WrongTrack Blog

August 6, 2009

It's time to get over the blues stemming from SunRail's defeat in Tallahassee more than three months ago.

Time, too, to bury any skepticism about whether CSX's agreement in June, which waived its deadline to sell the track for SunRail, could possibly amount to anything.

We have. You should. Here's why.

Daytona Beach News Journal editorial

SunRail, the ambitious commuter-rail line that could eventually be part of a network linking Florida's east and west coasts, keeps coming back from the dead.

By Dan Tracy

SunRail backers are pushing to link their proposed Central Florida commuter rail to a high-speed train that could serve much of the state.

"We envision a rail system that would connect all of Florida, or the major population centers," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, one of the leading proponents of SunRail.

The tie-in is a relatively new strategy that Dyer hopes will win SunRail approval in the Florida Legislature, which has twice rejected the $1.2 billion proposal.

By Dan Tracy SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

July 28, 2009

One by one, SunRail commuter-train supporters are quieting the critics.

They've won Lakeland's endorsement and gotten trial lawyers to back off. By seeking millions of extra federal dollars and altering liability provisions, they hope to quell even more adversaries.

But one foe might be intractable: the unions.

Organized-labor officials complain the state is using SunRail to bust the unions that dominate much of the railroad industry — and they can't allow that to happen.

By Josh Hafenbrack, Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE -- Sen. Paula Dockery, the Legislature's Orlando commuter rail killer, spent her morning aboard another train: South Florida's Tri-Rail.

Dockery, R-Lakeland, rode most of the 72-mile line, getting on in West Palm Beach and off at the Fort Lauderdale airport. She also toured Tri- Rail's headquarters, in Pompano Beach.

South Florida's 20-year-old, financially struggling commuter train system needs a permanent funding source, Dockery said after her visit.

By Michael Turnbell
July 25, 2009

It's been 41 years since passenger trains last rolled down Henry Flagler's old railroad between West Palm Beach and Jacksonville.

But if Florida gets its way, Amtrak will run down those tracks beginning in the fall of 2012, stopping in coastal towns such as St. Augustine, Cocoa Beach and Stuart.

The Florida Department of Transportation has applied for federal stimulus money for railroad projects to bring Amtrak service to the Florida East Coast Railway.

By Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, July 26, 2009

TAMPA — Which segment of a proposed light rail line should be built first?

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio says a leg from downtown to the University of South Florida should be the top priority.

Others advocate for a line connecting downtown to the West Shore business district.

A $1.5 million study recently approved by the board of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority will help answer the question.

Iorio believes the study will make her case.

By Dave Hodges • DEMOCRAT BUSINESS EDITOR • July 26, 2009

A commuter rail line winding 61 miles through Central Florida, SunRail is the state's proposal for providing its own passenger service.
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Sun-Sentinel Editorial
July 25, 2009

Rail enthusiasts may still dream of bullet trains streaking across the Florida landscape. Those dreams just got a dose of hope since the Obama administration has offered economic stimulus money for high-speed rail — and the state Department of Transportation has taken the first steps to obtain it.

In its report on government watchdogs, Florida Trend magazine shares this nugget on Stephanie Kopelousis, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, who makes no pretense of standing up for citizens or protecting taxpayers: