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OrlandoSentinel.com
Is company's demise a setback for SunRail? Backers say no
Dan Tracy
Sentinel Staff Writer
January 14, 2009
The commuter train that is supposed to run 61 miles through Central Florida may not be as sleek, eco-friendly and futuristic as promised.
The Colorado builder of the state-of-the art commuter-rail cars that were to be the centerpiece of the $1.2 billion venture linking DeLand with Poinciana has gone out of business. The company was the only U.S. manufacturer of the self-propelled cars.
That means the proposed system -- recently dubbed SunRail -- will rely largely on components basic to railroads since their inception: a locomotive pulling or pushing a string of cars.
SunRail officials downplayed the loss of the self-propelled cars, known as diesel multiple units, or DMUs.
They say the project remains on schedule for a 2011 startup, and the traditional locomotives and cars eventually purchased will run as efficiently as the DMUs.
"Does it set us back? No," said Tawny Olore, SunRail project manager for the state Department of Transportation.
Critics are not so sure.
Retired electrical engineer George McClure, who follows the project closely, contends SunRail is engaged in a bit of "bait and switch" because the system will not rely solely on DMUs, as has been advertised.
He also speculated that SunRail may have to purchase refurbished locomotives to stay on schedule because ordering new, more-efficient engines might take too long. In that case, "you're going back to 1970s technology," said McClure, a member of the now-disbanded Winter Park rail task force that studied the commuter-rail plan.
Rebuilt locomotives, he said, burn at least twice as much fuel as the DMUs, making them more expensive to operate and more polluting.
Olore said SunRail intends to buy new locomotives that will be as efficient as the DMUs. If rebuilt engines are purchased, she said, they will meet the same environmental standards as new ones.
SunRail's Web site prominently features a DMU rendering, and the system's circular logo plays off its slick, rounded look. Two years ago, U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, brought two DMU cars to town as he and other officials were drumming up support for the project.
As it now stands, SunRail will have two, or possibly three, DMU two-car sets, all now on loan to South Florida's commuter-rail system. But the majority of SunRail's rolling stock would be more traditional: five locomotives and 10 coach and cab cars, which are not motorized but house the engine's controls.
SunRail is seeking train providers now and expects to review proposals in February. The anticipated cost of the equipment is $52 million.
Mica, a leading proponent of the proposed train, was a big backer of the DMUs and secured federal money to buy the ones now in South Florida. A motorized DMU costs about $4.2 million, compared to $2 million to $3 million for a locomotive.
"It's kind of sad," Mica said about the demise of the DMU maker, Colorado Railcar. "But it is reflective of the economy and downturn of manufacturing in the U.S."
The SunRail trains are slated to run on existing CSX tracks from DeLand in Volusia County to Poinciana in Osceola County. The first 31 miles, from south Volusia to Sand Lake Road in Orange, are supposed to start running in 2011, with the remainder open in 2013.
Dan Tracy can be reached at 407-420-5444 or dtracy@orlandosentinel.com.
Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel
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