HATE RAIL? Florida HSR would have been a train wreck with powerful enemies

[Ocklawaha]

Just came across another professionals article on High Speed Rail, and why he, like John Mica and myself agrees that the Florida HSR plan was a train wreck waiting to happen. The funniest part of all of this is the same old group of players who brought down America's vast electric railroad, interurban and streetcar line network is at it again. This just stresses the fact that the first HSR rail line MUST be a smashing success. It was that success or failure that had me communicate to the governor to kill it.

How to salvage Obama’s high-speed rail ‘disaster’
Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt calls the rail plan â€" target of a coordinated attack by the Right â€" “a complete catastrophe,” and tells where the nation should focus.

Author:
Philip Langdon

With segments of the rail plan now cancelled in Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and with some federal funding revoked by Congressional Republicans this month, Babbitt thinks we must approach rail planning much more strategically than the Obama administration did.

Of the president’s stated aim â€" provision of high-speed rail service to 80 percent of the American population in 25 years â€" Babbitt declared, “It’s fantasy.”

In his view, the Obama plan suffers from these critical flaws:

• Routes were  poorly chosen. The Orlando-to-Tampa line â€" 84 miles mostly in an Interstate highway corridor â€" would have run from one city that’s “not a model of transit” to another city with the same transit deficiency. Said Babbitt: “Frankly, it’s not surprising that the governor of Florida [when offered 90 percent of the funds to construct the line] turned it down.”

• Goals were defined vaguely. They were not hammered out through extensive discussion and political brokering â€" activities essential, in Babbitt’s judgment, to the program’s success.

• “The president didn’t help his visionary statement by holding up the transcontinental railroad as a model.” One-hundred-forty million acres were distributed to railroads through that post-Civil War enterprise, which led to the Crédit Mobilier scandal â€" “one of the largest government-sponsored fraudulent ventures of all time.”

OCK NOTE: In the Federal Application there is a question, "why build this project?" One of the several reasons given was: "because its fun." The route was bad, the station locations worse, ridership numbers ridiculous and it would take that train longer to travel from Tampa to Miami then a regular Amtrak train at 90 mph on a more direct route.  Makes you wonder if any of those planners ever drove Alligator Alley?  Does anyone besides me smell a mouse in all of this?

Resistance from the Right

Ambitious rail plans have been subjected to a fierce campaign of disparagement in recent months. The Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, and the Reason Foundation have worked particularly hard to defeat the Obama rail plan, Todorovich told the gathering of about 30 journalists from around the country.

For companies that profit from the highway system and automobile-reliant means of transportation, the libertarian or conservative foundations have proven to be useful torch-bearers. SourceWatch, part of the Center for Media and Democracy, reports that Ford Motor, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell Oil, and the Western States Petroleum Association have been among the donors to the Reason Foundation. David H. Koch of Koch Industries,  once described by the Center for Public Integrity as "the biggest oil company you have never heard of," is a Reason trustee.

SourceWatch says Chevron, ExxonMobil, and the auto-maker Honda have been among Heritage’s contributors, though corporate donations to Heritage are small when compared than those made by individuals and foundations. Over the years, Heritages backers in the foundation world have included the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and three Scaife foundations.

Cato, founded by Edward H. Crane and Charles Koch, has over the years received donations from corporate supporters including the American Petroleum Institute, ExxonMobil, General Motors, Honda North America, Toyota, Volkswagen of America, and Wal-Mart Stores, according to SourceWatch.

OCK NOTE: Jacksonville's streetcar system (AND 45 OTHERS) was sold out by Motor Transit which was a subsidiary of National City Lines which was a subsidiary of: Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California (now Chevron Corporation), Phillips Petroleum (now part of ConocoPhillips), General Motors, Mack Trucks.

Nonetheless, Todorovich thinks rail projects can gain considerable support from the populace and some of it from Republicans who hold elective office.  After the new governor of Florida, Rick Scott, rejected $2.4 billion in federal funds for the Orlando-Tampa rail route, 24 states, including 11 with Republican governors, applied for portions of the money that Florida gave up.

In the case of interstate highways, “Babbitt maintained, the only way we got clarity was through federal legislation,” and that’s the only way to nail down a high-speed program for the Eastern seaboard

OCK NOTE: Remember the Federal plan to extend the Northeast Corridor to FLORIDA. So in the broader meaning of this is SOUTHEAST HIGH SPEED RAIL, and Jacksonville will benefit first.

Like Babbitt and like Rep. John Mica, the Florida Republican who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Todorovich thinks “we ought to invest first in the places with the greatest ridership ... the greatest chance of success.”

That strategy favors the Northeast Corridor, which has been the subject of three recent studies â€" a Northeast Corridor Infrastructure Master Plan prepared in May 2010 by representatives of 12 states, Amtrak, and other entities; a separate Amtrak design report; and a University of Pennsylvania study that was presented to no less than Vice President Joseph Biden.

On the bright side, she noted that Rep. Mica has been bringing members of his committee â€" some of whom represent rural areas â€" to urban locales to improve their understanding of passenger rail networks and the places they serve.  Babbitt’s proposal for a Northeast-focused federal rail act is “a great idea,” she said, adding that it “would have to be matched by federal funding.”

To obtain the maximum benefits from better rail service, “there needs to be a concerted strategy around stations,” Todorovich said. “It works best in center cities.”

OCK NOTE: Which is why Orlando's location would have failed. In this country rail travel tends to be regional and is usually a choice between a drive or a train. So most of your passenger base must come from the area around the stations, and that includes travelers who are staying temporarily in the area.  If a family wants to go from Orlando to Tampa it's a choice of driving or train, flying plays no real part in the decision process and if the train is troublesome to get to they'll drive. Orlando already has the PERFECT HSR station and it's found on Church Street.

Nonetheless, Todorovich thinks rail projects can gain considerable support from the populace and some of it from Republicans who hold elective office.  After the new governor of Florida, Rick Scott, rejected $2.4 billion in federal funds for the Orlando-Tampa rail route, 24 states, including 11 with Republican governors, applied for portions of the money that Florida gave up.

OCK NOTE: So SORRY for Orlando-Tampa-Miami, but its time for us to reopen Jacksonville Terminal and get ready for it, because buddy, it's headed our way. Florida's most powerful politicians seem to understand that if you are going to sell ice cubes to Eskimos, you'll have to do it one cube at a time.

All quotes in this post are from: http://newurbannetwork.com/article/how-salvage-obama%E2%80%99s-high-speed-rail-%E2%80%98disaster%E2%80%99-14561


OCKLAWAHA

[Ocklawaha]

The REAL Church Street Station in downtown Orlando. Local Transit would be less of a problem and this is where Sunrail will intersect Orange Blossom Express Commuter Rail...oh, and that track? Amtrak too!

...And just before the governor was elected "The Transport Politic" had this to say...

But the East Coast Corridor has a number of issues an order of magnitude more difficult to overcome if the state expects to get service between Jacksonville and Miami. In December 2009, the state called an emergency legislative session to ensure the future of the SunRail system (and guarantee itself federal funding for intercity rail), in which it agreed to assume all liabilities for train accidents along the route from track owner and freight rail operator CSX. This was a bit of a giveaway to that company, since it will force the state to take responsibility for any problems that occur on the line, even if they’re the fault of CSX
source: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/05/03/amtrak-studies-florida-east-coast-railway-service-as-state-advances-high-speed-rail/

Sound like a familiar voice?

OCKLAWAHA

[Ocklawaha]

A Mr. Cox, a self expressed authority on any Federal or State project and an avowed enemy of the railroad passenger industry, pointed some of the major defects in Florida High Speed Rail.  In the process did he inadvertently guarantee passenger rail expansion?

Fundamentally, Mr. Cox argues that the state should enter into an agreement with a private builder and operator that would ensure that Florida taxpayers are not stuck with construction cost overruns or operations losses. If high-speed rail projects around the world have been operationally profitable, so should the Tampa-Orlando line, and private corporations should be able to accept the risk in buying train cars and beginning services, especially since the project’s construction costs are entirely covered by the federal and state governments.

That last point speaks volumes about the "real" projections of Florida HSR. If it would make a profit like the State had promised, then why are there not dozens of companies financing and building it? The fact is when the State government left the project high and dry, the "would-be" conquerors of High Speed in the USA jumped off the ship like the proverbial drowning rats. Absolute FACT: This project would fail to meet ridership or income projections in what would have been known as the biggest boondoggle in state government history. Mention this to any supporter of the project and they'll come back with, "All those operators were willing to take that risk because they knew that would make them the premiere HSR choice in all future projects." BINGO! If this project failed miserably; what other projects? This would have shut up and shut down all proponents of advanced passenger rail in America, the industry would suffer sticker shock forever, something we certainly don't need.

The favor? Because of Mr. Cox, Rick Scott and other like them in Florida, sensible rapid rail expansion is assured.


OCKLAWAHA

[Jaxson]

I have been begging for a more direct rail route between Jacksonville and Miami.  I just wonder if there will be any progress in the near future.  I have given my input to various agencies and groups.  I have written a commentary for Folio Weekly.  I even asked Alex Sink about it when she was at an Orange Park campaign stop (Ms. Sink, by the way didn't seem to know much about the FEC route and did not seem very interested because she quickly shifted the subject to the Tampa-Orlando corridor)...

[Ocklawaha]

That was an ominous gesture on her part, it seems that most of the supporters of the TPA-ORL corridor HSR project have no use for Amtrak, Tri-Rail or for Sunrail.  In fact many of them tried to turn the whole fight into a Sunrail-vs-HSR contest doing everything in their power to stop progress on the other projects, ignoring rails typical competitors. But then the whole project depended on "landing" their trains at an airport.

OCKLAWAHA

[JeffreyS]

Well we need to concentrate now on local rail and the FEC Amtrak.  The first HSR Florida will see is Atlanta to Jax via Savanna but that is in the very early stages.

Streetcar Now! (issue bomb blowing up)

[Ocklawaha]

Unless Georgia is as transportation dumb as Florida has always been, it will be ATL-JAX via JSP...  Frankly we should be involved with the cities of VALDOSTA, ADEL, TIFTON, and CORDELE, to aim the entire train on that route, which by the way is almost to the mile the same length but it would carry more traffic from I-75 and I-10 then a route from Jesup will remove from I-95. BRING BACK THE STREETCARS AND THE ROYAL PALM.

OCKLAWAHA

[Gators312]

The FEC has a daily train that is assembled in Fort Lauderdale and runs along its 351-mile right-of-way to Jacksonville, according to its website.

Read more: Port Everglades prepares for Florida East Coast yard | Jacksonville Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2011/06/14/port-everglades-gets-ok-to-negotiate.html

Does the increased freight running on the FEC line, especially Post-Panamax, negatively impact passenger rail from JAX to MIA?

[thelakelander]

No.  Capacity (ex. extra track) would be increased for passenger rail.

[Ocklawaha]

On a single track railroad like the FEC, a train must move from passing siding to passing siding. According to orders from the dispatcher the train will be stopped and held to meet a train passing in the opposite direction, or to be overtaken by a superior train. (superior would loosely be defined as a train of produce meets a train of builders sand... produce wins) That's a big chunk of how these things are planned. Total time in transit would therefore mean time in the railroad yard, time moving, time sitting and waiting for another train, and delay time by getting behind a slow moving freight that hasn't gotten into the hole (siding). These trains must be separated by 'headways' which means my train cannot enter a track segment by passing a red signal tripped by your train which is running ahead of me in the same direction. 'Tailgating' will get you killed, understand that a 50 car freight train can easily weigh 10 MILLION POUNDS. Momentum: mass x velocity= Inertia. So the distance and time between trains will be measured in miles. The headway thus becomes one of the most important problems to be solved.

A whole new type of dispatching can be created with Positive Train Control, called precision dispatching. While it won't expand capacity and might even reduce it slightly, it will create a virtual cyber-railroad that can be used to narrow those headways, and to give consistency to the flow of traffic. It should save time and dollars as this new precision dispatching allows shippers to reduce stock on their shelves and thus save money, some of which makes it into your wallet. An example of the payoff can be seen in a drive along Roosevelt Blvd. and counting all of the industries and warehouses backed up to the CSX. Your next chore is do the same thing on the Florida East Coast along Philips Highway, who wins? FEC has PTC and CSX hasn't

The good news is the Florida East Coast is a testbed for PTC having it in operation for several years. We couldn't ask for a better piece of railroad on which to operate commuter rail, Amtrak and freight trains. Bottom line? The FEC can and will handle it and any additional passing sidings or a second track will only make it better. The FEC is a racetrack with no thoroughbreds in the stable... yet.


OCKLAWAHA