Florida High Speed Rail Officially Announced

[CS Foltz]

It is a pity that "Rat Rail" gets priority over something that could benefit the state!

[tufsu1]

It is a pity that "Rat Rail" gets priority over something that could benefit the state!

glad to see your message hasn't changed

[CS Foltz]

Thank you Sir! Train to nowhere as HSR is not true HSR! For the money being spent (yours and my tax dollars hard at work contributing to the deficit) a rail line to no where does nothing to enhance state wide mass transit! Miami leg is not funded yet and all of that money could have gone to upgrading FEC/AMTRAK rail and we would have something for the dollars instead of a showcase from nowhere to nowhere! Bad move for the dollars!

[tufsu1]

here's my frustration with your "its my tax dollars" argument....over 50% of Florida's tax revenues come from south Florida...how do you think those people feel when their money is spent in north Florida...like the 25% state share that would come for commuter rail or streetcars in Jacksonville?

[CS Foltz]

I can not argue with that but must point out.........it is a matter of population location right? Tallahassee is controled by the southern regions and northest representation is minute! I don't tell Miami what to do or how to do it............they have options we don't ie Sunrail/Metro Rail? I don't really remember just which one is down that way.....they did not form a special taxing district to pay for it, it is still subsidized by state funds and I believe the Feds have a finger in that pie also! State gas tax is accross the board, not counting the local tax but Federal as well as State funds help them to operate that system! Let them build all of the concrete they want, toll it or whatever makes them happy! At the rate Miami is growing, we may become a suburb sooner than you think! We need a rail system that benefits the east coast from there to here, so the state can come off of what should be a part of our money also!

[Mattius92]

another thing is, say if you asked someone outside of Florida, and ask them to name one city from Florida that you know of or you would like to live. How large of a chance do you think they will say Jacksonville.

We are like the largest unknown city in Florida, why we have that title... I could only guess. Maybe its because we have virtually nothing to offer, or maybe our football team just isn't good enough. All I can say is, if we want to get anything we certainly need to me known.

[thelakelander]

Tampa-Orlando high-speed rail plan gets OK

TALLAHASSEE - The federal Railroad Administration has given Florida approval to begin designing, obtaining land and building the nation's first major high-speed rail line.

State transportation officials today said they had received the agency's consent for the Orlando-Tampa route.

Surveying already has begun, but now the state can do additional work that's needed to seek bids for constructing and operating the train.

President Barack Obama in January announced Florida would get $1.25 billion in stimulus money for high-speed rail, about half of what's needed for the Orlando-Tampa segment. Plans call for eventually adding a Miami-Orlando leg.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/may/13/tampa-orlando-high-speed-rail-plan-gets-ok/

[Mattius92]

People are saying that HSR wont make any profit, and it wont till a system is built, and not just a statewide system but a national system. On top of that it needs to be fast, fast enough and large enough that it could replace airplanes as the number one source of transportation. Once poeple start choosing rail over air, then the money will start to come. Sitting around and saying its worthless to build HSR is just making our nation look stupider and stupider. Countries like France, Japan, Taiwan and Germany have country-wide systems that are profitable. While our country is a lot larger, we still need to start with the little pieces and then eventually connect the system into a nation wide form or high speed transportation.

I would ride a train any day over flying if I could. However our passenger train system greatly lacks it potential.

[Coolyfett]

another thing is, say if you asked someone outside of Florida, and ask them to name one city from Florida that you know of or you would like to live. How large of a chance do you think they will say Jacksonville.

We are like the largest unknown city in Florida, why we have that title... I could only guess. Maybe its because we have virtually nothing to offer, or maybe our football team just isn't good enough. All I can say is, if we want to get anything we certainly need to me known.

I ask many people that very question....Miami & Orlando is what people often answer. Its for a lot of reasons. 

[thelakelander]

Obama gives an additional $66 million to Florida HSR project.

Obama administration releases $66 million more for high-speed rail project

By Robert Trigaux, Times Staff Writer
Posted: May 27, 2010 04:28 PM

ORLANDO — Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood told a gathering of Tampa Bay and Orlando business leaders here today that an additional $66.6 million is being released to fund a planned high-speed rail service between Tampa and Orlando.

The funding is on top of $1.25 billion announced by President Obama during a visit to the University of Tampa earlier this year.

"The president's vision for high-speed rail will forever change the way Americans travel by offering new transportation options," LaHood said. "The grants released today are merely the very beginning of many more to follow."

The money will be used for program management and preliminary engineering, he added.

If all goes on schedule, the 84-mile transit is slated to begin operation with hourly trips between the two cities in 2015.

full article: http://www.tampabay.com/news/obama-administration-releases-66-million-more-for-high-speed-rail-project/1098130

[tufsu1]

This is a bit comical (and as someone who worked on it, sad)...after 7 years of planning, folks in Tampa still can't agree on where the HSR station(s) should be

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jul/06/questions-arise-over-high-speed-rail-tia/news-metro/

[CS Foltz]

tufsu......I feel your pain! I guess we need to do another study maybe huh? Tis a sad state of affairs when we are getting ready to spend $1.2 Billion Dollars and local governments can't get it together enough to designate stopping points for a system that is supposed to be a "Jewel of Transportation"! From nowhere to nowhere and maybe to Miami, if they can get funding for it! If that happens ..........it will still go nowhere being a stand alone system..............a major waste of money and effort!

[JayBird]

Being that it seems that High Speed Rail seems to be unable to get off the ground coast to coast, I am beginning to think policies and regulations have nothing to do with it ... Maybe it is just there isn't a demand for such a system to be in place and thus no momentum behind any push.

In another key setback to the California bullet train project, federal regulators have rejected the state's request to exempt a large Central Valley segment of proposed track from a lengthy planning review.
The action affects part of a 29-mile rail section to be built near Fresno, where state officials have already awarded a construction contract. The decision is likely to complicate, delay and substantially drive up the cost on that initial $1-billion package of work.

http://mobile.masstransitmag.com/news/11266531/bullet-train-given-another-setback?utm_source=MASS+NewsViews+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MASS131129003

Which begs to ask the question: would those billions being used or set aside for High Speed Rail projects be better off going to communities to fund intercity rail, regional rail, and local streetcar projects? Perhaps if states or metro areas received those funds to build expansion projects connecting to the Amtrak system local, regional and national transportation will see that paradigm shift the High Speed Rail projects were suppose to usher in.