ESPA NEWS LINK: Florida DOT, All Aboard Florida agree on lease for Orlando-to-Miami passenger-rail service progressiverailroading/passenger_rail/news/Florida-DOT-All-Aboard-Florida-agree-on-lease-for-OrlandotoMiami-passengerrail-service--36642 From Wikipedia… All Aboard Florida is a proposed high speed rail service which would operate along the Florida East Coast Railway. The proposed service would connect Miami with Orlando via a roughly 240-mile route along the Atlantic coast from Miami to Cocoa (Cape Canaveral, where it would then turn west towards Orlando Int. Airport. Startup costs are estimated at $1 billion, including a new 40-mile track segment from Cocoa to Orlando. Unlike Amtrak and commuter railroads like MetroNorth the new service would be privately owned and operated by Florida East Coast Railway (FEC). The company has however applied for a Federal Railroad Administration loan of an undisclosed amount in March 2013 to at least partially pay for start-up costs. One segment of the proposed line would operate at speeds of up to 125 miles per hour thus meeting the USDOT definition of high speed rail. Feasibility studies into beginning the service began in late 2011, and by the time of the public announcement had progressed into detailed ridership and engineering studies. Service was originally planned to begin in 2014, but in March 2013 an FEC executive said that the start date had been pushed back to late 2015. Even if the new trackage into Orlando is not completed by the time service begins, connections at Cocoa would be offered. FEC still owns the former site of its downtown Miami station, as well as other real estate throughout Florida through a subsidiary known as Flagler Development Company. By developing this land in conjunction with the All Aboard Florida system, FEC could turn a profit indirectly. The nine acre parcel adjacent to Government Center in Downtown Miami is currently used as surface parking, but is zoned for 2,500,000 sq. ft. of development rights. Here the system would also connect with the existing Metrorail and Metromover systems. In Orlando, the service would connect to the new SunRail commuter rail system due to open in 2014. Double tracking and other improvements to the line could also help the long planned FEC Corridor Tri-Rail and Amtrak services move ahead. Trains are planned to run at 79-mph from Miami to West Palm Beach, 110-mph from West Palm Beach to Cocoa, and 125-mph from Cocoa to Orlando. The existing track from West Palm Beach to Cocoa would have to be improved to meet federal standards for an increased 110-mph speed limit from the current 79 mph. Trains will run at approximately one hour intervals with between 12 and 14 trains per day, a frequency which would necessitate restoration of double-track along the route. One of the goals is to operate the trains with an overall average speed similar to the Acela Express operating on the Northeast Corridor between New York and Washington, DC at 80 mph, reducing the travel time between Miami and Orlando to three hours and two minutes versus the approximately four-hour driving time. The system should also have few problems with sideline delays common with Amtrak where freight takes priority as most of the freight trains on the FEC travel at relatively high speeds as well as the fact that FEC will likely give priority to its own passenger trains over freight.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 23:34:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015