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All Aboard Florida close to letting construction bids
Isnt this basically the same outfit , reincarnated, that built Flagler’s Folly to Key West ?
Isnt this basically the same outfit , reincarnated, that built Flagler’s Folly to Key West ?
@MICHAEL J STOKES, I would like to see KCS resurrect the Southern Belle. Now that was a train that had class. In fact, if my history is correct, KCS purchased the last intercity passenger rail cars pre-Amtrak.
They are expecting $150M in revenue (gross, not net) per year. I don’t know how you service a $1.5B debt with that. There must be something else in play. Land?
Tremendous number of grade crossings for which they’ll have to re-adjust timings and circuits. Florida is flat and few bridges span the FEC.
If the private sector can pull this off, all power to them. But don’t be too surprised if one day there is an investigation into why some senator or a gang of congressmen are laundering provider class funding thru some other scheme in order to bail out certain key people involved with building and/or running this operation. It wouldn’t be the first time, that is, if you study history.
I hope they know what they’re doing. The interest on the debt alone will be staggering. I just think the risk of success is troublesome.
A monorail would probably be cheaper over time and faster. Prossiby attracting more riders.
I hope they know what they’re doing. The interest on the debt alone will be staggering. I just think the risk of success is troublesome.
A monorail would probably be cheaper over time and faster. Prossiby attracting more riders.
This is a bold plan, but FEC is a can-do outfit. If successful, this venture could give great impetus to U.S. passenger rail development elsewhere. Full circle will come: rail will eventually prove itself more popular than highway travel for many people.
@oltmann,d I think the other revenue is expected to come from development in and around the stations where FEC owns the land.
I’m wondering if freight service (including intermodal) to the Orlando metro over the new link could be part of the plan as well
Hopefully this commercial venture by FEC will inspire other freight railways to follow suit. Restoration of passenger train service to Key West could be the next expansion as Key West is a major tourist destination.
@AL LANGLEY - Yes, exactly the same people. Many of the FEC’s executive team are over 150 years old.
@LARRY NEWHOUSE - Yes, they know what they’re doing. They’re the FEC, a long respected railway. They’re not doing anything radical, they’re looking at the extremely profitable Acela Express and saying “Yes, we can do that too”, and they have a few money making schemes in their back pocket - such as redevelopment of a prime area of Miami they owned into a massive commercial center - to fall back on if the passenger service barely makes enough money.
A monorail would be far more expensive per mile, and would require an additional 200ish miles of monorail to be built (the FEC already owns most of the track needed for this project), I’m staggered anyone would think it’s a better idea.
@JEFFERY GUSE - As always, the FEC will be paying enormous sums of money to the government, from right-of-way leasing fees to property taxes, for the privilege of helping the government reduce its subsidies to roads and airlines. If at some point in the future the FEC says that the project isn’t commercially viable, and the State steps in and decides its worth funding, it’ll be getting a small fraction of its money back, not money from “the provider classes” as you call them.
This is all so exciting and I hope it reaches completion! If they can pull this off without insurmountable snags, just think what a model it will be to other entrepreneurs who are watching closely, awaiting a green signal to shorten trips and link metro districts more efficiently. Wow! What a future!
One thing I’ve not seen posted in any comments on AAF that I’m curious about is “What effect will this have on Amtrak’s Silver Meteor and Silver Star”? If AAF runs 16 passenger trains each way daily over a three-hour journey, why would most patrons stay aboard one of Amtrak’s trains to go south from Orlando to Miami in 6 hours (Meteor) or 7.5 hours (Star)?
Makes little sense if time is important. Keep in mind those trains are often late getting into Orlando, too, in either direction. Anybody have an observation on this? It’s something Amtrak will have to deal with if AAF’s plans work.
The is a good example of a simple fact: If a service is truly needed, private industry will find a way to provide it.
@JIM COX - I suspect Silver service ridership figures won’t change much because of the desire for a one-seat ride, and because AAF doesn’t plan to stop at any existing Amtrak stations. So a train switch would mean taking a taxi across town from the airport to Orlando’s Amtrak station or vice-versa, or at best using the Sunrail if and when they link the airport.
Long term though… AAF intends to join Orlando and Tampa, and join Miami and Jacksonville. Meanwhile there are plans afoot for commuter rail via the FEC in Jacksonville. So it seems very probable that once running, switching from Amtrak to AAF in Jacksonville really will be easy, and coupled with the massive likely improvement in journey speed to Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami, probably worth it too.
If I were Joe Boardman, I’d be looking at ways to exploit that in an effort to make the Silver Service way more useful.
@PAUL HARRISON - Good explanation and thank you for it. Hadn’t realized trains would be arriving/departing from different terminals in those cities. While that adds some inconvenience, several times a year we fly to cities with Amtrak and make the quick switch to/from airport to depot. Can be done and done fairly simply, especially if you’ve practiced the routine many times. Great to know of future plans for AAF expansion, too!