Jacksonville-Miami rail project rejected

[CS Foltz]

stjr................your right! Classic example of exactly what you refer to "Do as I say, not as I do"! Or maybe they know something that we don't..............like not in my life time buddy!

[JeffreyS]

This is also a potentially HUGE boon for St. Augustine.  Tourists regularly fly into JIA and rent cars to visit St. Augustine.  If the Amtrak line was implemented and a link to JIA and the St. Aug airport was built, tourists would have a much more pleasant time and be able to enjoy the trip virtually car free.  Forthermore, with the 400th anniversary of St. Augustine comming up in 2015 it would be a massive plus for the area's tourism and help visitors experience mose of the first coast.

If "if's and but's" were candy and nuts, we would all have a Merry Christmas!

Too many If's. You're grasping, St. Augustine is fine the way it is, it does not need rail to define itself. Seems to have grown just fine without it.

Here is your one constant sentiment in your posts. It is fine so we should sit on our hands.  Well just like you are happy with your BMW so we should ignore transit, I am happy with my son's private school so we should ignore education.  I know you care about that issue so I am hoping that statement will turn the light on for you about how sad the it is fine way of living is.

[NthDegree]

All aboard down here in St. Augustine. We're pretty much a bunch of rail-huggers. What about you guys up in Jax, want to get onboard?             

http://staugustine.com/opinions/2010-02-07/passenger-rail-sputtering-pipe-dream

[CS Foltz]

Dude.............been trying to get a train started here in Jax for several years now............still standing with our thumbs  out!

[Jason]

This is also a potentially HUGE boon for St. Augustine.  Tourists regularly fly into JIA and rent cars to visit St. Augustine.  If the Amtrak line was implemented and a link to JIA and the St. Aug airport was built, tourists would have a much more pleasant time and be able to enjoy the trip virtually car free.  Forthermore, with the 400th anniversary of St. Augustine comming up in 2015 it would be a massive plus for the area's tourism and help visitors experience mose of the first coast.

If "if's and but's" were candy and nuts, we would all have a Merry Christmas!

Too many If's. You're grasping, St. Augustine is fine the way it is, it does not need rail to define itself. Seems to have grown just fine without it.

Here is your one constant sentiment in your posts. It is fine so we should sit on our hands.  Well just like you are happy with your BMW so we should ignore transit, I am happy with my son's private school so we should ignore education.  I know you care about that issue so I am hoping that statement will turn the light on for you about how sad the it is fine way of living is.

St. Augustine does need rail.  Just as rail is EXACTLY what defined St. Augustine as an international destination.  Without Flagler and the FEC rail line, St. Aug would likely be dressed up version of modern LaVilla.  All of the best architecture (save the fort) is the result of Flagler and his mega resorts tied to the rail line.  Why would it be silly to want some of that back?  What is wrong with transit oriented growth in a historic city built around transit?

Bring the rail back and watch St. Augustine blossom.

[Ocklawaha]

If it were me doing the project, I'd milk every nickle I could get out of the government to get their damn roads off my railroad track. This might be the single biggest stumbling block as the FEC is VERY URBAN for almost it's entire length. They only have about a zillion too many crossings at grade. Consolidate them, close many, over-pass on the busiest. This doesn't have to be complete to run the trains, but as speed increases, it would be the wise course.

Ock, I don't think FEC helped their case by allowing their own Flagler office park sub to put in an additional crossing at US1 south of St. Augustine Road.  Do as I say, not as I do?  Shouldn't we lead by example? 

It isn't a 100% rail carrier decision, when a developer builds a new space, the plans on how to tap into the local transportation network are/or can be City, County, State, USDOT, and FRA approved. Of course in this case the carrier owns the development company, but it won't change the rules on tapping US-1. Overall, the railroad/s are working to kill as many crossings as possible, or to equip every crossing with a full 4-quadrant crossing arm and signal application. 

Here in town the railroad sought and got permission to close the Landon Avenue crossing on the Southbank. This was where the original South Jacksonville railroad depot sat NE of the crossing. With passenger trains long gone (having quit South Jacksonville about 1963, long before the rest of the route) there was no justification to maintain two points of potential contact between automobiles and railroad in this area. As a result, the money awarded for closing crossings (Federal) was used to better Atlantic Avenue and the Florida East Coast crossing. Kind of interesting as THIS is where the next SOUTH JACKSONVILLE station should be.

OCKLAWAHA

[north miami]

See the Miami Herald *- Carl Hiaasen's very negative outlook in his current editorial piece
                                "Fast Trains Are Cool.........But Very Expensive"

*(Perhaps a MJ participant more computer astute than I can paste Carl's writings)

[NthDegree]

Still more boarding the train:

http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2010-02-12/gov-crist-announces-his-support-jax-miami-line

Somebody needs to start a new thread titled "Miami-Jax rail NOT rejected"