Yes. A Tampa-Orlando system is a boondoggle. But to keep my metaphor going, so is a Billings-Helena highway system.

Tampa-Orlando was a START. A smaller project so that people could see what was possible.

Pays for itself? It doesn't and neither do highways.

We spend $50B/year on surface transportation in this country and the Trust Fund only collects $30B/year. This "highways pay for themselves" is a *MYTH*. If we treated our highways the way we treated our rail system, we would be closing highways because of the cost of maintenance.

Now, on top of that, you have studies showing that it would have had operational profits. (This is what happens when you run frequent service - more than once a day - look at the Boston-Portland 'Downeaster' for an example of constantly exceeding ridership esitmates)

Now, once again, we find ourselves staring at $4 gas and beyond. It would be nice to have options. I've ridden the rails in Europe and was VERY pleasantly surprised.