High Speed Rail
 

I am curious if you have an opinion on the high speed rail project. My husband and I had a 'heated' conversation last night on if Govenor Scott has the ability to shut down the project without further discussion and if the project is a good idea in the first place. Any thoughts?

Hi Kellygirl.

This is PROBABLY gonna end up in Political with predictable results and predictable responses.

Kinda like being around the people you know so well that instead of telling a joke, you just call out...NUMBER 105 and everyone laughs.

Since citizens voted FOR the high speed rail I wouldn't think Gov Scott would be able to stop it on his own. BUT, we'll see what the Florida Supreme Court says.

On the surface it is a good idea. The questions I have are how would it be utilizied, how much will a ticket cost. If a ticket cost say $35 each way from Tampa to Orlando I do not see a family of 4 or 5 using it as it would cost $280-$350 round trip for a $50 or $60 trip by car.If the ticket cost is say $5-$10 and that covers the operating cost than it is a much better bet. No passangers mean we have to come up with the operating costs, I wonder where that money will come from? What would the cost be to add 2 or 4 more lanes to I 4? We are a nation of auto drivers and with the exception of the east coast most passenger rail is a failure and a drain on taxes.

Have you ever driven on I4 between Orlando and Tampa? Add more lanes to accomplish what?

Other items to consider:

Where are you going to get the train and will there be free or metered parking?

When you get to the other end, where is it going to let you off and will there be cabs or busses to get you to your final destination (and back to the train).?

Will there be enough trains going back and forth so you do not have to wait forever for a train?

Who is going to pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the trains and tracks? I certainly don't want to be tapped for any of the funds since I will never take these trains.

I am sure there are more. This is not like NYC where you go from the burbs to the city and switch trains to get to your destination. There are not hundreds of cabs waiting at the station to pick you up and drop you off at your destination.

High Speed
 

The Gov is doing the right thing. It would have cost more than predicted to build and it would cost all of us big dollars to operate it. But most importantly, who was going to use it?

If there was money to be made on this folly, the private sector would jump in to do it! Like most public transporation...they lose money, are not managed properly and wind up with bloated overhead and regulations. The government has to stop wasting our money!!

This was all hashed out when the citizens voted for the high speed train. It was on the ballot.

I don't know anything about the high speed rail project in FL. so I don't have a position one way or the other. However, Gov. Scott was on television recently and he was asked about the project and why he was refusing the funds for it. He gave two reasons and then the discussion went elsewhere. He said that the Feds refused to pay for any cost overruns and there were sure to be many and, in the event sometime in the future the train was no longer used, FL was obligated to repay the 2+ billion dollars. He said the taxpayers could not afford this at this time. He was really promoting tourism-said FL was the most frequented tourist destination in the WORLD with millions coming each year (can't remember the exact number but it was large) and he wanted more people to visit. :wave:

I have Bogie, a couple of years ago, but I don't remember anything much unusual about it. Is it bumper to bumper nowadays or just ordinary traffic?

I agree with Maryland Girl about not having a position either way but I'm from Massachusetts and I would hate FL to find themselves in the same predicament that MA got themselves into with "The Big Dig". What a fiasco and they will be paying for that for years to come.

my 2 cents
 

I can't see a project of this size coming in on budget. If there are additional funds needed guess who pays. The people living here through higher taxes. Nobody wants that. I think thegov. Scott is doing the right thing. Protecting the people of Florida. I'd like to see him and all the other Politicans take a closer look at the Panama Canal issue with regards to our ports and the jobs it may create. That may very well be money worth spending. Not a rail service and coming from the north the MTA was always broke and forever raising fares.Probably the same would happen with this rail service.JMO

It will be interesting to see if people's opinions change should gas prices continue to climb.

The construction of such a project takes a long time, so needs to be started before people recognise that they really need it. And a period of high unemployment is the best time to do so.

There is a distinction between normal rail, which is designed to replace car journeys, and high speed rail, which is designed to replace flying.

I see that mayors of several cities along the proposed route have come up with a plan using a private company that will guarantee that no taxpayer money will be needed to complete the construction. First, where do they think the feds money comes from? Trees? Second, even if they are successful in construction without additional taxpayer money, where will operating funds come from when ridership doesn't meet overblown expectations? Yup, taxpayers. As someone above posted, what happens when you arrive in Tampa, or Orlando? How do you get to your final destination? Areas where rail is successful have extensive public transportation to get travelers from the station to their destination. Areas that don't have to subsidize rail service with taxpayer funds.