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All Aboard Florida shifts its funding strategy
First, thank you in advance for covering this in the January issue. I hope it’s thorough. This is the most important infrastructure project in recent US history. It needs more attention than Trains has been giving it.
Second: this update is brief and doesn’t explain AAF’s reasoning - unsurprising as AAF hasn’t really discussed it in depth.
- The EIS process is still going ahead, despite the suggestion this move might be being done to bypass it.
- That said, AAF has said publicly they hope to start construction earlier because of this. https://twitter.com/AllAboardFla/status/519517710162477057 so whatever the specifics of the EIS process, which is running way longer than anyone hoped (six months to a year behind schedule!) they are obviously frustrated by the slow speed of the bureaucracy involved.
AAF has also made a point to stress that this means there’s “no risk to the taxpayers”. There’s none via RRIF either, but people perceive there to be one because RRIF is a Federal program, and it’s being used as a weapon against AAF.
I think the RRIF program has proven to be an utter disaster for AAF and this will probably end up being a lesson learned by anyone wanting to follow in their footsteps - and AAF themselves, of course, once they move on to the links to Jacksonville and Tampa. RRIF requires too much bureaucracy and makes them very liable politically. And given that RRIF is nothing more than a self-funded insurance scheme for private bonds, it opens to question whether the government might be better off not involved in the RRIF scheme at all, finding some way to privatize it.
Finally, for those hoping sanity might prevail in the NIMBYer parts of Florida now that transportation micromanagers can’t use the “It’s a plot to steal money from taxpayer’s” card… alas, there’s been no change in the opposition.
Yes I am very happy to see that Fred Frailey has somehow broken through the “iron fortress” of Trains editor Brian Schmidt and contributor/news wire editor Bob Johnston in regards to them ignoring All Aboard Florida here on the pages of this esteemed magazine for the past several years. Finally Trains magazine has awakened to the fact that AAF is a significant story in American rail news. Perhaps because it does not involve Amtrak, or the fact that AAF is not part of the Midwest or the northeast corridor. But this project is very significant. It is a shame that Trains has ignored this story for so long.
AAF has the potential to show Amtrak (and America) how to actually run a transportation service - instead of being a political hot potatoe to be passed on to future generations of politicians. I really am looking forward to riding AAF and having them actually provide good customer service with on time train performance and amenities on board.
What will Trains magazine have to say come 2017 when AAF leaves Amtrak in the dust?
If I’m not mistaken, I believe that Bob Johnston did write about AAF in his passenger column in Trains. I can’t recall which issue, but it was not too long ago. It will be good to hear from the rest of the staff of Trains on this.
I will always see “progress” that gets delayed over & over again as “uh oh”. I wont hold my breath as to when exactly these trains will be running.
Yes, Alexander, Mr Johnston did write an article in the print edition of Trains earlier this year. I am referring to the obvious lack of articles in the online edition here on News Wire over the past 2 years. I have been informed previously by Trains editors that AAF is really not worthy of inclusion here on News Wire as the project is perceived by them as a local issue and thus has been reported on adequetely by the local media here in Florida. For such an important passenger rail project, Trains magazine really has been quiet on its development over the past 2 and a half years. Sure, they have covered most of the major developments, but my contention has been that Trains magazine seems to be focused more on covering the more obscure and irrelevant stories here on News Wire compared to the developing story that AAF represents.
How many news articles has Trains magazine provided concerning AAF’s major train station development plans? Have you heard about MiamiCentral here at Trains News Wire? And how it will transform Miami? And how it will connect to the other major new developments planned for downtown Miami? Also, the new stations in FTL and WPB? And the adjacent TOD that the FECI/Flagler development companies are planning as part of the AAF project? What about the details regarding the new intermodal station in Orlando at the airport? And the new maintenance facility to be built in the exact same location as the one for the aborted HSR line to Tampa? Or the interim rail car and locomotive maintenance facility to be built in WPB to be operated for the first year before trains can run all the way to Orlando?
No word is to be found in Trains about expansion to Tampa and Jacksonville either. Although I personally have heard from FDOT directly that they are coordinating their plans for the I-4 expansion project in Orlando with AAF to leave space available in the median and ROW specifically for AAF to reach Tampa. The point i am making is that there has been a lot of information out
To cut “Trains” some slack, there has been a method to their approach. How many people have tried to start a service here, or a service there…just to find out nothing happened. Press Releases do not make for great journalism. (Think the Vegas X Train) A few notes in NewsWire and few articles here and there on progress, but I knew that “Trains” didn’t really have anything to report on until they actually ordered the rolling stock.
With the recent actions, the sale of the PIK bonds, ordering rolling stock, announcing of the station designs, breaking ground in Miami, the noise of the NIMBY’s and now the movement away from RRIF.
Now they have something to cover with depth. Full color periodicals have lead times, not just for the information, but to slot the column inches into their allotted space. This is why you typically will see a 3 month lag between current news and the time Trains can aggregate it into a release.
As for AAF, yes, there are lots of skeptics still floating around out there. And there will be even after the ground breaks. Some will not quiet down until they actually buy their ticket and ride the thing.
I look forward to AAF being fully vetted by the Trains staff and their collective years of rail expertise. I hope the Jan 2015 issue gets all the readers into the same level of understanding of where it is at. And hopefully, we will see a follow up article in September 2016 when Fred joins the first ride from Miami to WPB.
The thought of AAF has caused total transit anxiety in greater Tampa, while in Jacksonville, it seems to draw one big collective yawn. When AAF recently re-registered their segment LLC in St Augustine, the Jacksonville press jumped on the city council with the news and they just kind of stood there and shrugged their shoulders.
AAF has told Tampa and Jacksonville they won’t come unless they get their transit sorted out. In their mind, why would they invest the dough to come to eit
@John Rice
Yes I understand that press releases don’t quite cut it. There has been a lot more than just press releases in the past 12 months regarding AAF. As you appear to live in Florida as well, you must know about all of the local reporting being done in South Florida on AAF. AAF is not like X Train or even CA HSR. Things are happening on the ground as we speak.
As far as your points about Tampa and Jacksonville, you have hit it dead on. As I am more familiar with the Tampa area, I should also note that local leaders here in Hillsborough County have managed to recently dramatically change the direction of HART, our local mass transit government agency that operates bus service here. Mark Sharpe has been instrumental in getting this change implemented. They have embarked down this path precisely because of what AAF has told them. You are correct in what you say about AAF expansion and the lack of transit options in Tampa and Jax. Hopefully, our leaders here will embrace AAF with the same enthusiasm shown in south Florida. I know that there is a lot of potential land in downtown Tampa that is controlled by the city of Tampa or by FDOT that could easily be transformed into TOD. Time will tell if HART can revamp the Marion Transit Center and surrounding land in order to encourage AAF to expand this way.
It would be a shame if what you say about Jax leadership is true. I have always thought that Jacksonville could be the interface point between Amtrak and AAF. Imagine hourly service on AAF between Jax and the other major cities in Florida. With Amtrak connecting the two systems. It would not surprise me to see AAF operating on Norfolk Southern to Atlanta in 20 years time.
I would love to see one of the billionaire moguls like a Ted Turner or Mark Cuban get there names on this kind of project.(I only used Ted Turner and Mark Cuban as examples we need our own Richard Branson)
Major stories thus far not really covered:
- Ground breaking in Miami has started and AAF has bought rail and is stockpiling it along the South Florida part of route ready to install second line.
- Designs for all three South Florida stations have been published and publicized.
- Approval for Miami and Palm Beach stations has been given by most relevant organizations.
- Miami station designs widely praised
- West Palm Beach designs not so popular, serious downtown walkability concerns.
- Entire South Florida part of corridor to get quiet zones. Space Coast planning to join in too.
- NIMBYs NIMBYs NIMBYs
I don’t really buy the “You see these things proposed all the time that never come to anything” explanations - we’ve had extensive coverage here of NIMBY campaigns against light rail proposals, for example, and minor refurbishment of stations regularly results in an article. Orlando Heath got a story the other week because they’re “refurbishing” it (not even a rebuild, just a paintjob and replacement of some fixtures), while the three stations on AAF which are completely new don’t merit a mention?
So yeah, I don’t think there’s a method to this. I’m just glad they’re finally starting to cover the project. People need to know. People who consider rail important need to know.
I happen to know a person from the Stuart area who is quite an active member of the less-than-cleverly-named “NOT All Aboard Florida” group. She and her ilk are QUITE vocal in their opposition to the project and one of the cards that they felt they held was RRIF loan issue. I am happy to see AAF follow another avenue of financing as that card will be taken out of their hand and they will be left with little ammunition other than to site selfish reasons that hold no sway with a court of law vis-a-vis: injunctions and the like. I have been excited about the prospect of this project for several years now and eagerly anticipate its construction. It could prove to be revolutionary in the way transportation projects are planned in this country. I intend to ride it on future trips to Florida upon its completion!
One issue that some of these NIMBYs opposed to this project should speak for themselves are is the subject of drawbridge openings and closures. A lot of them are pleasure craft operators, too, and also expressing concerns about trains blocking road crossings and the effect it may have on emergency response vehicles.
Pardon me, but these same pleasure craft boaters ought to speak for themselves on the subject of drawbridges. There are city streets and highways that use the drawbridges, too! It takes far longer to open and close drawbridges than it does for railroad crossing gate devices to activate, go down, and then be raised and go off. The amount of time waiting at a grade crossing is no different than waiting for a red traffic signal at a major street intersection. but waiting at drawbridges for pleasure craft to sail by takes even longer!
Sorry NIMBY boaters, you can’t have it both ways. Furthermore, maybe that boat of yours that has drawbridge open, is holding up the very same train which may be blocking a railroad crossing that an emergency vehicle is trying to cross. Any boater who blames the train in that case should blame himself instead if a fire truck has to respond to put out a fire at his own house.
I live in Ft. Lauderdale part-time and have followed the AAF saga for some time. I went to presentation early year which the chair of the AAF, a VP of FEC and other officials spoke of their plans. I thought they gave a pretty good outline of what they wanted to do. And I thought it was a big mistake when they later indicated they wanted a federal loan guarantee, since it changed the private money angle promoted for years. I sincerely hope the AAF is a big success. I certainly would use it to go to Orlando.
That said, I also understand the concerns of the dozens of cities, large and small, along the FEC tracks between Palm Beach and Orlando. Some have sought passenger service for years. Suddenly they’re told that AAF is going run trains right through their communities at 100 mph, blocking traffic (albeit for a just a minute), scaring the chickens and whatever. And they get nothing out of it!
In the real world of politics, if you want something, you gotta give something. Maybe if AAF wants to run the nonstop express trains essential to its business model, it will have to offer something. Like some sort of “local” service once or twice a day to these communities.
And while I have no sympathy for boaters, I think anyone who has seen the FEC bridge over the New River in downtown Ft. L would have to agree that it is antiquated and should have been replaced decades ago. The space between the piers is narrow, and approached from curves in the river, plus the bridge is too low to allow even a water bug to pass under it when its down.
I sure hope these problems can be solved by AAF, the FEC and public officials. The proposed high speed, privately run passenger service could be an incredible catalyst for other such passenger service around the country.