tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7903937763350788308.post3460878996861544269..comments2023-04-27T03:19:55.560-07:00Comments on Reason & Rail: Good news, but unambitious plans for passenger rail in FloridaPaul Drucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01856513230667005087noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7903937763350788308.post-25831920728340444212011-12-02T13:58:31.737-08:002011-12-02T13:58:31.737-08:00I really have mixed feelings about this plan. It h...I really have mixed feelings about this plan. It helps that the FEC route sees passenger service revived to a vital portion of the state. <br /><br />However, here are the flaws:<br />1. As Nikko_P points out, the Silver Star would be used for the service. The problem is that inland passengers would still have to deal with the dogleg that is backing in and out of Tampa rather than just terminating the inland portion at Tampa Union Station.<br /><br />2. Given who's governor in Tallahassee, wasn't he the one who has been yapping about more private sector involvement in passenger service? <br /><br />After all, it was just three short months ago that the state wanted to turn all Tri-Rail operations over to either FEC, Veolia or Virgin. Those same forces need to be present in the event the feds don't fund an Amtrak-operated East Coast route.<br /><br />3. The liability issue may be a replay of the whole SunRail saga as long as FL is requesting that Amtrak operate the FEC route. <br /><br />As that Performance Improvement Plan pointed out, the FDOT is prohibited from entering a liability agreement with the national carrier. Also, Amtrak may decide that a new liability agreement may not be to its liking.The Rail Enthusiasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08716370779057151520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7903937763350788308.post-31115541940990731352011-12-02T12:31:10.103-08:002011-12-02T12:31:10.103-08:00Intermodal trains are lighter and carry more time ...Intermodal trains are lighter and carry more time sensitive freight than do bulk trains such as coal or grain or oil trains, hence they tend to travel at higher speeds and with higher priority when there are mixed train types conflicting with each other.<br /><br />It's really quite a shame that Florida isn't willing to fund this as a state corridor. With a car competitive travel time and the heavy boosts that winter and spring tourism would bring (opposing demographics of course, but both quite receptive to travel by rail), such a train should come very close to meeting its operating costs.Paul Drucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01856513230667005087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7903937763350788308.post-46774396091408375302011-12-02T01:23:09.476-08:002011-12-02T01:23:09.476-08:00Florida East Coast Railway has been shipping an in...<em> Florida East Coast Railway has been shipping an increasing amount of intermodal freight to and from the Ports of Miami and Jacksonville and has been investing to expand its ability to capture that market. As intermodal trains are preferentially faster trains, there is no major roadblock to such partnerships.</em><br /><br />What does this mean, exactly? Do intermodal freight trains travel faster than other kinds of freight, or something? And why would that matter – is it something regulatory? Or does it just mean trains move faster down the line?Stephen Smithhttp://blogs.forbes.com/stephensmith/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7903937763350788308.post-3365589355675054052011-12-01T14:49:25.834-08:002011-12-01T14:49:25.834-08:00Beta, unfortunately according to Amtrak's FY11...Beta, unfortunately according to Amtrak's FY11 Performance Improvement Plan for southeastern trains, it looks like it will be a 'section' of the Silver Star (so it merges going north and splits going south into two seperate trains for two seperate routes). Florida isn't interested in any state-supported corridor service here, only in new stations and some track. So the burden of serving that route would have to fall on long distance trains.<br /><br />http://bit.ly/ug7JxFNikko_Pnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7903937763350788308.post-17152279656607441462011-12-01T14:09:23.595-08:002011-12-01T14:09:23.595-08:00Any word as to whether this would be a state-level...Any word as to whether this would be a state-level line or an extension of a long-distance route—I sincerely hope it’s the former for reliability’s sake.Beta Magellannoreply@blogger.com