Central Florida Commuter Rail

What's There Now - A Look At Planned Station Locations

Sand Lake Road Station

The name Sand Lake Road evokes the image of a sun-lit dirt road leading to a lake with sandy beaches and blue-green water.  However, the Commuter Rail station that will carry that name is not by such a place.

The Sand Lake Road Station will be located on a parcel of vacant land just north of Sand Lake Road and west of South Orange Avenue or SR 527.  Between the station location and Sand Lake Road to the south there is a large retention pond and an Orange County pumping station.  To the east, there is a McDonald's restaurant fronting Orange Avenue.

 The area surrounding the station is largely developed with residential to the north and industrial to the south.  There should be no shortage of riders using this station both leaving for work and arriving to then go to the many employers in the area.

The CSX Rail Taft Yard is just to the south of the station location.  Much of the operation of this yard will be transferred to Winter Haven as a part of the Commuter Rail agreement.  But until that happens, the tracks adjacent to the station location will continue to carry large numbers of railcars going in and out of the yard.  There are presently five sets of tracks adjacent to the station location.

Opportunities for transit oriented development are numerous, with vacant and underutilized properties available for development. 

The Sand Lake Road Station has been selected as the likely transfer station for a planned light rail system running east-west from the Convention Center to Orlando International Airport and then on to Lake Nona.  The addition of such an east-west link would make Sand Lake a busy and important station indeed.