Florida's High Speed Rail
They’re common in Europe and Asia, but soon Florida will be sporting a high speed rail system as well. The state just received about 1.25 billion dollars in funding from the federal government for a railway stretching from Tampa to Miami. Florida US Senator Mike Fasano says it’s about time Floridians began getting their tax dollars back. Fasano says he’s hopeful the railway will provide jobs for Floridians and help soften the recession’s impact on the state. At the moment, Fasano says he doesn’t have a clear timeline for the project. However, he’s confident that the work will go forward with this new funding. Fasano adds he doesn’t know when the rest of the money will be returned to Florida for the railway project. As far as the railway’s antagonists go, Fasano says he just hopes they will realize how easy the rail road can make transportation. Florida initially requested 2.5 billion dollars for the rail system, but has thus far received around 1.2 billion.
Posted: Tuesday, Jun 01, 2010, 14:06 PM
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CSX Upstate train deal 'welcome news'
State and federal officials have brokered a deal with CSX Corp. to build a high-speed rail line running from Buffalo to Albany, ending months of negotiations.
The breakthrough removes a major obstacle confronting the state as it continues to try to develop high-speed rail.
"This is welcome news and helps give us confidence that high-speed rail will be coming to Upstate New York," said said U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, who announced the deal.
Back in January, the state was awarded $153 million in federal funding for high-speed rail improvements.
The state and CSX, however, had fought over what the speed limit would be set at on the new high-speed rail line. The state wanted 110 mph as the maximum speed, while CSX wanted 90 mph.
In negotiations, CSX agreed to the 110 mph speed limit. More details of the agreement were not immediately released.
“I appreciate CSX’s readiness to do their part to make the promise of high-speed rail in New York a reality,” said Slaughter.
Currently, trains traveling in the Buffalo-Albany corridor average less than 60 mph, and hit max speeds of close to 80 mph in certain stretches.
The trains will run on a right-of-way owned by CSX, a freight shipping giant.
To date, New York state has received $151 million of stimulus money for high-speed rail—a fraction of what was awarded to other states much farther along in the planning and development process.
Advocates have touted it as a key economic development tool for the state. For years, the state has studied and pursued high-speed railways, but made little progress.
Information in this report was first published in The Albany Business Review.
Read more: CSX Upstate train deal 'welcome news' - Business First of Buffalo
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