Is AAF too slow?

[spuwho]

As the affidavits fly into the court in Washington DC, former US Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va) speaks out against AAF financing. Rahall was recently defeated in his bid for reelection while facing mounting ethics investigations in the US House. The Florida delegation had a quick retort to Mr. Rahall.

Per Bloomberg Business:

http://www.bloomberg.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201505261856KRTRIB__BUSNEWS_52808_19126-1

All Aboard Florida may go too slow to receive tax exempt bonds

May 26--A former congressman and ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee says All Aboard Florida's express passenger rail project is ineligible for $1.75 billion in tax exempt bonds because its trains will move too slow. But two current U.S. House members disagree.

In an affidavit filed in federal court late Friday, former U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, of West Virginia, said passenger trains must be capable of traveling in excess of 150 mph to receive so-called private activity bonds.

All Aboard Florida trains would reach a top speed of 125 mph.

Rahall's affidavit was included in more than 100 pages filed by Martin County in its fight to keep the Miami to Orlando passenger rail system from using tax exempt bonds to complete its project. A hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction to stop the bonds is scheduled for Friday in Washington, D.C.

"Throughout my entire 38-year career in Congress, I was a consistent and strong supporter of passenger rail services," Rahall said.

But the U.S. Department of Transportation's provisional approval to give the bonds to All Aboard Florida, "flies in the face of Congressional intent," Rahall said. In 2005, Rahall co-sponsored unsuccessful legislation that would have lowered the threshold of high-speed rail from 150 mph to 110 mph, making the slower trains eligible for private activity bonds.

The DOT, which is the entity being sued by Martin County, approved the bonds in December with several caveats, such as they must be issued by July 1, and proceeds can't be spent until 45 days after a final environmental impact statement is released. In approving the bonds, the DOT also cited that the project had received federal safety money _ a key element in making All Aboard Florida eligible to issue the bonds.

Private Activity Bonds are purchased by individual investors at no risk to taxpayers. They are popular because investors pay no tax on the interest they earn.

The bonds must also be approved by the Florida Development Finance Corp., which would act as conduit issuer but carries no risk.

U.S. Rep. John Mica, who represents areas in Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties, disagrees with Rahall's assessment. So does U.S. Rep. Corinne Brown, a member of the House's subcommittee on railroads, pipelines, and hazardous materials, whose area of representation includes parts of Orlando.

"Both Congress and the Obama Administration have been pushing for the expansion of passenger rail in the U.S.," Brown said in a statement.

Mica, former chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and current chairman of the subcommittee on transportation and public assets, said All Aboard Florida trains only have to be "capable" of going 150 mph and are eligible for the bonds.

"I think Rahall is entitled to his opinion, but I think he is way off mark," Mica said. "All Aboard Florida is getting a little bit of a break on the bonds because they are tax exempt, but it's their capital at risk."

All Aboard Florida declined to comment on Rahall's affidavit citing the pending litigation.

[Ocklawaha]

110 mph is plenty fast in any part of Florida. Otherwise the standard track speed of 79mph for passenger trains is good on the FEC RY.  The idea that people will not ride trains unless they pull out the one-trick pony is bogus. People in the corridor's don't ride Amtrak because they operate at 150 mph (241 kph), they ride Amtrak in spite of the fact that they go 150 mph. AAF is going to be no different. If AAF starts running trains between

Another thing, old studies have proven that ON-TIME means the wheel stops rolling as the second hand sweeps over the twelve o:clock position. Punctual time keeping is more critical and vital on a train then any other mode short of NASA. Without EXACT timing hurling 15k tonnes at each other head on at 70 mph, on a single track and not have decent time keeping/speed limits.

(For the newbie here; The FEC RY for example is almost all single track, all digitally signaled and controlled {remember the system that Amtrak train was supposed to have? GOT IT} 2 single, continuous welded rails running from Jacksonville to Miami and not a 'clickty-clack' the whole way. Every 5-7 miles there are long passing sidings, {a second track alongside the mainline} equipped with remote control digital, high speed switches that can send your train on down the mainline or off onto the siding from a desktop in Jacksonville. This is POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL or PTC). 

[Buforddawg]

To me AAF is too slow,  I want it here in Jax now!