(The following story by Scott Finn appeared on the WUSF 89.7 website on October 1, 2010.)
TAMPA — Hillsborough Area Regional Transit is talking with CSX Corp. about buying a right-of-way for a proposed light rail line in Tampa.
But the Tampa Bay Business Journal reports that CSX won’t sell just a few miles of its corridor – it wants transit officials to buy 97 miles of track in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando counties.
The cost: $238 million, if you go by what Orlando paid per mile for the CSX right-of-way in central Florida.
Tampa Bay Business Journal reporter Mark Holan says these costs are in addition to the estimated $1.5 billion price tag to build the Northeast Corridor – the line from downtown to USF.
CSX says it must sell the entire corridor or nothing, comparing it to cutting off its arm but still retaining its hand, Holan said.
CSX also says it would continue moving freight along these lines because of long-standing obligations with customers.
HART is scheduled to discuss proposed rail routes later this month. Another possibility is taking the line down I-275.