The Silver Rail Blog

A glimmer of hope for the return of Florida-New Orleans service, perhaps?

From WFSU:

https://news.wfsu.org/state-news/2024-12-11/association-of-counties-wants-florida-to-join-southern-rail-commission

--Jackson McQuigg 

From MSN:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/sunrail-to-the-airport-region-faces-first-critical-hurdle/ar-AA1vWsVu

--Jackson McQuigg

From Florida Today:

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2024/11/08/cocoa-rejected-for-47-46m-federal-grant-for-brightline-train-station/76097673007/

--Jackson McQuigg

From the St. Lucie Tribune:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/martin-county-may-go-it-alone-to-build-brightline-station-here-but-stuart-still-welcome/ar-AA1sIZpv?ocid=BingNewsVerp

--Jackson McQuigg

A few days ago, we got the word that Charles Dunn, M.D. of Coral Gables passed away at the age of 87.

You will find his obituary from the Miami Herald here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/herald/name/charles-dunn-obituary?id=56089864

To all of us who value passenger trains in Florida, Charlie was a hero. The undisputed "dean" of passenger rail advocacy in the state, Charlie's plain spoken, direct way of communicating and persistence paid off in improvements in passenger rail in Florida.

A respected Miami physician who practiced family medicine for decades, Charlie was a founder of FCRP, a longtime NARP/RPA Board member, and a fixture at passenger rail functions.

Among Charlie's many "wins" were the successful advocacy for Amtrak stops in Palatka and Okeechobee, both over Amtrak's initial reluctance.

He strongly supported the creation of Tri-Rail and backed the construction of the Tri-Rail/Metrorail transfer station in Hialeah--something which FDOT hadn't previously considered. Arguably, that transfer station is what made Tri-Rail viable.

When Amtrak and FDOT sought to discontinue the state-funded Tampa-Miami Silver Palm service in 1984 based upon faulty accounting and political pressure, Charlie was there. With dollars collected in a pass-the-hat campaign, FCRP sued the state--and won--keeping the train running until April 30, 1985 (FDOT ultimately outlasted and outspent FCRP in appeals court).

Recent successes in Florida, including expanded Tri-Rail, new Brightline, and new SunRail services, have proven that Charlie and the "old guard" of FCRP were correct all along. Passenger rail is indeed the answer.

And as for Tampa-Miami service, these days it's provided by Amtrak's Silver Star. It is immensely popular, so much so that Brightline will serve the Tampa-Miami market within this decade. And FDOT, once the antagonist, now advocates for the service.

A legend has moved on--but he has left us with so much. Our sympathies, and gratitude, are with the Dunn family right now.

FCRP will place a commemorative brick at Tampa Union Station honoring Charlie's work and well-lived life.

--Jackson McQuigg

From Miami Today:

https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2024/04/30/tri-rail-chugging-toward-tri-county-express-trips/

--Jackson McQuigg

From Spectrum News 13 (Orlando):

https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2024/05/01/sunrail-marks-10-years-with-expansion-on-the-horizon

--Jackson McQuigg

From the Palm Beach Post:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/tri-rail-eyes-expansion-service-to-the-va-center-from-its-mangonia-park-station/ar-BB1kvnSw

--Jackson McQuigg

From the West Volusia Beacon:

https://beacononlinenews.com/2024/03/25/county-council-oks-revised-sunrail-pact-prepares-to-share-in-transit-deal/

The detail here makes the article worth reading.

--Jackson McQuigg

For months now, the Federal Railroad Administration has been working on a study to identify new or restored long-distance passenger train routes. 

While many of the concepts within the preliminary version of the study are encouraging, there is room for improvement. 

For instance, a new Chicago-Miami train is proposed, but the study materials show it bypassing Tampa, presumably for operational reasons.

This is a curious choice. The Tampa Bay area--and Tampa specifically--represents one of the fastest growing major metropolitan cities in the United States.

Why not split the train into separate east coast and west coast sections after entering Florida, as was done in previous versions of Chicago to Florida service and the New York-Florida trains, to serve both coasts of the state? No backup move or dogleg would be required in the Chicago-Florida service were operated in sections. 

The City of Tampa and Amtrak recently have invested, or are investing, millions at Tampa Union Station for station renovations and a new high-level platforms.

We believe that FRA's route plan should take advantage of these fresh investments in rail infrastructure in Tampa, not avoid them--and we've said exactly that to FRA.

The meeting materials and route maps are here. We encourage you to review them.

You can comment on the FRA study at the study website.

The deadline to comment is March 8--so speak up now to make your voice heard!

--Jackson McQuigg