FECI Bringing Private Passenger Rail To Florida By 2014

[duvaldude08]

Well from what Im getting Jacksonville is not included so what is there is get excited about. ? Seems to me NE Florida is left out again as usual.  I cant get excited about a "possiable"extension. Somebody set me straight because Im not excited about this. 

[JFman00]

Well from what Im getting Jacksonville is not included so what is there is get excited about. ? Seems to me NE Florida is left out again as usual.  I cant get excited about a "possiable"extension. Somebody set me straight because Im not excited about this. 

I think hopeful/optimistic would be a reasonable reaction. It's definitely a good impetus to reclaim Union Station.

[cline]

Well from what Im getting Jacksonville is not included so what is there is get excited about. ? Seems to me NE Florida is left out again as usual.  I cant get excited about a "possiable"extension. Somebody set me straight because Im not excited about this. 

The map and article clearly state that it eventually will be extended to Jax if the initial route is successful.

[duvaldude08]

Yeah nothings a guarentee for NE Florida  Well see what happens

[cline]

Yeah nothings a guarentee for NE Florida  Well see what happens

I have not read the feasibility study but perhaps they determined that the ORL-MIA was more feasible to start with in order to insure a greater chance at success.  Those are both large population centers.

[urbaknight]

Blaylock's out?! That's great news! I hope we can get someone in who's NOT connected to local powers that be. A fresh outsider is what we need to move forward. And with this forcast of passenger rail returning to the state, we have time to find the money in order to get the DT station ready.

Those on this site that talked about running for council, please do it. Run, win, and help to make this project a priority. 

[mtraininjax]

Uh, Blaylock is not officially out, and the JTA board has come out and said he will be there for at least 2 years as a consultant. He resigned on his own accord, of course we still have to pay him for his own resignation. It all stinks to high heaven.

FECI line does initially exclude Jax, but that is OK with me. Best to see if they can make it work between Miami and Orlando for now, if it does work, wow, what a great deal that will be to be in Miami faster than you can drive and a lot less than the cost of flight. The current Amtrak route took us 9 hours down and back. We spent more time on the train than in Miami.

[tufsu1]

Uh, Blaylock is not officially out, and the JTA board has come out and said he will be there for at least 2 years as a consultant. He resigned on his own accord, of course we still have to pay him for his own resignation. It all stinks to high heaven.

not quite...the Board saiid he COULD be available as a consultant for up to 2 years...I don't actually expect them to use him

[Jaxson]

This private venture, if successful, could help to spur a new birth for passenger rail.

[thelakelander]

Going back to the model of infrastructure implementation that built this state and country.  Rail mixed with TOD.  We saw this coming a mile away.

The company claims the service “will remove up to three million cars from our roadways annually, mitigating traffic congestion and lowering carbon emissions.” It also promises more than 6,000 new jobs building the line and another 1,000 permanent jobs operating it â€" “not counting additional jobs from property development around the rail system that could create even more employment opportunities.”

That last part might give a clue as to why FECI is interested in this venture when it will be hard pressed to make back the $1 billion it’s investing in the rail service. Druce speculated that the profits could come not from ridership but from the increased value of properties along the line:

While it would run on Florida East Coast Railway track, the announcement was made by their holding company Florida East Coast Industries which describes itself as a major real-estate owner and developer in the state of Florida. Looking into their holdings, we find one very prominent eight acre parcel in downtown Miami that is especially interesting. This used to actually be the location of the FEC Miami station and skirting the northern edge of the property there remains a single tracked FEC line. It also currently possesses an entitlement for up to 2.5 million square feet of mixed use development.

While this area is certainly valuable enough as is, both due to its inherent location as well as its proximity to Metrorail and Metromover stations, the addition of easily accessible intercity rail connections to the rest of the state greatly boosts that value, especially if developed with an eye towards the tourist trade.

Druce told me that running freight to Orlando on its new line will also be a money-maker.

Transit construction is sometimes financed with taxes and fees on property owners and merchants along the route who will benefit from the line, but FECI isn’t trying to demand anything from other property owners. “Increased tax revenues from rising property values near stations can be applied towards local needs (e.g. schools, parks, public works, police and fire protection),” the company said in its announcement.

More info: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2012/03/27/can-a-100-private-passenger-rail-line-turn-a-profit/

Here's the land FEC owns in downtown Miami:

[tufsu1]

also note that MetroRail parallels the site in the picture above....and MetroMover cuts through it

[acme54321]

Too bad they don't own a similar piece of land in San Marco or DT.

I wonder if they still have the ROW into the JEA Southbank property?

[thelakelander]

JTA and COJ own half of LaVilla. There's a lot of TOD that could go up around a compact JRTC.

[acme54321]

JTA and COJ own half of LaVilla. There's a lot of TOD that could go up around a compact JRTC.

Yeah but if FECI already had property railside in DT Jax somewhere that could be developed into TOD it might give them an incentive to run the line to Jax sooner than later. 

[mtraininjax]

not quite...the Board saiid he COULD be available as a consultant for up to 2 years...I don't actually expect them to use him

They are stilllllll paying him though for another year, so why not use him as a consultant. Strip decision making power from him, but use his experience at the very least. I know how much we love him as a leader, but really, does it make you feel better to know we are paying him $287,000 well into 2013 for him to work a 2nd job? Nice double-dipping. Put his butt to work, somehow. Maybe he could drive a bus?