SunRail’s recent expansion in Central Florida will add a new stop for passengers.

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On Friday, SunRail celebrated the grand opening of its newest station in Deland.

The station is located on Old New York Avenue near Spring Garden Avenue and serves as the northernmost station on the line.

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Four counties in Central Florida are now connected by 17 train stations with a total length of 61 miles.

SunRail’s Mathew Richardson believes this is just the beginning for public transit in Central Florida. The more comfortable people become, the more likely they are to choose to commute.

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“We’re on track to exceed last year’s ridership, which was over a million. So we’ve got great numbers. This is a year of 20% increase. We’re looking forward to increasing that even further.”

Because the Deland station is not within walking distance of downtown shops, SunRail recommends that passengers coming from the south bring a bicycle to get to their destination or use Volusia County’s $2 VoRide service.

There are plans to set up a kind of shuttle service as part of a partnership between the city and the district that will eventually transport people from the train station to the city center.

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