Staff Reports
Virgin Trains USA, formerly known as Brightline, held a public hearing Friday in Tallahassee in its quest to bond nearly $1 billion to build its high-speed rail service, eventually to run all the way from West Palm Beach through Orlando to Tampa.
The proposal was met with near universal approval from elected officials, interest groups and others in attendance.
“From the promise of more robust urban centers in each of the planned station destinations, to the creation of jobs, to enhancing in-state travel for tourists, (it) will have a significant economic impact on the state overall, and to business along the corridor,” said Matthew Ubben, a consultant who was previously Executive Director of the Florida Transportation Commission and President of Floridians for Better Transportation.
Some argued against the proposal. A lobbyist for Indian River County, which continues to file legal challenges against the rail line, also briefly outlined objections of the Treasure Coast community where the trains will run without a stop on existing freight lines.
“Indian River County does not believe that the corporation has yet evidenced the ability and financials to undertake the issuances of $950 million in bonds,” said Stephen “Pepper” Uchino, a Tallahassee lobbyist who represents the county.
The objection comes amid Indian River County’s latest lawsuit, in which the county challenges having to pay for maintenance upgrades to railway crossings on the Florida East Coast Railway corridor that will be used by Virgin Trains USA.
The entity had planned to expand its high-speed rail service, already operating in South Florida, from West Palm Beach to Orlando by late 2021 and then eventually from Orlando to Tampa.
Now, the company hopes to combine some of those two phases into one with another $950 million in bond money.
The route would provide trips from Tampa to Orlando in just one hour at speeds in excess of 125 miles per hour. A trip from Tampa to Miami through Orlando would take about three hours.
The company has been working with the state’s Department of Transportation on securing the right of way along Interstate 4 that had been dedicated for publicly-funded high-speed rail. Gov. Rick Scott rejected that idea in 2010.
The latest bonding process is expected to be wrapped up in the coming weeks.
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Material from The News Service of Florida is used in this post.
