Central Florida Commuter Rail

Central Florida Commuter Rail

Central Florida Commuter Rail is a proposed commuter rail system in the Central Florida (Orlando) area. The rail line is expected to be fully completed and running sometime in 2013 (with the first phase operating as early as 2010). It will run for 61 miles along the CSX Transportation "A" Line (former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad main line) from Poinciana Boulevard near Kissimmee through downtown Orlando to DeLand. The line is presently used by two daily Amtrak round trips, the Silver Meteor and the Silver Star. Also, it was used by an Amtrak tri-weekly trip, the Sunset Limited from Orlando to Los Angeles, now being suspended until further notice due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The new commuter rail system will be financed by counties, the state, and the federal government.

Volusia County, Seminole County, Orange County, the City of Orlando and Osceola County are the partners in the project. The local partners combine to foot 25% of the bill, which the State of Florida will match. The remaining 50% will come from a Federal transit "New Starts" grant funds. The total cost of the system is estimated at $615 million.

On November 29 2007, the State of Florida agreed to pay $491 million to CSX to purchase the "A" Line from DeLand to Poinciana outright. The money was above and beyond the $615 million quoted for the system, which was being used to makes track improvements, construct train stations and purchase rail cars. CSX will still run some limited freight at night on the "A" Line, but most freight traffic will be rerouted. [ [http://www.cfrail.com/newsevents.asp?type=news&id=43#Article News & Events - CFRail.com ] ]

The Florida legislature must approve the CSX-Florida Department of Transportation agreement in order for project construction to begin. The legislature failed to consider the agreement in the 2008 session. At issue were provisions regarding liability and indemnification. Commenting on the bill, state senator Paula Dockery said, "I don't envision a time anytime soon where thoughtful senators are going to say that there's some kind of good public policy involved in taking liability away from somebody who was at fault and putting it on the taxpayers of the state of Florida." The current contract between CSX and Florida DOT is in place through June 30, 2009, and the legislature will have another opportunity to consider and approve the agrement in the 2009 legislative session. [cite news | url=http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD02POL050108.htm | title=Senate applies brakes to commuter rail | first=James | last=Miller | work=Daytona Beach News-Journal | date=May 1 2008 | accessdate=2008-05-02] [cite news | url=http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/05/05/daily9.html?t=printable | title=State won't buy CSX track in Central Florida | work=Tampa Bay Business Journal | date=May 6 2008 | accessdate=2008-05-06]

The first segment of the Central Florida Commuter Rail project was approved to enter Final Design by the Federal Transit Administration on August 11, 2008.

Station stops

The following station stops were proposed:
*Poinciana Industrial Park
*Kissimmee (Amtrak station)
*Osceola Parkway
*Meadow Woods
*Sand Lake Road
*Orlando (Amtrak station)/Orlando Regional Medical Center
*Church Street Station (downtown Orlando)
*Lynx Central Station (downtown Orlando)
*Florida Hospital
*Winter Park/Park Avenue
*Maitland
*Altamonte Springs
*Longwood
*Lake Mary
*Sanford/State Road 46 (Amtrak station)
*DeBary/Fort Florida Road
*DeLand (Amtrak station)

Approval Votes

*Orange County - 7-0 - July 19 2007 [http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2007/7/19/first_commuter_rail_vote_happens_thursday.html]
*City of Orlando - 7-0 - July 23 2007 [http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/osceola/orl-rail2407jul24,0,2290468.story]
*Seminole County - 5-0 - July 24 2007 [http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2007/7/24/commuter_rail_votes_chug_along.html]
*Osceola County - 5-0† - July 30 2007 [http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/osceola/orl-rail2407jul24,0,2290468.story]
*Volusia County - July 31 2007 [http://volusia.org/countycouncil/actions/073107.htm]

† Osceola County has agreed in principle, but is examining how to fund their $9.3-million share.

References

External links

* [http://www.cfrail.com/ Central Florida Commuter Rail]
* [http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-rail1407jul14,0,3460230.story July 14 article by the Orlando Sentinel]
* [http://www.wesh.com/news/13717584/detail.html "Orlando Commuter Rail On Track For Completion"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Central Florida — s threatening often.Although the exact area can be disputed, Central Florida tends to be thought of as the area including Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Brevard, and Volusia counties. Polk, Flagler, and Sumter counties are considered by some,… …   Wikipedia

  • Commuter rail in North America — A Metra train in Chicago …   Wikipedia

  • MBTA Commuter Rail — COMMUTER RAIL MBTA Commuter Rail provides commuter service from Boston as far north as Newburyport, as far south as Warwick, and as far west a …   Wikipedia

  • Transportation in Florida — The State of Florida is served by a wide variety of transportation options, including Interstate Highways, United States and Florida State Roads, Amtrak and commuter rail services, scheduled passenger service and other airports, and public… …   Wikipedia

  • Kissimmee, Florida — Infobox Settlement official name = Kissimmee other name = native name = nickname = settlement type = City motto = imagesize = image caption = flag size = image seal size = image shield = shield size = image blank emblem = Logo kissimmee.gif blank …   Wikipedia

  • Rail transportation in the United States — Rail transport Operations Track Maintenance High speed Gauge Stations …   Wikipedia

  • Florida East Coast Railway — Infobox SG rail railroad name=Florida East Coast Railway logo filename=Florida East Coast Herald.png logo size=100 system map size=250 map caption=FEC route map old gauge= marks=FEC locale=Florida start year=1885 end year=present hq… …   Wikipedia

  • Central Station (Chicago terminal) — See also: Central Station (Chicago) Central Station in February 1971, with signs for the Illinois Central and Big Four Central Station was an intercity passenger terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, located at the southern end of Grant Park at …   Wikipedia

  • List of rail accidents (1950–1999) — List of rail accidents from 1950 to 1999.For historic accidents before 1950, see List of pre 1950 rail accidents .For accidents from 2000 to the present, see List of rail accidents . notoc 1950s 1950* February 17 1950 ndash; Rockville Centre, New …   Wikipedia

  • Illinois Central Railroad — Illinois and Central Railroad Combined route map of the Chicago Central (red) and Illinois Central (blue) railroads in 1996.[1] …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”