DeLAND, Florida. – Just days before the new SunRail station in DeLand opens for service, a grand opening ceremony is planned Friday. The station will connect the picturesque city with destinations further south as far as Poinciana.

Service at SunRail’s DeLand station at 2491 Old New York Ave. officially begins Monday, August 12.

The $40 million expansion was in the planning stages for years, was first approved in 2020, and extends SunRail’s route by about 19 kilometers.

The DeLand station will be SunRail’s northernmost stop, connecting Persimmon Hollow with DeBary, Poinciana and more than a dozen stations in between along a 61-mile network of tracks.

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News 6 was there last month when visitors were given a free tour of the station. We met Jake Jacobs and his wife Rachel, who live in DeLand and told us they were excited to see what the new station could mean for their community.

“They will bring a lot to this small town,” said Rachel Jacobs.

“The ability for residents to take the train to a workplace like Orlando Health or Advent and then just get off and go to work is great,” DeLand Mayor Chris Cloudman said in July.

Cloudman said work is also underway to better connect people at the station to downtown DeLand. The city is reportedly looking into setting up a shuttle or streetcar to get people to and from the station.

SunRail recommended that passengers from the south use Volusia County’s VoRide service, which offers rideshares for a flat rate of $2. It also encouraged bicycle travel, as bikes are welcome on SunRail trains.

Learn more about SunRail and buy tickets starting at $2 – with discounts for seniors, youth and passengers with disabilities – by clicking here.

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