Bountiful Benefits

DeLand/Orange City/DeBary/Volusia County

• Nearly 50,000 people live in Orange City, DeBary and DeLand, one of the fastest growing areas of Volusia County
  
• Nearly a quarter of the workforce commutes to jobs outside the county, primarily to Seminole and Orange counties

Sanford/Lake Mary/Longwood/Altamonte Springs

• Home to two major retail malls
  
• Growing business clusters along the I-4 corridor and individual communities
  
• County government located in Sanford
  
• Nearly 400,000 live in Seminole County
  
• More than 40 percent of workforce commutes to jobs in Orange County (1)
  
• Passenger counts at Orlando-Sanford Airport nearly doubled between 2000 and 2004 Winter Park/Orlando/Orange County

Winter Park/Orlando/Orange County

• Economic and cultural hub of Central Florida
  
• Home to NBA’s Orlando Magic
  
• Intermodal transfers at Lynx Central Station and the Sand Lake area
  
• Federal/state/local government and educational activity centers
  
• Major renovations to the Citrus Bowl, the downtown arena and a new performing arts center planned
  
• Station stops at Florida Hospital Orlando and Orlando Regional Medical Center, two of the region’s largest employers
  
• Ready access to retail, dining and cultural activities in Winter Park and downtown Orlando
  
• Amtrak transfer stations

Kissimmee/Osceola County

• Line terminates at the 1,200-acre Poinciana Industrial Park, which now employs more than 1,600 workers with major expansions planned
  
• Nearly 56,000 residents live within the city limits of Kissimmee, one of the fastest growing counties in Central Florida
  
• Almost three-quarters of Kissimmee residents commute to jobs outside the city
  
• More than a third of residents work in the tourism or services industry (2)

Sources
   1. www.businessinseminole.com/ecodev/pdf/workforce_CommutingPatterns.pdf
   2. www.city-data.com/city/Kissimmee-Florida.html

What's Smart About Commuter Rail

• Mobility option to I-4 - especially during reconstruction, which is expected to occur in 2012 timeframe
• System is expected to carry about as many passengers as one lane of I-4 during peak travel times
• Significant travel time savings expected during peak periods, especially as growth further congests roadways
• Commuter rail travel time from Lake Mary to downtown Orlando expected to take less than 30 minutes
• Uses existing freight track infrastructure
• Additional right of way acquisition only at station locations
• Reduction of freight trains improves traffic flow through downtown urban core
• Crossing gate down time much less than freight trains
• Establishes the spine of a regional rail network linking four counties
• Allows businesses, research and education centers to tap into a geographically broader talent pool
• Returns 20 cents of every dollar motorists now pay in federal gas taxes for transit projects to create new mobility options in Central Florida
• Reduces costly trips to the gas pump
• Alternative corridor enhancements for freight trains improves freight mobility, reduces truck traffic on major highways and improves safety