Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, along with supporters on Friday, celebrated the green lighting of the SunRail commuter rail line which had been stalled for months.
Earlier today, Florida Department of Transportation Secretary (DOT) Secretary Ananth Prasad announced that Governor Rick Scott had authorized the Full Funding Grant Agreement to move SunRail forward.
Mayor Jacobs thanked the elected leaders, and business partners who worked on making SunRail a reality.
“Everyone pulled together to make this happen,” said Mayor Jacobs. “It’s the right thing to do today and it’s the right thing to do for a brighter, more mobile future for our children.”
SunRail, with 61 miles of track and 17 stations, will run from DeBary in Volusia County, through downtown Orlando to southern Orange County. The train could begin carrying passengers as soon as May 2014.
The SunRail commuter rail line is expected to create more than 13,000 jobs statewide for construction, operations and maintenance and will potentially generate $1.5 billion in economic benefit. Transit oriented development around the stations has the potential to create another 246,000 new jobs with an economic benefit exceeding $7 billion, including $158 million in additional property taxes alone.
For more information visit Sunrail.com
