More details on Amtrak's plan for new daily rail service between Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa:
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-52K99BT/0/X3/i-52K99BT-X3.jpg)
https://www.amtrakconnectsus.com/maps/jacksonville-orlando-tampa/
someone should tell Amtrak about FSCJ
Lol, I noticed that. EWU too.
That's a lot of time lost to many stops. How about an express Jax-Orlando-Tampa run like Amtrak runs in the Northeast? How much quicker would that be? Would probably carry most of the traffic for this route too. If this caters to more "business" travel, it would also improve the urgency for putting Amtrak back Downtown.
It's not much time if you're only going from Tampa to Lakeland, Kissimmee to Orlando or Palatka to Jacksonville. A corridor service is more likely to attract riders going to/from the smaller cities to larger cities moreso than a rider making the full trip from Jax to Tampa.
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on October 27, 2021, 07:37:37 PM
That's a lot of time lost to many stops. How about an express Jax-Orlando-Tampa run like Amtrak runs in the Northeast? How much quicker would that be? Would probably carry most of the traffic for this route too. If this caters to more "business" travel, it would also improve the urgency for putting Amtrak back Downtown.
I can say this: I live here in Jax. My company is based in Lakeland. I don't care if it takes a little longer, if the times were convenient I'd totally use this.
Right now, the JAX-Lakeland run is a 9am (ish) departure, which gets to Lakeland around 1pm. It's an hour longer than by car, but that's fine-I can work on the train. Off hand I can't remember but the times back to Jax are awful though.
The other issue is they're long haul trains-so if there's a delay between Baltimore and Washington, my train will be late. Thst won't work for me.
The Amtrak plan is to work with local communities on the timing of the new services. These will be in addition to the NY-MIA Silver Service trains already in operation. It would seem that in Jax's case, it would be best to make sure the additional services are offered at times throughout the day that aren't already served by existing Amtrak trains. In my mind, it would be best for Jax to have things set up to where there's a train arriving and departing every two or three hours or so throughout the day, as opposed to four trains popping in and out inside of a limited time period. This is another reason why Jax should be at the forefront of discussions and negotiations instead of taking a position of leaving it up to Amtrak and other cities to decide. If you don't have a seat at the table, then you're likely going to be the meal.
This would be a lot more exciting if our Amtrak station wasn't an afterthought stuck on a rail yard out in BFE (ok, BFE compared to the location of all the other cities served's stations).
^Hopefully we can drum up real support to not keep it there. Amtrak would have been back downtown a long time ago if as much priority were placed on making that happen as the forcing of the U2C down the public's throats.
Quote from: thelakelander on October 27, 2021, 10:07:59 PM
It's not much time if you're only going from Tampa to Lakeland, Kissimmee to Orlando or Palatka to Jacksonville. A corridor service is more likely to attract riders going to/from the smaller cities to larger cities moreso than a rider making the full trip from Jax to Tampa.
Quote from: Steve on October 28, 2021, 08:11:21 AM
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on October 27, 2021, 07:37:37 PM
That's a lot of time lost to many stops. How about an express Jax-Orlando-Tampa run like Amtrak runs in the Northeast? How much quicker would that be? Would probably carry most of the traffic for this route too. If this caters to more "business" travel, it would also improve the urgency for putting Amtrak back Downtown.
I can say this: I live here in Jax. My company is based in Lakeland. I don't care if it takes a little longer, if the times were convenient I'd totally use this.
Right now, the JAX-Lakeland run is a 9am (ish) departure, which gets to Lakeland around 1pm. It's an hour longer than by car, but that's fine-I can work on the train. Off hand I can't remember but the times back to Jax are awful though.
The other issue is they're long haul trains-so if there's a delay between Baltimore and Washington, my train will be late. Thst won't work for me.
To be clear, I was thinking of trains running in two different modes: an express and a local version. Something for everyone. This is what I experienced with them when living in the Northeast Corridor. To start, they could run one of each and adjust based on demand from there.
I agree that having the station Downtown would go far in building these routes. They really need to seriously move this forward if they want the best chance for success. And, DIA should be offering incentives for Amtrak to do so as the impact on Downtown from this could rival all the other projects they are so excited about as well as attract even more development including TOD.
Lastly, its too bad they can't add a stop in Gainesville. A direct connection from Downtown Jax to UF would be pure gold for Jax.
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on October 28, 2021, 07:18:11 PM
Lastly, its too bad they can't add a stop in Gainesville. A direct connection from Downtown Jax to UF would be pure gold for Jax.
That ship has sailed and it's not coming back.
Quote from: acme54321 on October 28, 2021, 07:50:51 PM
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on October 28, 2021, 07:18:11 PM
Lastly, its too bad they can't add a stop in Gainesville. A direct connection from Downtown Jax to UF would be pure gold for Jax.
That ship has sailed and it's not coming back.
They can stop in Waldo. :D
Quote from: acme54321 on October 28, 2021, 07:50:51 PM
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on October 28, 2021, 07:18:11 PM
Lastly, its too bad they can't add a stop in Gainesville. A direct connection from Downtown Jax to UF would be pure gold for Jax.
That ship has sailed and it's not coming back.
Based on CSX's system map, there is a rail connection to downtown Gainesville. Agreed, it is not easy as it's a spur off of another spur from Starke. Unless it's a dedicated train between Jax and Gainesville, it probably would be too much of a detour off the main line. As noted, Waldo is on the main line. A stop there might link via a "commuter" bus for the 13 miles into town from there.
Eventually, a dedicated train or Waldo stop might make greater sense as the area between Jax and Gainesville gets more consumed by urban sprawl and it's no longer an easy drive (some might argue the Blanding route is already not so easy).
CSX system map:
https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/customers/maps/csx-system-map/
I have zero confidence in any Jacksonville based entity pulling off a commuter rail line to Gainesville. I'm not even confident that JTA will ever get any type of commuter rail line off the ground in my lifetime.
Quote from: thelakelander on October 28, 2021, 10:03:26 PM
I have zero confidence in any Jacksonville based entity pulling off a commuter rail line to Gainesville. I'm not even confident that JTA will ever get any type of commuter rail line off the ground in my lifetime.
I am with you. But, it's nice to fantasize about what a world this could be! Kind of like imaging the Jags winning the Super Bowl one day. Sad to acknowledge but the Jags may have better odds than commuter rail here.
Our officials must have a reverse ranking system - selecting to pursue projects with the lowest community ROI instead of the highest. In any other world they would be fired but not in Jax.
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on October 28, 2021, 09:24:49 PM
Quote from: acme54321 on October 28, 2021, 07:50:51 PM
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on October 28, 2021, 07:18:11 PM
Lastly, its too bad they can't add a stop in Gainesville. A direct connection from Downtown Jax to UF would be pure gold for Jax.
That ship has sailed and it's not coming back.
Based on CSX's system map, there is a rail connection to downtown Gainesville. Agreed, it is not easy as it's a spur off of another spur from Starke. Unless it's a dedicated train between Jax and Gainesville, it probably would be too much of a detour off the main line. As noted, Waldo is on the main line. A stop there might link via a "commuter" bus for the 13 miles into town from there.
Eventually, a dedicated train or Waldo stop might make greater sense as the area between Jax and Gainesville gets more consumed by urban sprawl and it's no longer an easy drive (some might argue the Blanding route is already not so easy).
CSX system map:
https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/customers/maps/csx-system-map/
That line is way out of the way to get into town, and I think I remember reading somewhat recently that CSX was looking to pull it up back to the powerplant too. I was on it about 6 months ago and it is very overgrown and generally in rough shape. It's also not really "downtown" as a sense of the place. For this kind of thing to work the station needs to be walkable to the city center IMO, that site isn't.
The thing with Gainesville is that pretty much all of their historic railbeds are intact, mostly all extensively converted to rail trails over the last 15 years. Those trails are a huge asset to the city and I think it would be a cold day in hell before they gave that up. If this was 15 years ago and they were still just abandoned ROWs I might think differently.
I remember us discussing a rail line to Gainesville a few months ago, the conclusion I came to was that the only way to make timetables worth using would be to rebuild the line from Waldo along SR 24/Waldo Road and getting as close as possible to University Avenue. And then you'd be running a commuter-style service up the CSX S-Line to Baldwin and then into Jacksonville. Especially if you single track it, I don't see why there wouldn't be enough room to leave some kind of trail adjacent to the track with a fence to separate the two. The FRA now allows lighter European style DMU vehicles like those being used in Dallas and San Diego without any waivers.
Where there's a will, there's a way. If there was real desire, the infrastructure issues could likely be figured out. Jax's biggest obstacle to anything like this is that the entities we typically rely on for these projects have no real desire or interest. With interest, these types of projects take a generation to move from concept to reality. Because there's no desire to seriously consider these types of concepts, these projects likely take multiple generations (30, 40, 50 years, etc.) to come through fruition. We've talked about moving Amtrak back downtown for 30 years now. LRT +20 years and commuter rail for at least 15. If we would have committed to anything of these things, they'd be operational by now. The studies done years ago are out of date and useless now. Millions wasted. So anything we hear now, is really no different from what we heard in 2005 unfortunately. Yet we've spent millions on the U2C, which is more expensive, unproven and financially risky than everything else discussed in the past. So I really hope the Biden bill passes or an entity like Brightline ends up being a success. When it comes to any type of rail service enhancement, it will 100% be an entity outside of Jax successfully getting funding and pulling their project off first.
1.5hrs from Orlando to Tampa isn't bad at all. Especially with how bad traffic gets when school's out. I'd take that for sure as long as the ticket prices aren't too bad. Not sure if everyone heard about Brightline removing their coach class. Now instead of $40 round trip from Orlando to Miami it's $100 minimum each way... Rick Scotts gotta make his money somehow I suppose ::)
^ Brightline never had a coach class. Smart Service was always intended to be the equivalent of Business Class. Select Service was replaced with Premium, and both are the equivalent of First Class. And honestly, I don't recall there ever being a point where less than $100 from Miami-Orlando was a realistic likelihood.
But at the end of the day, if Brightline looks too pricey, and you're willing to lose an extra 90 minutes or so, there's a decent possibility that Amtrak will be happy to provide an alternative travel option between Orlando and Miami with its additional service.
Plus that Amtrak line will drop you off in Orlando or Winter Park, while Brightline will only get you to the airport or Disney.
QuoteWhy Amtrak should be on Jacksonville's radar
(https://photos.moderncities.com/photos/i-7w9fcDN/0/L/i-7w9fcDN-L.jpg)
Amtrak could be expanding intercity passenger rail operations in Jacksonville. Here are a few reasons why Amtrak's plans should be on Jacksonville's radar.
Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/why-amtrak-should-be-on-jacksonvilles-radar/
The infrastructure bill passed last night. Amtrak to receive billions.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/28/politics/infrastructure-bill-explained/index.html
(https://scontent.fmia1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/257747372_10120583298915791_3439937803663279546_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=b9115d&_nc_ohc=yV5-k3fS_UIAX_l8A1i&tn=n_gybHPHslJNSiXm&_nc_ht=scontent.fmia1-2.fna&oh=d58a706a32b9e313a3ab51f74a4a0141&oe=619CC38F)
T-shirt that I got from the Amtrak booth at the APTA expo last week. We're at least on their radar enough to be printed on their promo swag. 8)
^ Thanks Brandon ;)
Love it! We're on their radar. My question would be if they are on ours (i.e. JTA, COJ, DIA, etc.)?
There is a Special Election to fill Tommy Hazouri's county-wide Council seat. There are 4 candidates, perhaps the Jaxon could ask each of them where they stand on this issue (and others).
The election is December 7, Mail-In voting is underway, and Early Voting starts November 27.
In an interesting twist, Palatka appears to have beaten Jacksonville to putting together and acting on a plan to improve passenger rail.
The A. Philip Randolph Regional Multimodal Transportation Hub in Palatka has been awarded an $8 million RAISE grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund lengthening and raising their train station's platform, as well as making safety and accessibility improvements to the surrounding area.
Other cities awarded federal RAISE grants for rail station projects include Charlotte, Yuma, and Detroit.
(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/833877455118794772/911407349367992405/IMG_2287.png)
Great move by Palatka. The funny thing about my time on the NERTC is that the rural counties were bigger supporters of commuter rail than the larger urban counties. This is because their population relies on things that can only be found in Jax that we take for granted, like the concentration of medical facilities.
Interesting point. You'd think that the city would feel otherwise, supportive of making it easier for people from surrounding communities to come and spend money on things that generate local sales tax or bed tax or any others. Another sign of Jacksonville's priorities, I guess.
It looks like the station plans have been in the works since at least before the pandemic, but I wonder if they'd seek to extend the second track from north of town through at least the station area, if not through most of town. It's only about a mile and a half of rail, and if there's going to be four trains a day stopping there, a bypass of some kind is probably a good idea.
Amtrak's talking to FDOT now...
https://twitter.com/lmower3/status/1466430084169011201?s=21
Quote from: Lawrence MowerAmtrak is in preliminary talks with the Florida DOT to "expand" services in Florida, @FDOT_Secretary told lawmakers yesterday.
FDOT doesn't know yet what Amtrak has in mind. It currently operates lines from Jax to Tampa/Orlando/Miami.
Quote from: Lawrence MowerAmtrak is flush with money from the recent infrastructure bill, and has money to spend in Florida, Thibault said.
I wonder how we get some Jax people into those conversations.
Interestingly, a lot of the talk in the replies is about restoring the line Amtrak marked as "suspended," from Jacksonville west towards New Orleans. I don't think the state support is there for anything to come if it (would likely require FDOT acquiring the line, making substantial improvements, and adding signaling), but food for thought.
Of course here's an article from just two weeks ago pointing out those very same challenges, as well as the potential cost (although I think for that price they're essentially building it to top-notch standards as opposed to enough to start service):
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/473904-north-florida-officials-push-for-research-into-2-billion-rail-restoration/
Quote from: marcuscnelson on December 04, 2021, 08:21:11 AM
Amtrak's talking to FDOT now...
https://twitter.com/lmower3/status/1466430084169011201?s=21
Quote from: Lawrence MowerAmtrak is in preliminary talks with the Florida DOT to "expand" services in Florida, @FDOT_Secretary told lawmakers yesterday.
FDOT doesn't know yet what Amtrak has in mind. It currently operates lines from Jax to Tampa/Orlando/Miami.
Quote from: Lawrence MowerAmtrak is flush with money from the recent infrastructure bill, and has money to spend in Florida, Thibault said.
I wonder how we get some Jax people into those conversations.
Good start! I was fearful politics between the governor and Biden would screw us over, like the high speed rail thing between Obama and Scott.
Jax entities like FDOT D2, COJ, NFTPO, JTA, etc. are aware but it may not be their priority at the moment. At some point there will have to be coordination and involvement. One of the best things to do right now is for public pressure being applied to them, so that this becomes a higher local priority. That pressure should include moving the train station back downtown, getting a new stop or two in outlying counties and fighting for service times that align with local commuter peak times.
Quote from: thelakelander on December 05, 2021, 01:51:12 PM
Good start! I was fearful politics between the governor and Biden would screw us over, like the high speed rail thing between Obama and Scott.
Obviously the talks are only preliminary right now, but here's to hoping.
Quote
Jax entities like FDOT D2, COJ, NFTPO, JTA, etc. are aware but it may not be their priority at the moment. At some point there will have to be coordination and involvement. One of the best things to do right now is for public pressure being applied to them, so that this becomes a higher local priority. That pressure should include moving the train station back downtown, getting a new stop or two in outlying counties and fighting for service times that align with local commuter peak times.
There must be some way to get people interested in putting the pressure on, I'm not sure what the best way to get that message out there is.
Amtrak has made updates to their proposed plan for Florida, as given in a presentation to the Florida MPO Advisory Council last month: https://mpoac.cutr.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Presentation-MPOAC-FRC-PassRailWorkshop-20220427.pdf
Some interesting things:
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/847298939618590760/976971665240125500/Amtrak_Florida_Services.png)
A new additional service between Sanford and Tampa, with four round trips, as well as the extension of the Miami-Orlando service to Sanford. Wonder if this could mean removing requirements to have a car for the Auto Train.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/847298939618590760/976971681161678908/Amtrak_Florida_LD.png)
A proposal, similar to the ones from the early 2010s, to reroute the Silver Meteor onto the Florida East Coast Railway and then back onto the state-owned corridor in South Florida. Unclear how this would interface with Brightline, or how stations north of Brightline's current improvements would be handled.
Best for last...
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/847298939618590760/976971674064924712/Amtrak_Florida_Stations.png)
A map of proposed stations that includes Miami's airport Intermodal Center, an "Airport" station (my guess, more likely the SunRail airport transfer station that Brightline and Orlando-area officials have been discussing for a few weeks now with their Sunshine Corridor Program), and very interestingly, stations in Orange Park and what appears to be downtown Jacksonville. Sounds like the right people got in a room with Amtrak.
Surprise bonus:
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/847298939618590760/976971688359133265/Amtrak_Florida_Options.png)
A map of "future options" that include the Gulf Coast corridor, St. Augustine and Palatka, an extension of SunRail to Tampa and Daytona Beach, as well as a web of regional lines extending from the Tampa Bay Area. Very interesting all around.
I like the concepts - especially with more intra-state trains. It kills me that when I go to Lakeland for work somewhat frequently my car is the only option. The once a day train timing (especially back from Lakeland to here) is awful.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/847298939618590760/976971674064924712/Amtrak_Florida_Stations.png)
I'm fine with the concepts. They've been talked about for years, so I'm hoping these entities can put their money where their mouths are at and bring these routes into reality, sooner rather than later. Of interesting note, it appears there are two proposed stations in our region. Downtown and Orange Park.....something we've been advocating for years. Also, this plan appears to keep the station in Northwest Jacksonville as well.
I thought I'd share this article from a few months ago about the work some cities are doing to prepare for and support new rail service. Perhaps an example for us if we ever address the Prime Osborn.
https://wsbt.com/news/local/80-million-dollar-train-station-coming-to-michigan-city
Good leadership there. That looks like a pretty big and ambitious project. Maybe we can be inspired by a city that's 1/3rd the size of Palm Coast.
Realized I never updated this. The State Rail Plan (https://www.fdot.gov/rail/plans/railplan) came out earlier this year, and it appears (as expected by some) that FDOT isn't interested in supporting a corridor service in Florida.
The state will study a number of corridors, including the ones proposed by Amtrak, and additional possibilities to Atlanta and New Orleans, but is only interested in lobbying to remove Amtrak's 750 mile limit that requires state funding, or in additional long distance service at no cost to the state.
Amtrak is continuing to work on relocating Miami service to the Miami Intermodal Center, but it doesn't appear any additional cooperation with FDOT is in the works.
In the meantime, we're ready to pony up billions more for wider roads and new highways. I wonder how much this has to do with D & R politics? Things may be on hold until there's some alignment between federal and state politicos.
Quote from: thelakelander on March 26, 2023, 09:48:59 PM
In the meantime, we're ready to pony up billions more for wider roads and new highways. I wonder how much this has to do with D & R politics? Things may be on hold until there's some alignment between federal and state politicos.
Sad really.. FDOT has a nearly $13B budget, and there are essentially 0 public rail projects underway if I read that report correctly? (Not counting feasibility reports.) If you look at other states, like Washington at $8B, or Penn at $8B, they both have serious rail projects in the works or already underway. It is shocking that a tourist heavy state wouldn't want higher public connectivity.
It's more about where the money is coming from, going too and who benefits from the investment the most.
Right... A story that has crippled mass transit investment all over the states sadly. City Nerd on YT has an interesting channel built around this. His main three talking points to the "car-centric" US are: building code, politics, and culture. Seemingly only in the last 10-20 years has some of that started to shift in parts of the country.
I really like his videos.
Quote from: jcjohnpaint on March 27, 2023, 12:23:56 PM
I really like his videos.
His tone & mood highlight his talking points lol.
Wish he would roast the u2c on his channel.
I have wanted that video so bad. I'll have to join his Patreon to recommend it.. lol
Not sure I can reach CityNerd but I've had talks with another transit and urbanism YouTuber (a larger one, actually) about doing a U2C video. There is a pipeline of other stuff in front of it but we've discussed a lot of the developments and they're interested.
Quote from: marcuscnelson on March 29, 2023, 10:10:25 PM
Not sure I can reach CityNerd but I've had talks with another transit and urbanism YouTuber (a larger one, actually) about doing a U2C video. There is a pipeline of other stuff in front of it but we've discussed a lot of the developments and they're interested.
Please do link that video if it is made!
Quote from: Jax_Developer on March 27, 2023, 11:04:08 AM
Right... A story that has crippled mass transit investment all over the states sadly. City Nerd on YT has an interesting channel built around this. His main three talking points to the "car-centric" US are: building code, politics, and culture. Seemingly only in the last 10-20 years has some of that started to shift in parts of the country.
Quote from: jcjohnpaint on March 27, 2023, 12:23:56 PM
I really like his videos.
+1 for citynerd!
Quote from: marcuscnelson on March 29, 2023, 10:10:25 PM
Not sure I can reach CityNerd but I've had talks with another transit and urbanism YouTuber (a larger one, actually) about doing a U2C video. There is a pipeline of other stuff in front of it but we've discussed a lot of the developments and they're interested.
City Beautiful perhaps? He is the gold standard and a Vanguard fellow to boot.
Quote from: marcuscnelson on March 26, 2023, 05:55:48 PM
Realized I never updated this. The State Rail Plan (https://www.fdot.gov/rail/plans/railplan) came out earlier this year, and it appears (as expected by some) that FDOT isn't interested in supporting a corridor service in Florida.
The state will study a number of corridors, including the ones proposed by Amtrak, and additional possibilities to Atlanta and New Orleans, but is only interested in lobbying to remove Amtrak's 750 mile limit that requires state funding, or in additional long distance service at no cost to the state.
Amtrak is continuing to work on relocating Miami service to the Miami Intermodal Center, but it doesn't appear any additional cooperation with FDOT is in the works.
You would think Amtrak relocation (minus rail car servicing & storage in Hialeah) would've been completed BEFORE opening of MIC.
^ It was supposed to, but Amtrak and FDOT failed to finalize a deal for the use of the station before opening for a bunch of reasons (including platform length issues) and they never came back to the table until now.
Quote from: marcuscnelson on April 23, 2023, 08:12:25 PM
^ It was supposed to, but Amtrak and FDOT failed to finalize a deal for the use of the station before opening for a bunch of reasons (including platform length issues) and they never came back to the table until now.
Yeah I remember that debacle. Also, another issue is the length of Amtrak's train would've blocked street traffic at NW 25th St.
Got in touch with someone at FDOT. They have applied for the FRA's Corridor ID program for these routes. As of now it's just with the goal of getting a firmer understanding of cost estimates and frequency expectations. But Amtrak has reportedly been "very supportive" since launching their Connects Us vision. FDOT did not apply for the Intercity Partnership Program this year.
CSX is exiting the Palatka - DeLand segment, effectively escaping maintenance on St. John's River drawbridges. Traffic has been shifted to the 'S' Line through Waldo and Ocala. I believe FDOT has thrown the 'S' under the train when it comes to any passenger services. It will take a bundle of money to ever expand capacity on this route for passenger service due to freight congestion.
On the plus side for Jacksonville long-distance or intrastate expansion comes this little item:
According to the funding documentation from FRA, Amtrak is getting funded $3.85 million to rehabilitate the CSX A Line between Palatka and Deland in Florida, and CSX will transfer ownership of that segment to Amtrak.
Florida — Amtrak Sanford Subdivision Infrastructure Renewal Project
Up to $3,850,000
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)
Rehabilitates 52 miles of CSX Transportation's A-Line between Palatka and DeLand train stations in Florida. CSX will transfer the renovated track's ownership to Amtrak.
The entire list of Federal DOT funded projects can be found at https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/...nces-more-326-million-grants-support-railroad
I recall seeing that CRISI grant (https://railroads.dot.gov/press-releases/federal-railroad-administration-announces-more-326-million-grants-support-railroad) mentioned in the state rail plan (https://fdotwww.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/rail/plans/rail/2022/fdot_rsp_ch-3_ada.pdf?sfvrsn=21c371d1_2).
What I don't understand is that it looks like Amtrak was awarded that grant nearly four years ago now and it doesn't appear that they ever actually acted on it and it doesn't seem to come up elsewhere at all.