HNTB celebrates completion of SunRail commuter rail program with Florida Department of Transportation

Firm provided services over three phases of Central Florida’s first commuter rail system

LAKE MARY, Fla. – HNTB joins the Florida Department of Transportation in celebrating the completion of the SunRail program, 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.

As the general engineer consultant for FDOT’s District 5, 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.   

“It is amazing to see this transformational project come to completion,” Steve Kramer, HNTB project manager. “HNTB is proud to have worked alongside our client on this project that brings reliable transportation to the Central Florida region.”

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. The Phase 1 Inaugural Service opened in May 2014 followed by the Southern Expansion in July 2018. The final Northern Expansion phase opened on August 12, 2024.

“SunRail is Central Florida’s first commuter rail system,” said Rafael Rodriguez, FDOT project manager. “HNTB’s dedication to our goal of bringing reliable, affordable and stress-free travel to the Central Florida region was steady and enduring over the life of the project. Their expertise in rail systems and track work helped deliver this generational project that helps to safely connect our communities to more opportunities and experiences,” Rodriguez added.