JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Reversing its stance, the Sunshine State envisions an East Coast corridor, according to Trains.
By 2003, the Silver Meteor, crossing the St. John’s River north of Sanford, will split into sections for Miami (over FEC) and Tampa.
FEC’s state-mandated train-an E9, two coaches, and an observation- lounge-called at Titusville in 1965.
This restored passenger rail service is just the ticket,” said Governor Bush.
Who? That’s right, George W’s brother, Jeb. He of the state with hanging chads who killed funding for the Florida Overland Express (FOX) high-speed rail project soon after taking office, only to see a statewide referendum repudiate his decision by mandating creation of a bullet-train network.
Florida’s High Speed Rail Authority is, indeed, moving ahead with plans for the first segment to be built on dedicated right-of-way between Orlando and Tampa, but Gov. Bush is talking about something more imminent: returning varnish to the Florida East Coast Railway by early 2003, maybe sooner.
The fine FEC speedway once accommodated fast, frequent passenger trains from the Northeast and Midwest, the legacy of builder Henry M. Flagler’s vision for Florida at the dawn of the 20th century. That ended abruptly on January 23, 1963, when FEC work-rule changes triggered a sabotage– tinged labor strike that chased the popular service inland to the Seaboard.
A court-ordered, all-stops Jacksonville-Miami FEC plug run [below] came back a few years later, but was allowed to expire in 1968. (FEC was Atlantic Coast Line’s connection to south Florida. Seaboard had its own line, today the Amtrak route. Seaboard and ACL merged in 1967, and today the lines are part of CSX.)
As coastal population and 1-95 congestion continued to soar, Florida’s Department of Transportation in 1999 had over $15 million of stillborn FOX money available to accommodate upgrading FEC for one round trip of a rerouted New York-Miami Silver Meteor and to provide on-line cities with an 80% match for station construction. But FEC and Amtrak couldn’t agree on necessary capital improvements, so the money was not spent.
Amtrak service in Florida
There would have been no money to start construction this year, though, if it weren’t for the vocal indignation of mayors and other leaders from the eight cities on FEC designated as stops. Teased into coming up with architectural plans and their portion of funding for stations in 1999, only to see the project vaporize, they were incensed to learn that the state’s $100 million Transportation Outreach program failed to allocate even $1 to get the trains rolling among the hundreds of mostly highway grants being considered
Several factors restarted the initiative. Amtrak’s Market Based Network Analysis model suggested splitting all three New York- Florida trains at Jacksonville into Tampa and Miami sections. Orlando would gain another train, and service to inland Winter Haven, Sebring, and Okeechobee would be preserved by sending the Silver Palm’s Miami section inland.
The new Meteor and Silver Star sections could tap the coast via the FEC, while existing service through Orlando would end at Tampa. The new multiple-train plan’s expanded utility appealed to Florida DOT.
Florida splits are nothing new; before the Palm was added, Amtrak trains had been variously separated at Jacksonville or Auburndale, but the practice was discontinued to “drive costs out” by eliminating the crew base at Tampa and consolidating all car work at Hialeah, site of the Miami terminal.
That more trains would require more track upgrading was understood, allowing the state DOT, Amtrak, and FEC to back off from their intransigent positions. After negotiation among all three, the new pricetag is $82.5 million. This includes:
* A signaled main track around FEC’s Bowden Yard near Jacksonville and more sidings on the route
* A “head-on” FEC-CSX connection north of West Palm Beach
* Installation of FEC-style cab-signaling on a captive fleet of Amtrak locomotives
* Employee qualification and training over FEC
* More track capacity at the Jacksonville station
* Reactivation of a small Tampa maintenance facility
There is $8 million for the state’s match for station construction, and the old FOX dollars will provide sufficient improvements to begin the first round trip (probably the Meteor), although not the new West Palm connection. For the full project to be finished by 2006, Florida has firmly committed $60 million; Amtrak will kick in $20 million, and FEC the rest.
Public investment in the new trains is a logical extension of double-tracking the West Palm-Miami corridor purchased years ago by the state from CSX. More TriRail commuter trains, with feeder bus routes and connections with Miami’s airport and rapid-transit system, have significantly expanded non-auto trips in the region.
Nevertheless, a double standard is now created. South of West Palm Beach, a farebox recovery in the 60% range for Tri-Rail commuter is acceptable, but north of there, intercity passenger service is judged a failure and its management inept if it doesn’t achieve 100% recovery (a.k.a. “operating self-sufficiency”). That’s more evidence of the lack of a true national transportation policy in the U.S.
Speeds cranked up in Michigan
On January 7, the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak, and state of Michigan increased maximum speeds from 79 to 90 mph for the eastbound Wolverine and westbound International between Niles and Kalamazoo, Mich. This follows a years experience with their 110-mph- – capable Incremental Train Control System (ITCS) as the main signal system for 40 mile stretch. The other six Amtrak trains will soon pick tip the pace there. Top priority has been to make sure the new positive-train-control technology is reliable. Once its reliability is verified at 90 mph, Amtrak’s trains will be allowed to crank tip to 110 mph on the line.
State-funded trains in peril?
With many of the 13 states that use their general revenues to augment their Amtrak services facing a severe budget crisis, some of the trains that carr v the timetable warning “operation is dependent upon continued state financial support” could face Crunch time in the upcoming months. Among possible victims could be Missouri’s St. Louis and Kansas City Mides, Oklahoma’s Heartland Flyer, and even the popular Cascades in the Pacific Northwest. Decisions are expected as soon as fiscal years hit their changeover dates.