DELAND, Fla. – Friday was an exciting and highly anticipated day in DeLand as the vision of a SunRail commuter rail line connecting four Central Florida counties with 17 stations and more than 61 miles of rail became a reality with the opening of a new SunRail station in Volusia County.

“For those who have not experienced SunRail yet, this is the opportunity to travel to DeLand and experience everything DeLand has to offer,” said Matthew Richardson, communications manager for the Florida Department of Transportation.

City and county officials and FDOT welcomed passengers to the DeBary SunRail station to board the inaugural train to DeLand and celebrate the station’s grand opening.

“Oh, it’s just a pleasure to be able to ride the train. The first train that actually goes to DeLand,” said Volusia County resident Steve Burley.

Steve and Kathy Burley and Susan Macon sat on a bench waiting for the first SunRail train between DeBary and DeLand.

“We live four miles from the DeLand train station, so we can drive around the corner, hop on the train and go to Sanford, Winter Park, Orlando and beyond, and even take the cross-country trains to South Florida and stuff. So we’re very, very excited,” Kathy said.

The three have been pushing for this expansion for a decade.

“I’ve been waiting 10 years for this,” Macon said.

Steve said he previously worked on the county’s economic development program and then moved to the city of DeLand, where he continued to advocate for SunRail expansion.

“I did a lot of lobbying, pressure, and writing letters of support for the station,” he said.

Now they can experience it firsthand as they take the maiden voyage at the grand opening of SunRail’s DeLand station.

“I owned a downtown business for years and lived downtown as well,” Macon said. “So I imagine this will get people to come visit us and our stores, just like we took the train to Winter Park and Kissimmee.”

Among those who rode the first train was Pat Patterson, a former Volusia County Council member and state representative.

“I’ve been involved in this project for over 20 years – 10 years on the County Council and 10 years in the state legislature,” he said. “So it was very exciting for me, my wife, my family and my friends to come to DeLand. It’s a wonderful day.”

The trip from DeBary Station to DeLand is 12.2 miles.

Macon said she hopes this SunRail extension to DeLand will attract more people downtown.

“We’re seeing more and more posts on Facebook where people say they discovered DeLand but had to drive there,” she said. “Maybe now we can show them how easy it is to get there by train.”