DeLand, FL (DLD)

2491 Old New York Avenue
DeLand, FL 32720-2808

Station Hours

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2024): $2,008,187
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2024): 18,209

• Ownerships
• Routes Served
• Contact
• Local Community Links

• Facility Ownership: Amtrak
• Parking Lot Ownership: Florida Department of Transportation
• Platform Ownership: Florida Department of Transportation
• Track Ownership: Florida Department of Transportation

• Floridian
• Silver Meteor

Todd Stennis
Regional Contact
governmentaffairsnol@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

• City of DeLand
• SunRail

The DeLand station sits about three miles south and west of downtown DeLand at the junction of the railroad main line and a spur to downtown. In August 2024, the DeLand station became the northern terminus of the 61-mile SunRail system, which provides commuter rail service to four Central Florida counties. SunRail opened in three phases from May 2014 through August 2024.

The Craftsman style station, built in 1918 for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, was fully restored in the mid-2000s at a cost of $424,471. The work included Craftsman-style paint color and trim over the shell-dash exterior, a new roof, platform canopy, remodeled bathrooms and new walkways.

The restoration was a joint effort of Volusia County, Amtrak and CSX. Funds were provided by grant monies from the Florida Department of Transportation. A rededication ceremony was held on December 21, 2006, and the following year, the station received a Preservation Award from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation.

DeLand has had six depots since the railroad arrived in the city in 1884. The first depot was built on the east end of the branch on West New York Avenue in 1885 by the Orange Ridge, DeLand and Atlantic Railroad. The second depot was built at the junction around 1890 by the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railroad. The third was built at the end of the spur line to serve the College Arms Hotel and was both a passenger and freight depot—wealthy northerners often shipped their automobiles via baggage car, and took them off there. The fourth depot was constructed between 1891 and 1895 for the orange grower and university founder, John B. Stetson, on North Spring Garden Avenue so that he could ship oranges more easily. The present Amtrak and SunRail facility is the sixth and only surviving depot.

In 1874, Captain John Rich built a cabin in Persimmon Hollow to the east of the St. Johns River in an area that would become the city of DeLand. Henry Addison DeLand, a baking soda magnate from Fairport, N.Y., visited the Rich family and envisioned a citrus, agricultural and tourism center, and so he bought land and founded the town, naming it for himself. He sold his New York business, hired people to clear the land and lay out streets and recruit settlers, most of whom came from upstate New York. Incorporated in 1882, the city became the seat of Volusia County in 1887.

Henry DeLand established the DeLand Academy in 1883 to enhance the community’s culture and stature, as well as encourage the land development boom. However, the momentous freeze of 1885 destroyed the orange crop, rendering the land almost worthless. Returning to his home in the north, DeLand entrusted the school to his friend, Philadelphia hat manufacturer John B. Stetson. In 1889, the school was renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of its chief patron, later just Stetson University. In 1900, it became the first law school in Florida.

The Navy built an airbase in Deland during World War II, which was turned over to the city in 1946 and now serves as its municipal airport. Deland, the self-styled “Athens of Florida,” home to a thriving historic Garden District, also hosts a juried art show featuring artists from all over the nation each November at its Fall Festival of the Arts.

Station Building (with waiting room)