Rail Improvements

Lake County has partnered with the Lake Sumter MPO and the cities of Umatilla, Eustis, Tavares and Mount Dora to provide funding and planning assistance for the completion of significant upgrades to the northeast region of Lake County's existing rail system. The current rail system is not adequate to handle full-scale industrial freight; therefore, the entire rail system in the northeast region is being upgraded to a continuous weld system. These upgrades will link the Lake County rail system to the major class 1 rail corridor in Orlando and will open up the entire U.S. rail network to Lake County businesses.

Upgrading the existing rail system will provide significant economic development opportunities for the County. Not only will it encourage increased growth at a number of existing industrial parks within close proximity to rail, but it will also open up the potential for future industrial development on the thousands of vacant acres located along the rail corridor. In addition, the County is currently investigating the feasibility of high-speed passenger rail on the upgraded tracks, which would serve as an important transportation corridor between Lake County and the City of Orlando.

Below is a map of the planned rail improvements: