Our views: Riding the rails
Grant request shows payoff of passenger trains through Brevard
October 8, 2009
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20091008/OPINION/91007020/1004/capitolnewsRestarting passenger train service down Florida’s East Coast — including stops in Brevard County — has always made good economic sense.
It made sense in 2001, when the first effort to revive the 350-mile Jacksonville-to-Miami route was proposed but failed.
It makes even more sense now to create badly needed jobs, boost economic development and promote greener transportation.
The potential payoff is now more evident with an application from the Florida Department of Transportation for $268 million in federal stimulus money for the project that would pay for upgrading tracks, building stations, improving railroad crossings and purchasing land.
The plan includes stations in Titusville, Cocoa and Melbourne, which would boost their economies with passengers arriving and departing in or near those cities’ historic and revitalized downtown areas.
More than 100 cities, counties and public and private organizations wisely endorse the new plan, with Space Coast municipalities and the county among the proponents.
That kind of united front is rare and shows the recognition of the benefits the trains could bring.
And why Washington should approve the funds from the $8 billion in stimulus money that’s set aside for rail projects.
The FDOT grant request provides these economic impact estimates:
# The project would directly create about 1,050 full-time jobs, with more than 880 jobs coming from construction to build the stations and improve the rail lines.
# It would produce an even larger economic benefit as the money ripples through the nine-county region, indirectly creating more than 6,300 permanent jobs and $259 million in annual earnings by 2021.
# The state would gain money for its depleted coffers, with the service generating more than $300 million in sales tax during its first 10 years of operation.
# About 176,000 passengers would ride the rails the first year, with passengers boarding in Brevard between noon and 1 p.m. and arriving in Miami three hours later.
# Ticket prices haven’t been determined, but would be similar to fares for other Florida Amtrak routes. It costs $60 to travel round trip from Orlando to Jacksonville and $72 round trip from Orlando to Miami.
Passenger service along the Florida East Coast Railway was ended 40 years ago as the nation’s car-obsessed culture grew.
The renewed service would allow local cities to prepare for inevitably higher gas prices that would again limit driving and cause people to seek other ways to travel.
For instance, Amtrak saw an 11 percent increase in riders last year when gas hit $4 a gallon.
Furthermore, the service would fit into the trend toward greener means of public transportation.
That includes commuter rail service in metro areas, such as the proposed Sun Rail in Orlando and proposed high-speed rail links between Orlando and Tampa.
If approved, the East Coast passenger rail project would get rolling in October 2012.
We say it’s time this train leaves the station.
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