Private Intercity Rail Service on Track for 2014
Thursday, May 17, 2012
By: Matthew Peddie

The company that wants to start a privately funded passenger rail service from Orlando to Miami says it expects to get millions of drivers out of their cars and riding the rails if it starts rolling in 2014. Florida East Coast Industries executives are meeting with local authorities as they decide on the exact route of the service. The rail line could improve connections to regional transportation hubs in Central Florida like Orlando International Airport and Port Canaveral.

Florida East Coast Industries traces its roots back to Henry Flagler, one of the wealthy industrialists who created Florida’s network of railways and hotels in the late 1800s.

The company already owns 200 miles of track needed for the route- it says it will cost a billion dollars to build the final 40 miles between Cocoa and Orlando, and modify the existing freight track to accommodate the new service, called All Aboard Florida.

Spokesperson Christine Barney says there’s an appetite for intercity rail in Florida- but the ill fated high speed rail project between Tampa and Orlando shows public funding is not the way to go.  

Barney says the company is confident it will get the funding it needs to start rolling in 2 years time.

“We’re already looking at selecting the operators, picking the actual trains, you know, we’re moving very quickly," she says.

"We understand that if the project is going to move forward things have to happen quickly, but we think that’s a reasonable expectation.”

The service aims to make the trip from Orlando to Miami in about 3 hours, and could run up to 14 times a day.  

Barney says that could mean up to 3 million fewer cars on the road.

“It is going to be a learned behavior because people haven’t had this option before. But our initial studies indicate that there are enough people that don’t like the delays that occur, the traffic that occurs, the cost, wear and tear on cars, gas, and the difficulties of driving.”

The train will stop in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, but Barney says there could be potential to link up to airports and seaports- including Port Canaveral and Orlando International Airport.

Stan Thornton, project Liaison Manager for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, says the airport is talking to Florida East Coast Industries about the proposed rail line.

Thornton says it could increase passenger traffic by giving people better connections to the airport.

“We have people who come down from Jacksonville, we know that from our garage traffic," says Thornton. 

"It’s what we call a catchment area and we think that could increase by up to 50 per cent.”

All Aboard Florida is not the only passenger rail service that could be rolling on the east coast: Amtrak is also exploring a service from Jacksonville to Miami on the same stretch of track.

Florida East Coast Industries says Amtrak and All Aboard could both use the track without any conflict.

The company says it will have a better idea of the final route of the train and the timeline for completion once ridership, engineering and environmental studies are finished in the next few months.