I'm your Huckleberry!
Just a note, taking this to the railroads as a proposal, would be the LAST place one would want to go. We go to the State, Federal and Local governments and they can TELL the railroads how the cow will eat the cabbage. I can think of only a handful of railroads on earth that would welcome passenger trains, and every one of them is in someones spare bedroom, attic, basement or garage.
The ready made corridors are in place and a future comprehensive system is at least 75% intact. They are:
Jacksonville - Lake City - Tallahassee - Pensacola - (and west)
Jacksonville - Waldo - Ocala - Wildwood - Lakeland - Tampa
Jacksonville - Palatka - Deland - Orlando - Auburndale - Lakeland - Tampa
Jacksonville - St. Augustine - Daytona Beach - Melbourne - Ft. Pierce - West Palm Beach - Miami
(Jacksonville/Orlando) Auburndale - Winter Haven - Sebring - West Palm Beach - Miami
Lakeland - Ft. Myers - Naples
Tampa - Clearwater - St. Petersburg
Tampa - Sarasota - Venice
The missing segments are GAINESVILLE (which has right of way for several old lines) at the end of a branch from Starke.
Also:
Jacksonville - Starke - Alachua - Dunnellon - (Inverness-Brooksville taken out) Brooksville - Tampa
Beyond the state lines (every possible route passes through Jacksonville), in conjunction with Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee etc. we could create a host of new (old) routes to EVERYWHERE SOUTH, Macon, Atlanta, Montgomery, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Nashville, not to mention Cleveland, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, Chicago, Memphis, Kansas City, New Orleans, Charlotte... ALL DIRECT.
I think we need a map showing routes and frequencys, with regular fast Surfliner or Amtrak type trains. Then get the package on the ballot and force the issue statewide... Start in Jacksonville - as you can see from the routes, we are the hub.
OCKLAWAHA