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Private passenger train vision calls for double-tracking Florida East Coast
The people of Florida are indeed fortunate to have someone of Gene Skoropowski’s caliber working on rail service for them. As a 12-year+ Capitol Corridor rider I can attest that Gene is the very best in the field - he really listens to riders and makes things happen. I have no doubt this will be a roaring success!
The people of Florida are indeed fortunate to have someone of Gene Skoropowski’s caliber working on rail service for them. As a 12-year+ Capitol Corridor rider I can attest that Gene is the very best in the field - he really listens to riders and makes things happen. I have no doubt this will be a roaring success!
I will believe it when I see it.
Amazing! This is the first time that a private rail carrier has actually advocated for passenger rail. The plan is exciting.
How would FEC get from Cocoa to Orlando? Possibly, using an easement on the Beach Line Expressway. One article I read said FEC proposes a 3 hour trip-very viable. The traffic between Miami and Orlando continues to grow much faster than the road capacity. Some parts of I-95 in Indian River and St. Lucie Counties are still four lane and won’t see the six lanes until 2014-15. If FEC could pull this off by 2014, what a bullet at Amtrak. It takes Amtrak (with the limited funding) forever to just get train speeds, in sections, up to 110mph.
All I can say, what can I do to help make the FEC propsal a reality?
Wow…most likely double track CTC…another state with soon to be better service than WI…any private WI companies want to pony up for high spped service between Madison, Milwaukee and Minneapolis?
I’ll believe it when I see it!
This sounds like it should have been published on April 1st!
Wow, a privately run passenger railroad with hourly headways running up to 125 mph on private tracks and 40 miles of brand new right of way; did I just wake up in 1920? I’m amazed and really hope this expierement is very successful to prove there is indeed a market for intercity passenger rail that can churn a profit with private investment. I bet tickets will be expensive though…
Is the FEC interested in buying two new Talgo trains, really cheap? Wisconsin has a couple that they don’t seem to know what to do with.
I’m happy to hear this news, but the NIMBYs will be suing as soon as they can!
The FEC is an amazing railroad and runs through the heart of the downtowns of most cities along the southeast coast of Florida. The problem with commuter service Tri-Rail is that it shares tracks with CSX that are a few miles west of the FEC and you can’t step off a train and be within walking distance of much. You have to then catch a bus or a shuttle. The FEC is right next to a lot of things and in the middle of several entertainment districts, downtown work areas, etc. This could really be great. When Tri-Rail was first being planned it approached the FEC, which refused. Same thing with Amtrack. The company didn’t want anyone else on its tracks. But things have changed with the company, as an executive told me seven years ago when it first started approaching community leaders about allowing or running some kind of passenger service. I was a reporter at the time for the Miami Herald. Here is a link to my interview with the FEC’s Brian Nicholson in 2005: http://hibblenradio.com/2005-12-FEC-BrianNicholson.mp3
Seems like “Pie in the Sky”
Seems like “Pie in the Sky”
Feasibilty of passenger service to Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Feasibility of passenger service to Fort Belvoir, Virginia .
Feasibility of passenger train service to Fort Belvoir, Virginia .
Amazing proposition. Equally amazing is that private sector can be the proponent and plan a very short time frame. And this, for passenger rail!
Where dies that leave the plans to run Amtrak trains on the FEC?
This illustrates a basic principle: If anything is truly needed, private enterprise will find a way to supply it, and do it efficiently.