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This 'only' requires $4.5 - 6.0 Billion for what is already a first class railroad - from the 'Trains' newswire:
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Florida East Coast Railway has indicated it's open to the idea of hosting passenger trains on its line, which connects many of Florida's largest cities, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has reported. In years past, FEC had resisted the idea of hosting passenger trains when approached.
Railroad officials say any passenger trains will have to operate in such a way as to not interfere with freight trains. Still, the change of heart is welcome in South Florida. The parallel Tri-Rail service, operated on a former CSX line, has seen impressive gains in business, but misses several downtown areas in the Miami-Palm Beach corridor.
State planners are studying locations for stations, how best to create whistle-free zones, and how much the service would cost. Current estimates peg it at $4.5 billion to $6 billion. They intend to apply for Federal Transit Administration funds.
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At least it would get Mr. Norman to Palm Beach faster. 50 years ago, the FEC did it in 5 hr, 20min. Amtrak now takes 7 hr, 30 min meandering through Orlando on the Meteor.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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It just goes to show that the "conventional wisdom" that freight railroads will always be hostile to passenger operations isn't necessarily true. I've always felt that with proper government incentives a public-private partnership with the freight railroads could create a dual passenger/freight network that works for everyone.
Never forget that in business and politics, everything is negotiable.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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At this time I will "take a pass" on any "enlightenment' within the management of Rail America's 'crown jewel', and direct my thrust towards the allocation of scarce resources.
I cannot see the reason for diverting any trains away from serving the Rodent and his assorted Court Jesters. Should Florida find itself served by the prevailing "one a day' LD as is the case elswehere (a few exceptions), then diverting service away from Orlando is simply folly.
If Amtrak seeks to divert a train away from the existing ACL-Auburndale-SAL routing, a better bet would be along the SAL to Auburndale or the former route of the Silver Palm. This would enable service to college town Gainesville, the massive retirement comminuty of The Villages, as well as one of the most attractive and growing N Central Fla communities I know - Ocala. (disclaimer: I know O-Mike face to face). There is a passenger base to draw from either to the East or West of such a line, not so on the FEC unless maybe Amtrak has a tariff for handling sharks.
palmland Member # 4344
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Mr. Norman, I guess $6 billion would 'enlighten' anyone. Certainly Rail America's CEO was not exactly pro-passenger in his days at CSX. On the other hand his COO and the one running the FEC was truly one of the good guys at CSX and I have no doubt he could make it work.
Certainly your idea of a former SAL routing makes sense, but given that CSX has been persuaded (with lots of state dollars) to move the freight traffic over to the 'S' line, passenger service isn't likely there - without another large handout.
Maybe the future of passenger rail on the FEC won't be Amtrak, but rather an extension of Tri-Rail to serve the fast growing area north of West Palm. Hopefully I'll get a chance to check out the FEC next month when taking in a couple spring training games.
CG96 Member # 1408
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ONe minor question here regarding historical Florida service. who had faster service or a larger amount of service between the NE and Florida -- SAL or ACL ?
Of all the railroads offering service to Florida via the FEC (including the ones that came from KC, Detroit, Cincinnati, and Chicago), which one gave the FEC the most traffic ?
ehbowen Member # 4317
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For "faster" or "larger amount" you would have to specify a time period, and perhaps do some digging into SCL's predecessor railroads' books, if such still exist. Suffice it to say that SAL and ACL were always (very!) competitive with regards to frequency and quality of service between the Northeast and Florida, so it's reasonable to assume that the "split" of traffic, if not 50-50, was no more skewed than 60-40 or so.
As regards interchange with the FEC, however, it's a different story. The ACL always had the lions' share of that traffic; Seaboard wasn't even in the picture as they had their own line to South Florida via Wildwood and West Palm Beach. ACL did not; any through trains to Miami traveled FEC right up until the FEC strike of 1963 whereupon they came to an agreement with Seaboard to route them over that line. ACL also handled many of the trains from the Midwest to Florida, such as the South Wind and City of Miami, via their line from Waycross, GA to Jacksonville. So when you look at interchange traffic for/from the FEC at Jacksonville, it is ACL first and last with Southern a very distant second and Seaboard not even running.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Here is a site with helpful information relating to the discussion:
Here is a photo showing the quite non-descript wooden station structure that the FEC called home at Miami. However, we should note that Henry's propagandists worked hard at making the uninformed think the adjacent Dade County Court House was their station.
Ocala Mike Member # 4657
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palmland is right; no more passenger trains on the "S" line now that Gov. Crist has bought into the latest deal with CSX to increase freight traffic over the route. I believe the Amtrak station downtown has now been taken over by a "Shuttleliner" car service to and from MCO.
palmland Member # 4344
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thanks for the link Mr. Norman. I enjoyed the section on ships as much as FL railroads. Especially interested in reading the history on a couple ships I was on many years ago.
rresor Member # 128
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Several things are going on here:
1) Fortress Investments, the new owner of RailAmerica and FEC, is having a major financial meltdown and is reported to be considering dumping both RailAmerica and FEC. So, sure, they'd be interested in selling out -- for the right price.
2) The South Florida East Coast Corridor (SFECC) study is wrapping up. This is a Major Investment Study (MIS) of transportation options in the West Palm -- Miami corridor, focusing on the use of the FEC ROW for light rail or commuter rail service in addition to service now provided by Tri-Rail. The most likely option is a Pompano Beach -- Miami commuter rail service connecting with Tri-Rail at Pompano, and a Tri-Rail extension to Jupiter over FEC.
3) Somewhere in the middle of all this is a possible re-route of one Amtrak train over FEC north of West Palm Beach.
We'll see what actually happens.
amtrak92 Member # 14343
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I think they should put passenger service in, for the reason it will make the line a few hours faster to miami then the inland route.
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