Why Cocoa mayor wants AAF trains, cargo hub

[thelakelander]

Q: You have spoken in favor of the proposed All Aboard Florida high-speed passenger train service. It's controversial with some people who are concerned about potential noise and traffic delays. But you see it as a positive. Explain.

Parrish: I don't like the name — I'd rather it be called "FEC Resumes Passenger Service," which they stopped doing in the late 1960s.

Cocoa and probably every place on the east coast of Florida was affected by Henry Flagler, who ran the rail all the way down to the Keys. Our communities are built on Henry Flagler's railroad, the Florida East Coast Railway.

How I thought about it was, I'll support it because I know what it could do for my city.

My family — my grandfather and great uncle — contracted with FEC back in 1931 to haul out all their fruit. They had a problem sending it up to New York City on ships because it would spoil. So, they hired FEC, and it ran their fruit for 50 years. They started employing people because of it and Central Florida exploded.

So, I felt comfortable talking to them.

When you talk to these guys, they're spending their own money, they want to do it right. They're trying to do everything they can to make this a model train system for the world.

I could have fought them. But they've owned the tracks for 125 years. The federal government has special laws that protect them. Ultimately, we can't stop them.

Full article: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/opinion/columnists/matt-reed/2015/04/30/matt-reed-cocoa-mayor-wants-trains-cargo-hub/26577323/