The Silver Rail Blog

From Railway Age magazine:

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-news/amtrak-sncf-bechtel-to-bid-for-florida-hsr-dbom.html

--Jackson McQuigg

For supporters of Florida's high speed rail project, recent comments by Congressman John Mica are a point of concern.

For instance, Mica is disappointed by the failure of the local option of sales tax in the Tampa area and is suggesting that high speed rail be built in phases instead, according to this article in the Orlando Sentinel. 

Instead a first phase could be, he says, Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World.

Meanwhile, candidates for Mayor of Tampa are saying that they will not push for light rail transit or a transportation tax, as current Mayor Pam Iorio did, according to the Tampa Tribune. Mayor Iorio, who has been a promoter of passenger rail and transit, cannot run for reelection due to term limits.

--Jackson McQuigg

With the Orlando-Tampa high speed rail project flush with cash now having received over $2 billion, FDOT has been denied its $268 million grant application for the start of Amtrak service on the Florida East Coast Railway.  This is the second time the federal grant has been denied, and the third time that proposed Amtrak-FEC service has fallen through.

FDOT will meet soon with federal officials to learn why the grant was not approved.  After the initial attempt to receive the federal money was not successful, FDOT worked to assure that the second application fully met those requirments. A somewhat more limited round of rail infrastructure grants for the states has been proposed by Congress for 2011. FDOT said the state is still keenly interested in the project and would reapply.

Amtrak, FDOT and the Federal Railroad Administration which had all supported the recent effort expressed disappointment. Two daily round-trip Amtrak trains would have run at speeds as high as 90 mph along the 350-mile Jacksonville to Miami route with eight station stops.

Governor-Elect Rick Scott has named State Senator Paula Dockery to his transition team, according to the Lakeland Ledger.

Dockery, of course, is a longtime advocate for high speed rail in Florida. However, she was a critic of the deal to create SunRail in Central Florida.

Meanwhile, Republican Congressman John Mica (who championed SunRail) has begun to question Florida's high speed rail project.

The next few months should be interesting!

--Jackson McQuigg

From Creative Loafing, a Tampa alternative weekly newspaper:

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2010/11/05/the-new-gop-house-shows-its-muscle-early-rep-john-mica-says-hes-not-into-funding-high-speed-rail-to-tampa/

--Jackson McQuigg

Not all local option transportation initiatives went the way of the failed one in Hillsborough County, the Center for Transportation Excellence reports.

A hopeful sign for the nation, but where does that leave Florida?

--Jackson McQuigg 

The Sunset Limited lost a friend in Tallahassee and Panhandle-area Congressman Allen Boyd, who was defeated last night. 

Boyd, a “blue dog” Democrat, had advocated for the return of Amtrak service along the Sunset Route east of New Orleans.

More on the Congressman's defeat can be found here on WMBB-TV's website.

Congressman Boyd is not related to former Amtrak President and Florida native Alan Boyd, incidentally.

--Jackson McQuigg

Republican Congressman John Mica of Florida says that perhaps the Obama Administration picked the wrong high speed rail projects to fund.

More information here in an Associated Press article.

What this means for Florida's HSR project is unknown.

FCRP members will recall that in the past Representative Mica has been critical of the Florida high speed rail project for its lack of connectivity.

--Jackson McQuigg

Bad news for light rail and transit supporters in Tampa and Hillsborough County.

The countywide transportation tax, which would have provided funds for light rail and transit, has been roundly defeated.

Election results here: http://www2.tbo.com/election-results/2010/county/hillsborough-county-transportation-tax/ 

and analysis here: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/nov/03/030912/anti-tax-sentiment-derails-transportation-tax/news-breaking/

The Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers had endorsed this initiative.

--Jackson McQuigg

Florida will keep a major supporter of passenger rail in the U.S. Congress thanks to tonight's elections.

Representative Corrine Brown, Chair of the Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, will return to the U.S. Congress.

More here: http://wokv.com/localnews/2010/11/corrine-brown-wins-reelection.html

--Jackson McQuigg