions, there’s no limit to what the costs could be,” Brower stated.
The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission has just released the 2025-26 fiscal year cost numbers to the counties:
- City of Orlando: $18.7 million
- Orange County: $14.5 million
- Osceola County: $12 million
- Seminole County: $11.6 million
- Volusia County: $6.7 million
Each county or city council must vote on these costs before the next SunRail board meeting on April 24. Brower noted that if the council in Volusia does not approve the costs, it wouldn’t be the end of the discussion. The county would then go back to the Rail Commission to negotiate.
Rhonda Hobbs, the owner of Gurrs & Purrs in downtown DeLand, shared her excitement about the new SunRail station, which opened last year.
“It was supposed to come to DeLand for quite a while, but never made it. Now that it’s finally here, it’s been fantastic. We’ve seen so many visitors from other cities around the Central Florida area come out and visit us,” she said.
Local shop owners like Hobbs believe that the SunRail is worth the investment.
News 6 asked a common question from viewers: Would running the train on weekends or at night increase ridership?
Brower said that running the train at different times is not completely off the table, but they would need to see that the economic benefits match what the county would be spending.
“We have a market every Friday night, and we have events on Saturdays and Sundays in downtown DeLand. It would bring a ton more people to our little city,” Hobbs said.