What about freight?

On August 2, 2006, the Florida Department of Transportation announced an agreement in principle with CSX Transportation to purchase 61.5 miles of CSXT “A-Line” track through the urban heart of Central Florida, from Deland in Volusia County south to the Poinciana area in Osceola County. Appraisals on the corridor are complete, and FDOT expects to assume ownership of the corridor in 2011. Highlights of the agreement include:

• State dispatch of all trains, including freight, along the 61.5-mile corridor – 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the first seven years of Commuter Rail operation. The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission will assume that responsibility in subsequent years. For more information on the Commission, please visit the “Governing Board” page on the www.sunrail.com website.
   
• State assumption of all maintenance responsibilities along the 61.5 mile Central Florida corridor for the first seven years of operation. After that, the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission once again assumes that responsibility.
   
• Exclusive passenger rail access to the 61.5-mile corridor during peak travel periods, between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays.

• In addition, CSXT’s long-range plans call for re-routing up to nine trains from the Central Florida urban area to CSXT’s alternate S-Line west of Orlando.