(The following editorial appeared on the Orlando Sentinel website on January 26, 2010.)
ORLANDO, Fla. — We told you last month — on Dec. 9, to be exact — that at long last, Florida was about to become a passenger-rail leader.
That beginning in 2012, commuters could board SunRail, a commuter service that eventually would stretch from DeLand to Poinciana.
That perhaps they also might get to ride a high-speed-rail system running from Tampa to Orlando and eventually Miami. And that one day, commuters in Tampa and Jacksonville might get where they want to go aboard commuter systems serving their cities.
We said all that because on their third try, state lawmakers finally approved legislation making SunRail a reality and other passenger-train systems possible.
They managed it because state transportation officials finally got organized labor to abandon its opposition.
Because the thousands of jobs SunRail and the other systems could create finally proved too much for some opposing lawmakers to refuse.
And because the state and freight-train operator CSX, which is selling the state its train tracks, finally came to terms on how they’d apportion blame and liability in case of accidents.
If, despite all that, you still suspected the trains might not run, well, you might be right.
SunRail’s been targeted by more would-be assassins than those riding the Orient Express. And now, this time, it’s in Amtrak’s sights.
Making matters worse, the state has aided and abetted the problem.
Amtrak, you see, also runs on the same track that SunRail will use. And though SunRail entered into an agreement with CSX over responsibility if there’s a crash between the commuter and freight operators, SunRail didn’t reach one with passenger-carrier Amtrak.
It needed to. That’s according to the Federal Transit Administration, which let Florida Department of Transportation officials know in 2008 that they had to execute all rail agreements — meaning between it and CSX and Amtrak — to be eligible for federal funding. That includes $179 million for SunRail’s first construction phase extending from DeBary to Sand Lake Road.
State transportation officials contend they’re confused about how Amtrak could expect the same liability protections the state fashioned with SunRail. Amtrak, after all, has operated trains without them on tracks it shares with Tri-Rail commuter trains in South Florida. And for 10 years. The state says Amtrak’s just trying to create fear.
Amtrak, which for years has depended on lawmakers to keep its trains running, seems miscast to play the part of the villain who would keep another train service from getting the funding it needs.
And it’s presumptuous that it might think it’s entitled to the same no-fault liability agreement the state reached with CSX.
But the state had years to come to an agreement with Amtrak. It’s unconscionable that it hasn’t.
The state and Amtrak need to stop blaming the other and reach an accord — without delay. If they don’t, SunRail might not run. And neither might high-speed rail in Florida.
Speculation’s rampant that President Obama this week will announce Florida’s getting federal funding to build a high-speed-rail system. But getting it was predicated on Florida also building SunRail.
Officials need to make a deal with Amtrak. Too much is riding on Florida’s transportation future for them to fail.