Commuter Rail Project: A key partnership

[thelakelander]

Central Florida commuter-rail deal clings to life

Rail deal clings to life Senate to cut commuter train -- but House might revive it

TALLAHASSEE - For a while Wednesday, Central Florida's commuter rail appeared doomed.

With the 61.5-mile DeLand-to-Celebration project facing as many as two dozen potentially crippling amendments, Senate Transportation Chairman Carey Baker, R-Eustis, announced he would strip it from the Senate's massive transportation bill when the measure comes up for debate today.

The move -- coming just two days before the legislative session is scheduled to end -- threatened to derail a 2-year-old deal to run commuter trains through the heart of Central Florida by 2010.

But by midevening, supporters were holding out hope that they had found a solution. They said language restoring the project could be added back to the bill once it reaches the House, which would then send it back to the Senate for a straight up-or-down vote Friday.

At issue is not just commuter rail -- a deal that would have the state pay as much as $450 million to CSX Corp. for its Central Florida right of way -- but also a mammoth transportation bill including everything from a $2-a-day rental-car surtax to pay for commuter rail in Central and South Florida to a 25 percent increase in Florida's Turnpike tolls.

Dozens of lawmakers have loaded pet projects into the bill, including language to help a friend of House Speaker Marco Rubio bid on a turnpike contract and a proposal to have the Lawton Chiles Endowment lease Alligator Alley for $500 million, which would be spent on other road projects.

full article: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-csx0108may01,0,278304.story

[JeffreyS]

Do not be afraid to email your state senator about this tonight and a small prayer couldn't hurt.

[Steve]

I've sent my email out.  I make sure to remind them that this is the same rail line that runs from clay county to downtown, and Clay County has the state's longest commute.

[thelakelander]

The funny thing is, I came across an article that mentioned the Winter Haven yard is going through regardless and the State has already began making improvements on the S-Line.  The Orlando deal could be killed and a number of trains could still be relocated over to the S-Line sending the right through downtown Lakeland anyway.

[RiversideGator]

Oh yeah, we'll have the worlds largest, biggest, most important... BULL SHIT! All the trains in Florida wouldn't be a drop in the bucket to Chicago, St. Louis or Kansas City. Hell, Woodward, Oklahoma has 60 freights a day!

Look out the window as one approaches Chicago by air and what do you see? Well it sure as hell ain't Winter Haven...and this is just one of dozens! Frankly taft hardly amounts to a yard, Bowden dwarfs it. Think of Taft more along the lines of Bush Yard on North Main Street for scale.


Union Pacific Proviso Yard

Ocklawaha

That is a beautiful picture, Ock.