SunRail

The SunRail program is a 61-mile commuter rail project serving the Greater Orlando area from Poinciana to DeLand. HNTB provided preliminary design and construction engineering inspection (CEI) in all three phases of the program starting in 2011.

Phase 1 of the SunRail program was a 32-mile joint-use corridor connecting Volusia, Seminole, and Orange Counties that included 12 new stations. The Southern Expansion extended service 17 miles into Osceola County and added 4 new stations. The most recent project, the Northern Expansion, extended service 12 miles into Volusia County to the new Deland Station. HNTB’s CEI services in all three phases included trackwork, new wayside signal systems, grade crossing warning systems, station construction, reconstructing grade crossings, bridge construction, maintenance and operation facilities and parking lots for the stations. Beyond traditional CEI services, HNTB conducted a value engineering study that yielded cost-saving scope changes, while maintaining quality, and served as technical adviser for the design-build procurements.

As the general consultant engineer for FDOT’s District Five, HNTB also supported the safety and security elements of the program and the trains’ systems communication work including schedule and contract management, inspection work and fare collection systems management.

With passenger trains running during the day and freight by night, the busy corridor required careful collaboration with FDOT’s Central Florida Rail Corridor, the operator, CSX and Amtrak.

With all three phases complete, SunRail is providing Florida residents and tourists with another reliable option for traveling to south Central Florida and more convenient access to Orlando.