Florida Looking to Restore Coastal Amtrak Service

[bobnabq]

DAYTONA BEACH -- More pieces still need to fall into place, but restoring Amtrak passenger service to Daytona Beach

for the first time in decades stands a better chance than ever.

 

[afigg]

Interesting news, especially if Florida DOT really has set aside $118 million to restore service over the FEC. The FEC is clearly a low hanging fruit for starting a decent speed corridor service through populated areas.

The FY2010 Florida HSIPR application for the FEC service project was for a total of $373 million with $250 million in federal funds and $123 million in state & local matching funds. Ok, looking further at the FL application, the breakdown was $250 million total for Phase 1 with a split Silver Star at Jacksonville and one daily corridor train between Jacksonville & Miami; Phase 2 $115 million to buy rolling stock for 3 additional round-trip daily Cocoa to Miami trains; Phase 3 $25 million for more rolling stock for another daily corridor train. So $250 million was the projected start-up cost in one application.

Now where can one get a copy of the Amtrak report?

 

[jis]

In the PRIIA Route Performance Report on Silver Service they say that a Silver Star split at JAX would be a net performance positive change, i.e. net incremental revenue will be slightly higher than net incremental cost, so it will work out somewhat like the Lynchburg Regional service. This is of course just operating cost. It does say there is considerable capital work that is needed on the FEC route to make it passenger ready, i.e. things like stations and re-calibrating grade crossings etc. etc.

 

[Anderson]

There's a furball brewing here. From what I heard at that dinner on the way back from Daytona (irony, anyone), someone in Florida wants to do a deal with the FEC instead of with Amtrak to run the operations. Basically, my understanding is that the deal is that FEC owns enough land that as long as FL offers an operating subsidy of some sort, FEC wants the line in and under its control because of what it does for land values. I suspect that part of the preference for this option comes from the FEC wanting total over the trains they dispatch...basically, the deal is (IIRC) that they take Trirail off of the CSX line (which they want) and they put up with intercity service as an offset.

Mind you, that's just what I heard from one of Amtrak's managers over a salmon diner in the dining car, but I'd bet that the FL rail story is going to be very interesting going forward.

 

[rrdude]

Another example of exemplary reporting...............

"Until the 1960s, Amtrak had passenger service running through Volusia County that stopped in Daytona Beach at a Magnolia Avenue station near City Hall. When the service was halted, the station west of Ridgewood Avenue was torn down.

Given that Amtrak, ("RailPax") wasn't even officially born until 1971, I'd say that was a bit of Back-To-The-Future" reporting.

But the general public doesn't know that, and even more disturbing, they could care less about any correction that might be made. (Hint: I'm not wasting my time informing the reporter)

 

[The Davy Crockett]

While I'd love to see this service - I've got family in Vero Beach - I won't hold my breath. I hope I'm wrong, but the little reading I've done on this subject makes me think that, at the present time, there is not enough political momentum to carry this great idea past the many obstacles in its way. Still, it is great to see the generally favorable local press this idea continues to generate, and even Mica's 'wait and see' approach indicates to me that he does recognize that there is significant local support.

On a side note, more proof of the need to 'rail educate' the press. From the article:

Until the 1960s, Amtrak had passenger service running through Volusia County that stopped in Daytona Beach...