David Porter of local transit blog SunrailRiders says that yesterday, he received a letter from Mayor Buddy Dyer announcing that SunRail will run every Saturday from October through January.

As a pilot project in the hopes of expanding the commuter train's services, the SunRail Commission has decided to fund Saturday service during this period due to the many weekend events in downtown Orlando and other cities along the rail line.

Dyer, who is chair of the SunRail Commission, wrote:

“At this moment SunRail is not in a position to expand SunRail to weekends. We knew this was going to be the case for the first couple of years of SunRail’s existence. That said, accepting the status quo and letting challenges stand in our way is not what we do in Orlando. When we see opportunities to make our community stronger and increase the quality of life for our residents, we work together to craft creative, partnership-driven solutions to turn good ideas into reality. That’s precisely what some of our major businesses and community organizations are doing.”

According to Porter, the Downtown Orlando Partnership, the Downtown Development Board and "some major businesses and community stakeholders" are among the groups involved in the Saturday SunRail pilot project. Dyer says that the commission hopes to get businesses and individuals to help sponsor this Saturday service, with sponsorships levels ranging from $25,000 to $25. 

Read the full letter here, at Riding the Rail.