Amtrak's Vision: Jacksonville/Orlando/Tampa

[marcuscnelson]

Amtrak’s talking to FDOT now…

https://twitter.com/lmower3/status/1466430084169011201?s=21

Amtrak is in preliminary talks with the Florida DOT to "expand" services in Florida, @FDOT_Secretary told lawmakers yesterday.

FDOT doesn't know yet what Amtrak has in mind. It currently operates lines from Jax to Tampa/Orlando/Miami.

Amtrak is flush with money from the recent infrastructure bill, and has money to spend in Florida, Thibault said.

I wonder how we get some Jax people into those conversations.

Interestingly, a lot of the talk in the replies is about restoring the line Amtrak marked as “suspended,” from Jacksonville west towards New Orleans. I don’t think the state support is there for anything to come if it (would likely require FDOT acquiring the line, making substantial improvements, and adding signaling), but food for thought.

Of course here’s an article from just two weeks ago pointing out those very same challenges, as well as the potential cost (although I think for that price they’re essentially building it to top-notch standards as opposed to enough to start service):

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/473904-north-florida-officials-push-for-research-into-2-billion-rail-restoration/

[thelakelander]

Amtrak’s talking to FDOT now…

https://twitter.com/lmower3/status/1466430084169011201?s=21

Amtrak is in preliminary talks with the Florida DOT to "expand" services in Florida, @FDOT_Secretary told lawmakers yesterday.

FDOT doesn't know yet what Amtrak has in mind. It currently operates lines from Jax to Tampa/Orlando/Miami.

Amtrak is flush with money from the recent infrastructure bill, and has money to spend in Florida, Thibault said.

I wonder how we get some Jax people into those conversations.

Good start! I was fearful politics between the governor and Biden would screw us over, like the high speed rail thing between Obama and Scott.

Jax entities like FDOT D2, COJ, NFTPO, JTA, etc. are aware but it may not be their priority at the moment. At some point there will have to be coordination and involvement. One of the best things to do right now is for public pressure being applied to them, so that this becomes a higher local priority.  That pressure should include moving the train station back downtown, getting a new stop or two in outlying counties and fighting for service times that align with local commuter peak times.

[marcuscnelson]

Good start! I was fearful politics between the governor and Biden would screw us over, like the high speed rail thing between Obama and Scott.

Obviously the talks are only preliminary right now, but here's to hoping.

Jax entities like FDOT D2, COJ, NFTPO, JTA, etc. are aware but it may not be their priority at the moment. At some point there will have to be coordination and involvement. One of the best things to do right now is for public pressure being applied to them, so that this becomes a higher local priority.  That pressure should include moving the train station back downtown, getting a new stop or two in outlying counties and fighting for service times that align with local commuter peak times.

There must be some way to get people interested in putting the pressure on, I'm not sure what the best way to get that message out there is.

[marcuscnelson]

Amtrak has made updates to their proposed plan for Florida, as given in a presentation to the Florida MPO Advisory Council last month: https://mpoac.cutr.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Presentation-MPOAC-FRC-PassRailWorkshop-20220427.pdf

Some interesting things:



A new additional service between Sanford and Tampa, with four round trips, as well as the extension of the Miami-Orlando service to Sanford. Wonder if this could mean removing requirements to have a car for the Auto Train.



A proposal, similar to the ones from the early 2010s, to reroute the Silver Meteor onto the Florida East Coast Railway and then back onto the state-owned corridor in South Florida. Unclear how this would interface with Brightline, or how stations north of Brightline’s current improvements would be handled.

Best for last…



A map of proposed stations that includes Miami’s airport Intermodal Center, an “Airport” station (my guess, more likely the SunRail airport transfer station that Brightline and Orlando-area officials have been discussing for a few weeks now with their Sunshine Corridor Program), and very interestingly, stations in Orange Park and what appears to be downtown Jacksonville. Sounds like the right people got in a room with Amtrak.

Surprise bonus:



A map of “future options” that include the Gulf Coast corridor, St. Augustine and Palatka, an extension of SunRail to Tampa and Daytona Beach, as well as a web of regional lines extending from the Tampa Bay Area. Very interesting all around.

[Steve]

I like the concepts - especially with more intra-state trains. It kills me that when I go to Lakeland for work somewhat frequently my car is the only option. The once a day train timing (especially back from Lakeland to here) is awful.

[thelakelander]

I'm fine with the concepts. They've been talked about for years, so I'm hoping these entities can put their money where their mouths are at and bring these routes into reality, sooner rather than later. Of interesting note, it appears there are two proposed stations in our region. Downtown and Orange Park.....something we've been advocating for years. Also, this plan appears to keep the station in Northwest Jacksonville as well.

[marcuscnelson]

I thought I'd share this article from a few months ago about the work some cities are doing to prepare for and support new rail service. Perhaps an example for us if we ever address the Prime Osborn.

https://wsbt.com/news/local/80-million-dollar-train-station-coming-to-michigan-city

[thelakelander]

Good leadership there. That looks like a pretty big and ambitious project. Maybe we can be inspired by a city that's 1/3rd the size of Palm Coast.

[marcuscnelson]

Realized I never updated this. The State Rail Plan came out earlier this year, and it appears (as expected by some) that FDOT isn't interested in supporting a corridor service in Florida.

The state will study a number of corridors, including the ones proposed by Amtrak, and additional possibilities to Atlanta and New Orleans, but is only interested in lobbying to remove Amtrak's 750 mile limit that requires state funding, or in additional long distance service at no cost to the state.

Amtrak is continuing to work on relocating Miami service to the Miami Intermodal Center, but it doesn't appear any additional cooperation with FDOT is in the works.

[thelakelander]

In the meantime, we're ready to pony up billions more for wider roads and new highways. I wonder how much this has to do with D & R politics? Things may be on hold until there's some alignment between federal and state politicos.

[Jax_Developer]

In the meantime, we're ready to pony up billions more for wider roads and new highways. I wonder how much this has to do with D & R politics? Things may be on hold until there's some alignment between federal and state politicos.

Sad really.. FDOT has a nearly $13B budget, and there are essentially 0 public rail projects underway if I read that report correctly? (Not counting feasibility reports.) If you look at other states, like Washington at $8B, or Penn at $8B, they both have serious rail projects in the works or already underway. It is shocking that a tourist heavy state wouldn’t want higher public connectivity.

[thelakelander]

It's more about where the money is coming from, going too and who benefits from the investment the most.

[Jax_Developer]

Right... A story that has crippled mass transit investment all over the states sadly. City Nerd on YT has an interesting channel built around this. His main three talking points to the "car-centric" US are: building code, politics, and culture. Seemingly only in the last 10-20 years has some of that started to shift in parts of the country.

[jcjohnpaint]

I really like his videos.

[Jax_Developer]

I really like his videos.

His tone & mood highlight his talking points lol.