Poinciana station is a

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

in the community of

Poinciana, Florida Poinciana () is a settlement and census-designated place (CDP) in Osceola and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It is part of the Greater Orlando area. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 69,309. Transportation U.S ...

. It is the southern terminus of

SunRail SunRail is a commuter rail system in the Greater Orlando, Florida, area. Services began on May 1, 2014. The system comprises 17 stations along a former CSX Transportation line connecting Volusia County and Osceola County through Downtown Orla ...

, the commuter rail service of

Greater Orlando The Orlando metropolitan area (officially, for U.S. census purposes, the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area) is an inland metropolitan area in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. Its principal cities ...

. The station opened on July 30, 2018. The site was briefly used by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

from 1974 to 1975. In addition to Poinciana, the station also serves the nearby communities of Intercession City and Campbell.

History

In the mid-1970s, the site was planned as the southern terminus for

's inaugural auto ferry service called '' AutoTrak'' connecting Florida to

Indianapolis Union Station The Indianapolis Union Station is an intercity train station in the Wholesale District of Indianapolis, Indiana. Currently, Amtrak's ''Cardinal'' line serves the terminal, passing through Indianapolis three times a week each way. Initially, I ...

, in competition with the Auto-Train Corporation's ''Auto-Train'' service. Amtrak initially built a complex with a 1,600 square foot modular building, a parking lot and two spur-lines with eventual plans for a 7,000 square foot facility. The initial complex opened on September 16, 1974, with the simultaneous arrival of the '' Floridian'' and the ''

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

'' trains. It was envisioned to be the official stop for tourists bound for

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

. The ''AutoTrak'' service never came to life, however, and the station was used for just over a year as a stop for the ''Champion'' and the ''Floridian'' until December 12, 1975, when those trains began stopping at

Kissimmee Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

instead. Sometime in the 1980s, the station building was demolished, the spur-lines were removed and the parking lot along with the access road into the site were abandoned and eventually overgrew with vegetation over the years. The site sat vacant until construction of the Poinciana SunRail station began in early 2016.

References

External links

Poinciana Station (SunRail)

SunRail's Station Development Sketchbook
{{SunRail , state=expanded Former Amtrak stations in Florida Railway stations in the United States opened in 1974 Railway stations in the United States opened in 2018 SunRail stations 1974 establishments in Florida 1975 disestablishments in Florida 2018 establishments in Florida Railway stations in the United States closed in 1975