Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHandouts_Workshop_Tab AOM_04/28/2014 (2) FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAYS httq://www.fecrwv.com/ http://www.fecrwy.com/about/history FEC FEC's story is rich with history, beginning with an entrepreneurial spirit that pioneered the glory days of rail travei. The company owes its roots to Henry ^�e =1�gIQr... a�ame synonymous with growth and development for the State of Fiorida. Originally an oil man, Flagler had formed the Rockefeller, Andrews and Flagler Oil Refinery with John D. Rockefeiler and Samuel Andrews in 1868, which later emerged as a joint-stock corporation named Standard Oil. By 1877, Standard Oil was considered the biggest and wealthiest industrial company in the world. But in Florida, development was slow. In 1878, for example, St. Augustine - the oldest city in the nation - was a city of great potentiai with no one to harness it. On a personal trip to the city, Flagler found it charming, and realized it would be home to his next venture. Giving up his New York Standard Oil job in 1885, he came back to St. Augus�ine to fix what he thought were the two main problems: hotels and transportation. After successfully building the Ponce De Leon Hotel, he moved on to creating railways, which begins the Florida East Coast lineage. ,�'•� c � e.° Prior to Flagler's involvement, the first rarlroad that would eventually become part of FEC was the St. .1ohn's Railway, which opened in 1859 and operated from Tocoi Landing on the St. Johns River to St. Augustine, initially using mules for power, It was also the first abandoned of the predecessor railroads, being taken out of service in 1896. Flagler bought the Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Halifax, and Indian River Railroads that would become, after several name changes, the Florida East Coast Railway in September of 1895. FEC founded West Paim Beach, Palm Beach and, in 1896, Miami, as well as most of the east coast of Florida. Between 1904 and 1912, FEC was responsibie for one of the greatest railroad engineering and construction feats in the history of the U.S.: the fabled Key West Extension, which opened with Mr. Flagler's triumphant entry into the island city on January 22, 1912. By 1913, when Fiagler died, FEC connected the entire east coast of Florida, from Jacksonville to Key West. /�j,,c e' ��_. %�i.,' �� / ' � ;:'' � ��' l` ( L � ,r The Sto��lc Mnrket G��TSI�< <�f 19�9 and subsequent G�e��t Dt��res5lu�r were particulariy harsh on �EC. The railroad declared bankruptcy and was in receivership by September 1931, just 18 years after Flagler's death. Streamliners piied the rails between 1939 and 1963, including such famous trains as "The Champion" and "The Florida Special" jointly operated with the Atlantic Coast Line. In 1961, Edward Ball, Chairman of the Alfi�e�i I. duPont 7"estrzr�r�e�ztc�r�� T'r�u�t (and duPont's brother- in-law), purchased a majority ownership of FEC via the St. Joe Company. This allowed FEC to emerge from bankruptcy. However, in 1963 union employees of the company commenced a work stoppage that extended in some form into 1975. Failing to reach agreement with its union employees, the company opted for seif-help, hired a new work force to replace the striking employees, and discontinued its money-losing passenger operations. Florida East Coast Industries (FECI) was incorporated in 1983 and became the holding company for FEC and the real estate holdings which were managed by Flagler Development Company, which today is a separate operating company focusing on the commerciai real estate market. FECI began operating independently of the St. Joe Company on October 9, 2000. On July 26, 2007, FECI was purchased with private equity funds managed by Fortress Investment Grou�. Today, FEC operates from its headquarters in )acksonvifie, and it runs on almost the same route Henry Flagler developed. FEC is not only one of America's most exciting railroads, but it is now preparing for a major expansion with infrastructure projects underway at the Port Miami and Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale). http://www.fecrwy.com/news/florida-east-coast-railway-enhances-port-connectivitx fEC Search Etrrf�lol�rru:nt I Si�rn LIp for News � 0 0 Florida East Coast Railway. Connecting Fl�rida to the zvorld. . �.. �,..� "..��"�'�r :w:-���` ,.-,.»_ �� . '. +. . E x � f f l '��l'' LM$IY' . � . � d,-_ � ._•'�, �` , . �ni���1��'^X Y.���-� :.c� . .`r ' � ";''� , � `" �� � t ;, � .,,., .� �_� _ .:�; � � , 1: ,y 1" �� A�. � _�..� "', i , • } , R\ � M y � ��'. 1� _\ �� ` "� .;:� ��, ���- _ - �'.�, � r ��� � � t _� , r°� � ,,,��.. � , .� . a « .� - � � � � .. -�.:�: �- _; Florida East Coast Railway, operator of the 351-mile freight rail system running along Florida's Atlantic Coast between Jacksonville and South Florida, is poised to efficiently handle increased volumes as Panama Canal expansion moves toward completion. In an exciusive interview with the American Journa! of Transportation, James R. Hertwig, president and chief executive officer of Jacksonville-based FEC, said the Class II railway looks to capitalize upon such developments as the recent restoration of on-dock rail at PortMiami, a soon-to-open intermodal container transfer facility at Port Everglades and an expanding South Florida Logistics Center. "As far as a railroad, we're, I think, positioned extremely well in South Florida as these ports expand," Hertwig said. "If you think about it, historically, these ports have really been heavy in the Latin American trade, which is balanced somewhat. But, in the future, I think these ports will be winning the Asia cargo." Hertwig said that, with the opening of the expanded Panama Canal, he anticipates a shift of cargo to South Florida ports from Savannah and Charleston. "With our raii service, we can service Chariotte in two days, Atlanta in two days, so, in essence, we can have the cargo at destination by the time the ships arrive at Savannah or Charleston," he said, noting that this is accomplished via interchange with CSX or Norfolk Southern railways at Jacksonville. "We've done some test moves with retailers, and we've actually demonstrated that the cargo has been at �estination bv the time the ships arrived in Savannah or Charieston," Hertwig continued. "The good news," he said, "is that I think what you'll see is the South Fiorida ports capturing not only all the Florida traffic — it makes all the sense in the world to put it in there — but I think you'll see them capture the Southeast traffic." At PortMiami, F��, has restored on-dock rail, having begun pulling trains off the port in mid-October. In March, FEC is siated to complete expansion of loading track to double present capability, and, by yearend, three loading tracks, each 3,000 feet long, are to be fully operational. Having on-dock rail at PortMiami is a key to FEC's ability to cost-effectively reach the more than 5 million consumers dn� tens of millions of annuai visitors in the Centrai F(crida market, according to Hertwic. "A market that we have not been able to effectively service is Central Florida, and it's a huge market," Hertwig said. "Today, a majority of the freight that comes from ports into Central Florida is trucked from either the South Florida ports, Jacksonville or Savannah. "For us to try to be competitive before, they'd have to truck containers to our Hialeah rail yard, and we'd have to put them on a train, take them up to Cocoa and then go 30 miles [by truck] for delivery into Orlando," he said. "By the time you add all those costs in, it was marginal to truck. "Now, since we've got on-dock rail, we can load directly out of the port and take those containers directly right up to Cocoa and, 30 miles later, deliver them in the Orlando market," Hertwig added. "So that has been the majority of the new business that we're hauling to Cocoa today." At Broward County's Port Everglades, a July 14 grand opening is planned for a 43-acre ICTF being developed on port property �!nder a public-private partnership. The $73 million project is being funded via an �18 million state qrant, with a$20 million contribution from Broward County in the form of land, and FEC footing $35 million — of which $30 million is by way of a low-interest state infrastructure bank loan "Right now, we've got a small, 12-acre facility, and we're literally out of room," Hertwig said, referring to FEC's off-port Andrews Avenue yard. "It handles about 100,000 lifts a year, while the Port Everglades ICTF is designed to eventually handle as many as 600,000 lifts a year." The Andrews Avenue facility, with a pair of 1,250-foot working tracks, presents challenges in buildina trains as long as 9,000 feet long, often meaning that roadway traffic is blocked on State Road 8�. With the ICTF, trains will be built directly at the port, which, combined with a separate highway overpass project, will alleviate roadway blockage concerns. International containers will come into the ICTF through a south gate without ever going on a public highway, while domestic freight will enter via the front gate, said Hertwig, who termed the ICTF "really very unique" in this regard. "For example," he said, "if you have a 53-foot domestic container going to Charlotte and a 40-foot [international] container going to Charlotte, the two could be loaded together right at that facility and go on the rail north." FEC also holds exclusive rail rights to serve the Port of Palm Beach, in addition to Port Everglades and PortMiami. In addition, the South Florida Logistics Center, being developed by a sister company to FEC, Coral Gables-based Flagler Global Logistics, is seen as presenting additional opportunities, including for refrigerated produce imports from Latin America. Flagler Global Logistics is building out 200 acres adjacent to FEC's existing Hialeah intermodal facility. Hertwig said plans call for 1.5 million square feet of warehouse and cross-dock facilities, the first 173,000 square feet of which are already up and running, including chill space with state-of-the- industry fumigation capabilities, with work havirg begun on the next two buildings. "Why is that important? We can bring cargo in from the port [PortMiami], put it on our train, run it over 12 miles, not go out on public highways," he said. `The ocean carriers really don't want those 40-foot containers going into the hinterlands because they have to figure a way to get them back out to the ports," Hertwig said. "We currently have all kinds of 53-foot domestic containers down in South Florida, and I think you'li see the transloading of a lot of that product that comes in, with [cargo from] three of the 40-foot containers transloaded into iwo of the 53s. "Those containers are today just coming back up empty on our railroad," he added. "I think, in the future, you'll see them carrying loads.