Sanford | |||||||||||
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SunRail commuter rail | |||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||
Location | 2720 West State Road 46 Sanford, Florida | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 28°48′47″N81°17′55″W / 28.813168°N 81.298673°W | ||||||||||
Owned by | Florida Department of Transportation | ||||||||||
Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||
Tracks | 5 | ||||||||||
Connections | : 34, 46E, 46W, NeighborLink 651 [1] Sanford trolley | ||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||
Structure type | At-grade | ||||||||||
Parking | 232 spaces [2] | ||||||||||
Bicycle facilities | Yes | ||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||
Fare zone | Seminole | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Opened | May 1, 2014 | ||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||
FY2018 | 60,988 (annual) [3] 5.3% | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
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Sanford station is a SunRail commuter rail station in Sanford, Florida. It is the penultimate station in SunRail's phase one. It opened May 1, 2014, [4] and marks the nine-year return of regular passenger rail service to Sanford following the closure of the Amtrak station in 2005. Sanford station is the northernmost SunRail station within Seminole County.
Sanford is typical of most SunRail stations featuring canopies consisting of white aluminum poles supporting sloped green roofs and includes ticket vending machines, ticket validators, emergency call boxes, drinking fountains, and separate platforms designed for passengers in wheelchairs. The station is located along the north side of S.R. 46, diagonally across the road from the Sanford Amtrak Auto Train station. Other Amtrak trains that share the right-of-way with SunRail are the Silver Meteor and Silver Star trains, neither of which stop at either Sanford station. The station is also located just south of Rand Yard, a small rail yard used by CSX for freight car storage as well as SunRail for equipment maintenance and storage.
The 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 (ACL). Sanford's ACL 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 original station was built by the ACL in 1913, and a new modern station replaced the original depot in 1953. As with many ACL Depots, it became a Seaboard Coast Line Railroad station when the ACL merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1967. Like most passenger stations, it was acquired by Amtrak upon its inception in April 1971. In December of that same year, the Auto-Train Corporation built a terminal for its operations nearby. 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, and Auto-Train Corporation was forced to end its services in late April 1981. [5] [ page needed ] Amtrak acquired Auto Train in 1983, and still operates this service between Sanford and Lorton today. [6]
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 Auto Train as the only passenger service to serve Sanford. The abandoned 1953-era ACL station deteriorated through the years and was eventually demolished in 2009. In the meantime, the Central Florida Commuter Rail agency vowed to return passenger service to Sanford, and on May 1, 2014, the Sanford SunRail station was opened to the public.
The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lines to create the Seaboard System in 1983.
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which styled itself as "The Route of Courteous Service", was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Predecessor railroads dated from the 1830s and reorganized extensively to rebuild after the American Civil War. The company was headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, until 1958, when its main offices were relocated to Richmond, Virginia. The Seaboard Air Line Railway Building in Norfolk's historic Freemason District still stands and has been converted into apartments.
Auto Train is an 855-mile (1,376 km) scheduled daily train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton, Virginia, and Sanford, Florida. Auto Train is the only motorail service in the United States.
Auto-Train Corporation, stylized auto-train, was a privately owned passenger railroad that operated from 1971 to 1981. Its trains included autorack cars, enabling passengers to bring their own vehicles on their journey. The company used its own rolling stock, and traveled on rails leased from major railroads. It served central Florida from points in the Mid-Atlantic region near Washington, D.C., and the Midwest near Louisville, Kentucky. The company failed after 10 years despite the popularity of the service on its primary route, which parallels busy Interstate 95 in five states along the eastern U.S. coast.
The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. It served as the southernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's main line. The line remains in service today and is now part of the Central Florida Rail Corridor in the Orlando metro area. The rest of the line remains under the ownership of CSX Transportation as part of their A Line.
The Silver Meteor is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) and one of the flagship trains of its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). The train was transferred to Amtrak when it took over intercity passenger rail service in 1971.
The Silver Star is a temporarily discontinued long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 1,522-mile (2,449 km) route between New York City and Miami via Washington, D.C.; Richmond, Virginia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Jacksonville, Florida; and Tampa, Florida.
Orlando Health/Amtrak station, also known as Orlando station, is a train station in Orlando, Florida. It is served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system of the United States, and SunRail, the commuter rail service of Greater Orlando, as well as local and intercity buses. It serves Amtrak's Silver Meteor and Floridian lines. Built in 1926, the historic station is located in Downtown Orlando approximately one mile south of the central business district, near the campus of Orlando Health. Serving 160,442 passengers at last measure in 2013, The station is Amtrak's fifth busiest in the Southeastern United States; it is the second busiest Amtrak station in Florida, behind the Sanford station of the Auto Train.
DeLand station is a train station in DeLand, Florida, United States, located west of the downtown area. It is served by SunRail commuter rail service and Amtrak Floridian and Silver Meteor intercity service.
Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center is a 265,000-square-foot (24,600 m2) convention center located in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. Opened in 1986, it was built incorporating Jacksonville Terminal Complex / Union Station as well as several thousand square feet of newly built structure.
The Floridian was a train operated by Amtrak from 1971 to 1979 that ran between Chicago and Florida, with two branches south of Jacksonville terminating at Miami and St. Petersburg. For its Nashville to Montgomery segment, its route followed that of several former Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) passenger trains, including the Pan-American and the Humming Bird. Originating in Chicago, the train served Lafayette and Bloomington, Indiana; Louisville and Bowling Green, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Decatur, Birmingham, Montgomery and Dothan, Alabama; and Thomasville, Valdosta and Waycross, Georgia.
The Ocala Union Station is a bus station and former train station in Ocala, Florida, United States. It is located at 531 Northeast First Avenue, and was built in 1917 by both the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Railroad. Prior to this, ACL and SAL had separate depots in Ocala. The former ACL station was originally built by the Florida Southern Railroad, while the former SAL station was built by the Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad. On December 22, 1997, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Winter Park station is a train station in Winter Park, Florida. It is served by SunRail commuter rail service and Amtrak Floridian and Silver Meteor intercity trains. The current station was built in 2014, coinciding with the introduction of SunRail service. Prior stations in the city, dating back to 1882, were constructed by the South Florida Railroad and Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.
Kissimmee station is a train station in Kissimmee, Florida. It is served by SunRail commuter rail service and two Amtrak intercity routes. The station opened in 1883, and has served several different railroads. It is the closest Amtrak station to Walt Disney World.
Sanford station is a railroad terminal in Sanford, Florida. It is the southern terminus for Amtrak's Auto Train, which runs between this station and Lorton, Virginia. Amtrak reported in its fiscal years 2021 and 2022 reports that the station is Amtrak's busiest station in Florida. It reported station ridership of 269,381 according to the 2022 report.
The Champion was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Florida East Coast Railway between New York City and Miami or St. Petersburg, Florida. It operated from 1939 until 1979, continuing under the Seaboard Coast Line and Amtrak. It was a direct competitor to the Seaboard Air Line Railway's Silver Meteor, the first New York-Florida streamliner.
Wildwood station is a bus station, and former train station, in Wildwood, Florida. It serves Amtrak Thruway buses and formerly served trains for Amtrak and other rail companies. The station is located on 601 North Main Street in Wildwood, Florida. Along with the northern terminus of Florida's Turnpike, the station gave Wildwood a reason to refer to itself as "The Crossroads of Florida."
St. Petersburg station was a passenger train station in St. Petersburg, Florida. Located northwest of downtown, its former address was 3601 31st Street North, though access to the site is now only from 37th Avenue North.
The Clearwater Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the Tampa Bay region of Florida. The line begins just east of downtown Tampa in Gary and heads north through some of Tampa's suburban neighborhoods. In Sulphur Springs, the Clearwater Subdivision turns and runs west through Oldsmar, where it crosses Tampa Bay. It briefly shifts south running through Safety Harbor, and then heads west again to Clearwater. In Clearwater, it turns southeast, running through Largo and Pinellas Park before terminating at Fifth Avenue North in St. Petersburg near Tropicana Field. The distance from Gary to St. Petersburg along the line is 48.6 miles (78.2 km). At the line's north end it continues from the Tampa Terminal Subdivision and at its south end the track comes to an end.
The CSX A Line forms the backbone of the historic Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Main Line, the backbone of their network in the southeastern United States. The main line runs from Richmond, Virginia to Port Tampa just southwest of Tampa, Florida, a distance of nearly 900 miles. Along its route it passes through Petersburg, Rocky Mount, Florence, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, and Orlando. With the exception of a short 61-mile segment in Greater Orlando, the entire line is owned by CSX Transportation.