Metro Jacksonville

Sources: State talking to FEC about running Tri-Rail; cutting Tri-Rail board out of talks
A Palm Beach Post exclusive
ByJoel Engelhardt and John Kennedy
Updated: 7:43 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011

The state has been in secret talks to transfer the operations of the South Florida commuter rail line, Tri-Rail, to the Florida East Coast Railway, The Palm Beach Post has learned.

The FEC, owned by the $44 billion capital management firm Fortress Investment Group, wants to provide passenger service on its line, which cuts through downtowns along the southeast coast. Tri-Rail operates on the CSX Railway farther to the west.

Negotiations have been so quiet that even Tri-Rail board members have not been informed.

"This has been so cloak and dagger the way this is all working out," said Tri-Rail board Chairwoman Kristin Jacobs, a Broward County commissioner. "We've never had dealings with another public agency where we were not at the table."

The talks have been led by the Florida Department of Transportation, which contributes about $30 million a year to Tri-Rail's $61 million annual capital and operating subsidies. About $13 million comes from Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties and the rest from the federal government.

Those close to the negotiations say legislation is likely to be proposed for the session beginning in January that would allow private firms to bid on running Tri-Rail, with the winning company agreeing to operate and manage the line at a price below the current taxpayer contribution.

If FEC were selected, it could gain political leverage and state savings that could be used to help finance its push to improve its freight line along the state's east coast. A $300 million expansion and improvement project has been under review for several years but has languished in the weak economy.

Gov. Rick Scott, who has ridiculed Tri-Rail for falling short of meeting its operating costs - fare revenues bring in just $11 million a year - is open to the idea of turning over management and operations of the train to a private company, at the right price.

"The governor is always willing to privatize portions of state government that doesn't compromise public safety or necessary services," said Steve MacNamara, Scott's chief of staff. "But I have not yet seen a good privatization plan for Tri-Rail."

The Republican governor used Tri-Rail as a weapon last spring against the state's high-speed rail proposal. Scott refused $2.4 billion in federal money for the Tampa-to-Orlando leg of high-speed rail, saying he didn't want to become embroiled in another money-losing venture.

On Aug. 5, in an address to road-builders, Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad announced that the state would embark on a public-private partnership along the Tri-Rail corridor "where we can expand service, lower the cost to the taxpayer, all while providing quality services to the customer."

Negotiations have not focused on a Tri-Rail takeover, FDOT spokesman Dick Kane said, but rather on running passenger rail on the FEC line and "perhaps running Tri-Rail so as to extract savings and directing those savings to expand service along their tracks."

The talks came as news to Tri-Rail officials, who say they already have privatized 80 percent of their services. For example, Veolia Transportation of Chicago has a seven-year, $64 million contract to oversee operations, and Bombardier Transportation of Montreal has a seven-year, $90 million contract for train maintenance. The FEC has never bid on those contracts.

The Scott administration has little control over the decisions of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, the nine-member board that oversees Tri-Rail. The governor has just three appointees to the board, dominated by officials from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The chairwoman, Jacobs, is a Broward County Democrat.

Among the governor's advisers on transportation is Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation, who advocates road-building over passenger rail. He served on the governor's transition team and will be among the speakers, along with Jacobs and an FEC vice president, at a transportation forum this afternoon at Lynn University.

On Friday, the Tri-Rail board is expecting an appearance by Jim Wolf, the head of FDOT's Fort Lauderdale office. FDOT has not revealed the subject of his presentation.

FEC has been pursuing expansion in South Florida since Fortress' $3.5 billion buyout of Florida East Coast Industries in 2007. Fortress' purchase included the railway, with its freight line from Jacksonville to Miami, and the Flagler Development Group, an owner of office and industrial space.

The rail line is poised to profit from the expansion of the Port of Miami, recently keyed by the Scott administration's infusion of $77 million toward a dredging project to enable the port to accept the largest cargo ships from the soon-to-be-expanded Panama Canal.

The FEC also is moving forward with government-subsidized, $50 million projects to provide direct links between docks and rail lines at the Port of Miami and Port Everglades in Broward County.

To make passenger rail work with freight on the FEC line, Husein Cumber, an FEC vice president, said the company would seek to add two lines within its 100 foot right of way . If the FEC could run Tri-Rail for less money, its reward could be valuable land density increases near train stations.

It is unlikely that the FEC could usurp the CSX line for passenger service south of Mangonia Park to Miami, because the state would be forced to repay a $275 million federal grant if it halted passenger service on the CSX. That money paid to add a second set of tracks in 2006.

But because the CSX tracks curve westward after the northernmost Tri-Rail stop in Mangonia Park, the FEC offers the only option for passenger service in northern Palm Beach County and beyond.



http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/sources-state-talking-to-fec-about-running-tri-1780373.html  

Interesting.  Whatever happens could impact us on both commuter rail on FEC and JAXPORT's position to effectively compete against the South Florida ports.

QuoteThe state has been in secret talks to transfer the operations of the South Florida commuter rail line, Tri-Rail, to the Florida East Coast Railway, The Palm Beach Post has learned.

Well this just proves that the Times-Union isn't the only newspaper not paying attention to reality. Fact is this is and has NEVER been a "transfer of operations." This is about a second commuter rail line futher east then the current CSX alignment that will pierce the heart of all of the coastal cities. Recalling your Florida history the Florida East Coast was in Miami in 1896, while the CSX line didn't make it in until the 1920's, thus the FEC RY actually goes through the birthplace of each of these cities. This is no secret, it has been on Tri-Rail's radar for years but FEC under the Ed Ball influence had no interest in playing trains. Today they are actively talking and I'd highly doubt they plan to operate anything, while the FEC might contract engineer and conductor services, the trains will remain a Tri-Rail operation.

The state under the misdirection of Governor Scott is treating Tri-Rail about the same as the federal government has treated Amtrak. They have a 'if you can't make money we'll find someone who can' attitude of ignorance.

In the end look for Tri-Rail to not only survive, but expand to the FEC line between West Palm Beach and Miami as well as Stuart and West Palm Beach, meanwhile the CSX line will cover the western metro.  This isn't a secret revolution, it's a long planned expansion.

OCKLAWAHA

In the end, look for the South Florida ports to take advantage of deals such as this at Jacksonville's expense.

The South Florida ports might try Lake, but there is just no way they can overcome the 360 extra rail miles to get a product out of Florida. They might dent any cargo coming through Jaxport destined to central or south Florida but I doubt, regardless of capacity, they'll be able to get past us with improved rail. Remember all rail traffic in and out of Florida passes within a few hundred feet of the old Jacksonville Terminal downtown.

OCKLAWAHA

All the traffic headed into and out of Florida on I-95 goes right through Jax but that hasn't meant the economic dollars haven't continued to flow into Central and South Florida.

They'll (the South Florida ports) move forward with a 50' deep channel and on-dock rail access that we won't have because we're not close to having the $800 million or the federal/environmental approval for any of this.  For example, Miami already has approval and funding to dredge to 50'.  Even today, Savannah ships more to Central Florida than we do.  We're so far behind in planning for the future of our port, if things don't change soon, all the Post Panamax expansion stuff will have already taken place in the other ports along the East Coast.  I just hope we have a plan B because this stuff is a race and window to take advantage opportunity isn't operating on a typical Jacksonville planning schedule.  Talk about the advantages we have only get us so far.  Sooner or later you have to "you know what" or get off the pot.

There is an advantage for us having a Republican governor and privatizing rail services because then the operating corporations will happily be given all the tax money and more needed to run those trains.

Quote from: Ocklawaha on August 24, 2011, 10:23:51 AM
This isn't a secret revolution, it's a long planned expansion. [/b]

while it is true that FDOT (with its partners) is doing a study of rail service on the FEC tracks (the technology has not been determined and there is no $)....don't tell the folks at Tri-Rail this isn't secret....from what I hear, they were very surprised by this.

and here's an update

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/tri-rail-gets-apology-for-exclusion-from-state-1785515.html

Virgin trains with rail ownership from Miami to Jax interesting.

Quote from: JeffreyS on August 26, 2011, 09:14:30 AM
Virgin trains with rail ownership from Miami to Jax interesting.

right now the only discussion is about Tri-Rail, which extends from Miami to West Palm Beach....but, yes, this might open the door for servioce to be extended to Jax.