Local officials celebrated the grand opening of SunRail by riding the train from Debary to Sand Lake Road on Wednesday. SunRail officially opens on Thursday.

Advertisement Officials celebrate grand opening of SunRail with ride along SunRail free May 1 through May 16 Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Five years in the planning and $1.3 billion later, the SunRail commuter train system will be ready to roll starting Thursday morning.Images: Onboard SunRailVIPs and the media rode along for the full length of the 31 and a-half mile system from Debary to South Orange County during the whistle-stop grand opening on Wednesday.Nora Foust had the honor of ringing-in the new SunRail service. She's been riding the bus from Volusia County to her downtown Orlando job for 13 years."And when they announced they were going to do rail I was just over the moon. I thought this was just perfect. No more I-4 gridlock ever," said Foust. "This is going to be wonderful."Watch: Is SunRail safe with no security force?Beginning in DeBary, WESH 2 News reporter Greg Fox rode SunRail to the next 11 stops -- rolling first from Volusia County through Seminole County, along with commissioner Lee Constantine. Constantine was a state senator when SunRail was approved in 2009 and says the upcoming Interstate 4 construction will make SunRail very much in demand."When I-4 gets into the transformation that they are going to go through and all of the reconstruction this is going to be a Godsend for those folks who use I-4 every single day," Constantine said.Watch: SunRail how-to ride guideConstantine's guest rider was 8-year-old Angelina LaBelle, who was at the Capitol when SunRail was approved, and she thinks it's great that the train just keeps on rolling."Once I was with my mom and we were stuck in traffic for like two hours," LaBelle said. "We were in the same spot."Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer said for thousands of commuters, SunRail will be the best option."To have an alternative means of transportation where you can get on, in Debary and have certainty when you're getting off in Winter Park or Orlando," said Dyer.The big test for the billion dollar-plus rail system is whether the crush of local traffic will be bad enough for daily commuters to lure them away from their vehicles and onto the train cars, which are all equipped with restrooms, free Wi-Fi and tables for doing work while riding.With Orlando International already building a station to handle multiple trains, the pressure is now on local and state lawmakers to come up with the money for a SunRail extension to the airport."We're getting ready to plan the comprehensive transportation bill, and certainly I will get information from the stakeholders but that is the plan," said Rep. Corrine Brown.The SunRail service will be free from May 1 until May 16. For more information on SunRail visit SunRail.com