Sad day for rail: Orlando commuter rail deal dead

[JeffreyS]

Ok I just emailed my reps in Tally and some encouragement to the Governor to keep up the good fight. It seems as though there is a bunch of pressure from many places to get this done.  So maybe this is one of those times we can help add to the pressure with a letter by Metro Jacksonville we members could each sign and each send a copy to our legislature.

[Ocklawaha]

Is this our Commuter Rail future?

Try to imagine the railroads prospective. From a industry that was written off as dead just 30 years ago, to one that is again soaring to the top of the transportation ranks. Trouble is, during those years, and the 30 or so before that, the railroads begain to cut back on everything. Thousands of miles were abandoned, branchlines and whole railroads vanished into dust and weeds. Then suddenly business resurged and doubled, trippled and shows no end... What to do with what is left has become the critical equasion.


Long the bane of Jacksonville, the Skyway never looked better then it did when the news on Commuter Rail was announced yesterday. Perhaps we'll finally have the chance to redeem a terrible mistake and build ourselves a model system.


It's as if you owned a family chain of "Dollar Stores". Just for the sake of ideals here lets say the Five and Dime stores were dying off nationwide. You hung on, bought out the remains of a local group and started a whole new marketing plan. Boom! Business suddenly exploded, you went from 8 stores to 28 stores in 7 Northeast Florida Counties. Your income is in the millions and you've attracted the interest of big box retailers everywhere. Suddenly, as if by magic, the state of Florida passes a strange new social medical plan. The Leadership in Jacksonville and the North Florida counties have decided they fall far short of the required number of pharmacys in order to qualify under the states new medical plan. YOU are informed that Tallahassee and Jacksonville as well as a group of local towns have decided to place a CVS Pharmacy department in every one of your stores. You MUST make space for them, within your regular business. Oh the State is going to pay you for it, but with business busting at the seams, it hardly seems possible. We'll even toss in some new stores over near highway 301 says Tallahassee. This ought to balance the business space you lose down in Orange Park and Palatka. Oh and by the way, if a CVS customer falls in your doorway, its YOUR FAULT, YOU PAY! Off you go to the attorneys, soon they are taking the fight to the capitol itself. "PLEASE UNDERSTAND" you beg, "We want to help, we just don't see why we should pay... Can't we split the costs? What if our store catches fire? Will we have to pay for the losses over at CVS? That hardly seems fair either..."


With Light Rail Technology and Skyways, Jacksonville is at an advantage. The City already owns enough right-of-way and track to give us a great start and we don't even have to bother the railroads! No other Florida City has such a position.


Therein lays the problem in a nut-shell. We need to understand what we're asking CSX to do, we need to understand we are asking for the virtual abandonment of 150 miles of 79 mile per hour railroad. At the same time we are all ticked off because the railroad is moving things around with a "windfall" of money from the taxpayers. WINDFALL? or more like DEADFALL! This knife will be felt for years to come within the industry and the quicker Florida gets it and swallows it's own Transit Dead medicine in locating a cure, the better for Orlando, Lakeland, Winter Haven, Tampa and most of all for JACKSONVILLE!

Ocklawaha

[thelakelander]

I would be suprised if it is really dead.  There are too many political big wigs behind it.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks.

2008 LEGISLATIVE SESSION: THE FINAL DAY

Train wreck: Hopes for Orlando-area commuter rail dashed on last day of legislative session

$300M in fed funds could be lost; $41M spent on planning

Dan Tracy

Aaron Deslatte and Jay Hamburg, Sentinel Staff Writers

May 3, 2008


Central Florida might have lost more than a 61-mile commuter-rail system Friday when the Florida Legislature failed to approve the train that would have run from DeLand to Orlando and Poinciana.

Also gone could be the state's plans to add four extra lanes to Interstate 4 from Kirkman Road to State Road 434, more than $300 million in federal money set aside for commuter rail and relief from the daily parade of slow-moving freight trains that back up traffic in downtown Orlando.

Federal, state and local governments already have spent $41.2 million on the $1.2 billion project to run along CSX rail lines.

"It's incomprehensible that this region will be handing money back," Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty said. "Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth."

Crotty and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer called on Gov. Charlie Crist and lawmakers to hold a special session to reconsider.

"I think there's a lot of sentiment to ask the governor and the [Senate] president and [House] speaker to call a special session on this issue," Dyer said.

But legislators were in no mood to keep going.

"We just wrapped up the regular session. So it's way too early," said Rep. Dean Cannon, R- Winter Park, a key leader in the House. "We'll have to look at that in the coming weeks."

Earlier, state lawmakers ignored a not-too-subtle threat Friday from U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, ranking Republican on the powerful U.S. House Committee on Transportation.

Mica, who was instrumental in winning federal money for the project, e-mailed and faxed a letter to Tallahassee, saying "it is absolutely imperative that the Legislature grant final approval to proceed with the Central Florida Commuter Rail project. . . . Inaction by the Legislature on this project will significantly damage Florida's credibility and standing on every future project that requires federal authorization."


'We'll find a way to prevail'

Late Friday, Mica said from Washington that he would come to Orlando on Monday and vowed to keep fighting.

"I'm in no way deterred by the setback," he said. "I think it's temporary. I think we'll find a way."

If need be, he said, "we'll put a little heat on people around the state. We'll find a way to prevail."

CSX spokesman Gary Sease said the railroad was disappointed because the "transaction with the state will not go forward this year, and regrettably, it does not appear that commuter rail will be available in Central Florida."

The contract with the state doesn't expire until summer 2009, but CSX has the ability to opt out if funding doesn't materialize.

Transportation experts say commuter rail is crucial to plans to add two special-use lanes in each direction on I-4 from Longwood to International Drive. Widening of I-4 was slated to start within a couple of years. But the construction would cause so many traffic tie-ups that officials were counting on people using the train to alleviate the backups.

Roger Neiswender, transportation director for Orlando, said there is nowhere else to move the cars because other major roads, including U.S. Highways 441 and 17-92, already are jammed. The beltway that encircles much of Greater Orlando is too remote to help commuters heading downtown.

"What do you see as the alternative? I don't see one," Neiswender said.

The commuter-rail project was designed to provide service from Volusia to Osceola counties. It would provide traffic relief from CSX freight trains by rerouting them west of the city during the day.

The rerouting, however, would add at least four more freight trains through Lakeland, and that provoked the anger and opposition of many who live or work around downtown Lakeland, including Republican Sen. Paula Dockery.


'Let's not play this game'

A last-ditch effort by Central Florida lawmakers to keep the project alive sparked harsh emotions Friday in the Senate.

Sen. Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami, took the floor to accuse unnamed lawmakers of trying to arm-twist her into letting the commuter-rail deal be added to an otherwise routine study of I-95. Bullard forced senators to sit and listen as she unleashed a series of complaints, ranging from failing to be recognized to speak during testimonials to Democratic and Republican leaders to hard-nosed tactics tied to the commuter-rail plan.

"To use a person the way I've been used all day and all night, I don't appreciate it," Bullard said. "Why play games like this? Let's not play this game of choo-choo."

Even Crist got involved late in the day when he unsuccessfully offered a two-week moratorium this summer on the state gas tax as a lure to bring in reluctant senators and reach the two-thirds majority needed to bring the bill to the floor.

Lawmakers and local government backers conceded they underestimated the pressure Florida's trial-lawyer association and unions would bring to bear on tentative legislators.

Rep. Darren Soto, D- Kissimmee, had helped hold together Democratic votes in the House when the chamber passed the plan earlier this week, but he said trial lawyers were picking off votes "left and right" throughout the day.

"It's clear to me that CSX . . . and the others who wanted this deal thought they could roll over us, because they never dealt with us seriously," said Paul Jess, the Florida Justice Association's general counsel.

Late Friday, former Gov. Jeb Bush, whose administration negotiated the deal with CSX, said he, too, was saddened by the Legislature's decision.

"I am disappointed for Central Florida," he said in an e-mail. "We need transportation corridors intrastate as well as in our regions to enhance the quality of life for Floridians. I hope the action of the Legislature does not kill one such idea."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-csx0308may03,0,1457956.story

[Ocklawaha]

My Crystal Ball...??

I agree Lake, as I said, take the medicine... I give it a week, maybe two, and we'll be back on track. But not before JTA will publish something dumb about rail not working in Jacksonville...

Ocklawaha

[JeffreyS]

Perhaps Lakeland will win some considerations to address their concerns to get this deal done.  They have legit concerns but it seems like they might benefit more than anyone if commuter rail is added through out central Florida.

Do the trial lawyers oppose this project hopping for accident they can litigate?

JTA, everything is an opportunity if Central Florida drops the ball we should try to steal that funding.

[thelakelander]

Unlike Jax, Lakeland's officials  WANT commuter rail to serve their city.  However, the Orlando proposal would eliminate the possibility of commuter rail ever coming to downtown Lakeland.

[thelakelander]

Its not dead yet.  A special session will be held for commuter rail and Mica believes last week's setback will only result in a six month delay.

John Mica has just announced that President Bush will sign a transportation bill, next week, which will secure federal funds for the project for another year. Mica is supremely confident that commuter rail will go forward and projects no more than a six month delay in the start-up date.

[JeffreyS]

Is Lakeland trying to be included in the deal, get a bypass or just get this scraped?  Perhaps they have a plan of their own. I know the freight has to go somewhere is this just a deal where a loser must be chosen?

[thelakelander]

A this point its more about politics than it is about rail traffic in Lakeland or commuter rail in Orlando.  If Lakeland had their way, they would prefer a commuter rail link with both Tampa and Orlando, along with a freight bypass.  Most likely, they'll get neither.

[Ocklawaha]

Commuter Rail from St. Petersburg - Clearwater - Tampa - Lakeland - Orlando - Winter Park - Sanford - Deland is very logical. Fact is, CSX has a bypass which has mainline rail and in many places is excellent track. It runs from Tampa through Bartow to West Lake Wales, where it would join the Miami line just south of the new intermodal center. As Lakelander pointed out, there is a short plug removed from this at the far east end, but with that replaced, the freight could roll right past this whole mess. It did in the past, in fact this little known line was once part of the Seaboard EAST-WEST cut-off between Miami and Tampa and hosted cross Florida passenger trains (at speeds we only dream of today).


The tunnels under Jax Union Station may be gone but, Don't let em fool you
FDOT, this track COULD handle anything we toss at it!

Ocklawaha

[thelakelander]

Commuter rail far from dead, Mica and Dyer vow

Central Florida commuter-rail supporters are preparing to spend as much as $52 million in the next year to keep their plan on track, despite the Legislature's rejection of the deal last week.

"The project is alive and well," U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, said Monday.

The $52 million would be used to buy right of way around stations and to design rail cars, signals and stations. Half would come from federal funds, and the other 50 percent would be split evenly between state and local sources.

Already, more than $41 million has been spent on the project.

Mica said the state and federal money is there. The local partners -- Orlando and Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties -- are expected to decide whether to commit to the spending at a meeting Friday.

Several elected officials from those governments sounded positive Monday during a news conference with Mica.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, chairman of the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission, said the project would benefit many regions.

"We stand undeterred," Dyer said.

Mica said that as the planning continues, he and others will initiate a "public education campaign" to explain the need for the project, which would run from DeLand to Orlando to Poinciana. The total cost is estimated at about $1.2 billion.

Supporters hope the Legislature, either in a special session or its regular session next year, will approve the deal that foundered in Tallahassee last week over legal-liability questions.

On Monday, Mica made a thinly veiled threat to opponents.

He noted that he is the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Transportation Committee that also includes U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville.

"I don't know if you've ever gotten on the wrong side of Mr. Mica and Ms. Brown," Mica said. "But I'm telling you that you don't want to go there."

The local governments all unanimously approved the project, but it also required the Legislature's approval for insurance-liability limits. And that ran into stern resistance in the Senate.

Without that agreement on insurance liability, the CSX freight-train company would not sell the 61 miles of track to the state. But there is still time to reach agreement.

The company's contract runs through June 30, 2009, and a spokesman said CSX does not have any plans to pull out of the deal.

Mica, however, noted that the earliest the first leg could open now would likely be in 2011, instead of 2010.

Last week, Mica and others suggested a special session might be necessary to get the needed approval.

On Monday, however, he said the project would survive without calling the legislators back to Tallahassee this year.

Before rail backers could realistically hope to have a special session in Tallahassee, they would need to address concerns raised by unions and trial lawyers who successfully opposed it this spring.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-rail0608may06,0,2608261.story

[Lunican]

It's alive: Mica won't let rail die
The Daytona Beach News Journal (FL)
By Pamela Hasterok
May 8, 2008

The little train that could has crashed, but the local congressman that set it on the tracks is still chugging away.

Central Florida would have no plans for commuter rail if not for U.S. Rep. John Mica.

Because of him, it has $310 million pledged from the federal government and another half a billion from the state for a train from DeLand to Osceola County.

The Legislature refused to exempt a private train contractor from legal claims, all but ending the deal to run a train down 61 miles of CSX track in two and a half years.

Mica is undeterred.

He secured a continuing commitment from CSX. He got the state Department of Transportation to go forward with the project, promising to keep designing the stations and routes and keep buying land for parking. He corralled assurances from the federal authorities to hold the money for Central Florida for a year. And he did it over the weekend.

By his projections, the only damage the recalcitrant Legislature did to the $1.2 billion train is to delay its opening six months.

Before we go any further, it has to be said how rancorous and ridiculous, how selfish and shortsighted lawmakers were to jeopardize Florida's first mass transit project in 20 years.

Don't they know gas is going to reach $4 a gallon next month? Didn't they read that Central Florida is the fourth most congested region in the country? Don't they see that if they rebuff Congress' generous offer this time, it won't be forthcoming next time?

It wasn't enough to nitpick commuter rail to death. Lawmakers also ruined it for the one long-distance commuter train in Florida, Tri-Rail, and endangered the widening of I-4 in Orange County. Tri-Rail passengers won't get updated trains and expanded service; I-4 drivers most likely won't have extra lanes to ease their stop-and-start commute.

To return Central Florida's train to the tracks, Mica and its supporters have to build a coalition stronger than the opposition mounted by trial lawyers and legislators from the Lakeland-Tampa region.

Tampa lawmakers belatedly realize their resistance delayed hopes for their own train. If they ever want to ride the rails east, they'll have to aid Central Florida first.

"If you push Central Florida back and it doesn't get a (train), then there's no possibility of a project linking Tampa to Orlando," Mica said. Losing the commuter rail "wouldn't just be a disaster for Central Florida, it would be a disaster for the state."

That's particularly true for South Florida. If its lawmakers ever want to improve that region's well-used but inadequate rail service, they'll have to help Central Florida get its train up and running.

[JeffreyS]

Northeast Florida needs to remember to recruit John Mica after we get over the BRT nonsense and try to have our own mass transit.

[thelakelander]

CSX still trying to sell track to state

The state Legislature may not have signed off on CSX Corp.'s deal with the state to sell 61 miles of track in Central Florida for a commuter rail system, but that doesn't mean the project is dead.

Although CSX officials late Friday may have been reading the last rites on the proposed $650 million project, they were getting full steam behind the project Monday.

In a letter dated May 5 addressed to Gov. Charlie Crist, U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Florida, and U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Florida, the president and CEO of the rail line was saying that commuter rail and a proposed terminal in Winter Haven were far from being scrapped.

"CSX remains agreeable to working with state, federal and local officials to provide a cost effective solution for commuter rail in Orlando ...," Michael Ward wrote.

And, saying the terminal in Winter Haven represents an "important economic stimulus to Polk County," the project was proceeding, Ward writes in the letter.

http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2008/05/05/daily23.html?jst=b_ln_hl

[JeffreyS]

Rail Group Says It Will Consider Lakeland
By JAY HAMBURG
ORLANDO SENTINEL

   
Members of the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission said Friday they want to reach out to Lakeland, home to some of the most vocal critics of the controversial train system now lingering in legislative limbo.
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The move was not presented as a major new strategy in plans to build a commuter-rail system from DeLand through Orlando to Poinciana. But it signaled a new desire to deal with those who worry that the project would re-route too many noisy freight trains through the Polk County city.

"We will initiate conversations to make sure we can get everybody satisfied," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who heads the four-county commission that would operate the rail line. "I think everyone needs to be engaged."

Despite his offering of an olive branch, Dyer also noted that Lakeland was complaining about going from 16 to 20 freight trains a day.

"We currently in downtown Orlando have 21 freight trains that run through Orlando, so I'm not sure that is quite as onerous as it was being made out to be," he said.

Some Lakeland residents, however, fear that the number of trains could increase to more than 50. Julie Townsend, head of the Downtown Lakeland Partnership, could not be reached for comment.

Friday's meeting of the Central Florida Rail Commission comes just a week after the $1.2 billion project suffered a setback in the Florida Legislature. It did not OK an essential insurance-liability package.

To help ease concerns in Polk County, officials with the Florida Department of Transportation said the agency recently had begun a study to see what options exist to put commuter rail in Polk County and to move tracks in Lakeland.

Several at the meeting called the Central Florida project a potential spark for other projects that could connect to the 61-mile system.

"This is not just about our commuter rail now," said Tawny Olore, FDOT commuter-rail project manager. "This is about moving rail forward in the state of Florida.

"If we're not successful with our legislation, then in the future Jacksonville won't be, nor will Tampa."

U.S. Rep. John Mica, R- Winter Park, assured the panel that $300 million in federal funding remains secure. He said he's talking to state and local officials about the need for rail and the need to solve issues of liability on the commuter-rail tracks.

CSX has said it won't sell the 61 miles of tracks without an insurance agreement similar to one already in place with Tri-Rail in South Florida.

"We'll try to build strong support and better understanding," said Mica, who addressed the meeting by phone.

All the local partners agreed that they would continue to spend money on planning for the train system - a total of $52 million in the coming year. Already, about $41 million has been spent on commuter-rail planning.

During the past couple of weeks, Mica and others have hinted that there might be a chance to resolve the insurance issue through some federal means, but they've offered no details.

The contract with CSX is good for another year, so commuter-rail supporters could push for a special session or wait for the Legislature to approve the deal during its regular session next year.

The governments of Orange, Osceola, Volusia and Seminole counties and Orlando voted unanimously last year to support the project that would cost $615 million to build. Half of that would be paid for from federal funds and half would be split between the state and local sources.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20080511/NEWS/805110385