SunRail is preparing to test Saturday service, the Florida Department of Transportation has confirmed.

  • SunRail to test Saturday service
  • Commuter rail not expanding to weekends
  • Official dates have not been released

A third party, separate from FDOT, is covering the cost of testing, but SunRail will still collect fares during that time.

SunRail has not officially announced when it will start testing trains for Saturday service.

SunrailRiders, a transit blog, posted a letter from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer about the pilot program.

Service for the commuter rail is not expanding to weekends, at least not right now, according to Dyer.

"At this moment, Sunrail is not in a position to expand service to weekends," Dyer wrote. "We knew this was going to be the case for the first several years of SunRail's existence. That said, accepting the status quo and letting challenges stand in our way is not what we do in Orlando."

Testing will allow residents to "try" SunRail and maybe lead to more people adopting the train as their mode of transportation.

Dyer, members of the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission and stakeholders from area businesses will hold an announcement about SunRail at 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, at MetroPlan Orlando, located at 250 S. Orange Ave.