Which is why we need to study propsed systems extensively before embarking on such projects.
Florida High Speed Rail - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Planning
[edit] Original referendum
In November 2000, Florida voters approved an amendment to Florida's constitution mandating the state establish a system of high speed trains exceeding 120 mph to link its five largest urban areas, with construction to commence by November 1, 2003. The Florida Legislature enacted the Florida High Speed Rail Authority Act in March 2001, creating the Florida High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA).[5] The HSRA established a Vision Plan for the system which proposed construction in several phases.[6] Preliminary assessments and environmental studies were begun to develop an initial phase of the system between Orlando and Tampa.[5]
The first phase, planned for completion in 2009 under the original referendum, would have connected Orlando to Tampa (Phase 1, Part 1), with a later extension to St. Petersburg (Phase 1, Part 2).[7] Later phases might have extended the network to Miami, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Pensacola.
The Florida HSRA issued a Request for Proposal to Design, Build, Operate, Maintain and Finance (DBOM&F) the Orlando to Tampa Phase In October 2002. Two of the four received in February 2003 were reviewed further, one from a consortium of Fluor Corp. and Bombardier Transportation and one from Global Rail Consortium. The proposals showed cost of the Orlando-Tampa route to be approximately $2.4 billion. Both proposals offered private equity contributions to support operations of the system and show willingness of the private sector to share risk associated with projected ridership revenues.[5] In June 2003 Florida Governor Jeb Bush vetoed funding for the project that the Florida Legislature had approved.[8] The HSRA continued moving forward with the project, using funds already authorized by the federal government, and in October 2003 ranked the Fluor Bombardier proposal first.[5]
In early 2004, Governor Jeb Bush endorsed an effort to repeal the 2000 amendment that mandated the construction of the High Speed Rail System. On October 27, 2004, the authority voted to prefer the consortium of Fluor Corp. and Bombardier Transportation to build and operate the system, using Bombardier's JetTrain technology. However a month later in November, Florida voters repealed the 2000 amendment, removing the constitutional mandate for the system. Although the amendment was repealed, no action was taken by the state legislature in regard to the Florida High Speed Rail Authority Act. With the law still in effect, Florida's HSRA continued to meet, and completed the environmental impact statement for the Tampa-Orlando segment in 2005. With the constitutional mandate gone, however, funding for the project came to a halt and very little action was taken over the next several years.[5]
[edit] Plans revived in 2009
Passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 designated $8 billion for the development of a high-speed intercity passenger rail system. The Federal Railroad Administration named Florida one of ten high speed rail corridors potentially eligible for the federal funding.[9] The HSRA met on February 26, 2009 to being planning their application for these funds.[10] Due to the passage of time, potential legal issues, and new federal funding criteria rendering the earlier bids from 2003 inapplicable, the decision was made in May 2009 that a new bidding process would be necessary.[11][12] A first round application was summited in August 2009 for $30 Million to conduct a two year environmental study on the Orlando-Miami route. In October 2009, the authority summited an application during the second round for the entire Tampa - Orlando - Miami corridor, broken into two components: Orlando-Tampa and Orlando-Miami.[13] Connect Us, a political action committee, was launched on August 18, 2009 to rally public support for these applications.[14]
A typical High Speed Rail cross section in I-4. Note the safety barriers between the tracks and road traffic.
On December 16, the Florida Legislature passed a bill authorizing FDOT move forward with the purchase from CSX of the Central Florida Rail Corridor for the SunRail commuter rail project, and providing much needed additional funding for South Florida's Tri-Rail commuter rail system.[15] Funding of these initiatives was vital to the state's hopes to win federal HSR funding, as it showed the state of Florida was committed to creating a comprehensive rail network allowing connectivity between high speed rail and local mass transit systems.[16] The legislation also replaced the Florida High Speed Rail Authority with the Florida Rail Enterprise, a new agency created under the FDOT, responsible for construction, maintenance, and promotion of the state's high-speed rail system, as well as development and operation of publicly funded passenger rail systems in general.[17]
On January 28, 2010, the White House announced that Florida would receive $1.25 Billion of its request, about half of the cost of the Tampa-Orlando segment.[3] The state's efforts towards high speed rail between 2000 and 2005 put Florida ahead of the field in terms of the level of planning already completed, and this proved to be a major factor in winning the funds.[2] The preservation of the I-4 corridor by the FDOT, and completion of the environmental impact studies in 2005 meant that the project could proceed to construction in a very short time frame for a relatively affordable cost. As of March 2010 the Florida Rail Enterprise was seeking to refine cost estimates based on advanced engineering, finish development of possible Early Works (Install permanent barrier systems along most of I-4 and remove/relocate elements in median) and contract for bid this year and finally initiate a new bid procurement process specific to the Tampa to Orlando phase.[1] Construction of the line is slated to begin in 2011, with the initial phase completed by 2014.[2] In June, 2010, the Federal Railroad Administration issued its record of final decision, the final stage of approval for the design, purchase of land and construction of phase one. Tendering is thus able to begin.[18] In October 2010, Florida received $800 Million more towards construction from the FY 2010 High Speed Rail allocations.[19]
[edit] Construction
