HomeMy WebLinkAboutHandouts_Regular_Tab AOM_05/08/2014 All Aboard Florida: :�Viiami-Orlando Passenger Rail
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BY Amy Cavaretta
Policy Fellow
Eno Center for Transportation
Rusty Roberts, Vice President of Corporate Development for FEC and former Chief of Staff for
Congressman John Mica (R-Fla.), presented an overview of the ____ =:��:.,____ ___
(FEC) plan to build and run the first high-speed passenger rail service in Florida from Miami to
Orlando on October 9 at the monthly Transportation Research Forum luncheon. The FEC plan
projects operations to begin in 2015. If successful, the project will be the nation's first modern
privately financed and owned intercity passenger rail systern since 1983.
Overview
As part of his 2009 State of the Union address, President Obama announced that he aimed to
provide 80 percent of Americans ,access to high-speed rail (HSR) within 25 years. Seeking to
accomplish this goal, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2010 allocated $8 billion
in federal funds through 2016 to states in an effort to promote HSR. In 2010, Florida was
selected to receive a$2 billion grant for an 84-mile HSR line that would connect Tampa to
Orlando along the Interstate 4 corridor. However, Florida Governor Rick Scott rejected the funds
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resulting in termination of the project, thereby creating the opportunity for rail projects at the
hands of the private sector.
All-Aboard Florida
In March 2012, FEC, one of Florida's largest and oldest infrastructure firms, announced plans to
begin operation of a passenger rail service primarily along their existing freight rail right-of-way
(ROW). The proposed "Express Intercity Passenger Rail" service would operate between Miami
and Orlando with two intermediate stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The first
segment, approximately 195 miles, follows existing FEC rail track from Miami to Cocoa Beach.
The second segment, approximately 40 miles, will be constructed alongside the Florida
Beachline Expressway—or Route 528—from Cocoa to Orlando International Airport (OIA). The
project already has Federal Railroad Administration approval and has received environmental
approvals for the initial Miami to West Palm Beach segment.
Because FEC already owns ROW and one existing track along the I-95 corridor from Miami to
Jacksonville, they have a significant cost and timeline advantage over other privately-owned rail
proposals that include large capital costs for land acquisition, environmental permitting, and
track construction. The only portion FEC does not own is the corridor from Cocoa to Orlando.
As a result, the project involves leasing land from the Orlando-Orange County Expressway
Authority (OOCEA) and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for the construction
of new rail track to extend rail service the 40-mile segment along the Florida Beachline. OOCEA
owns 20 miles of the Beachline Expressway ROW and FDOT owns the other 15 miles required
to connect with OIA.
The rail service is planned to operate at speeds up to 125 mph and is projected to move
passengers from Orlando to Miami in about three hours. These speeds offer an improvement for
travelers in comparison to driving on the Florida Turnpike and will qualify to serve as "Regional
Services" and "Core Express Services" as part of the Federal Railroad Administration's national
Hi�h Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) program. Other comparable modes of
transportation along the route include driving (between 3.5 and 4 hours without traffic), flying
(45 minutes, but high cost in air fares), and Amtrak passenger rail service (about 10 hours).
Trains will run hourly with 16 round trips a day with service scheduled to begin in late 2015.
Passengers
FEC is projecting that 75 percent of the train's riders will be leisure travelers and 25 percent will
be business travelers. FEC projects that the share of business travelers will increase, reducing
congestion on the short-distance, high-cost airline and highway routes between Orlando and
Miami. To attract those passengers, the plan calls for stations located in downtown Miami, Fort
Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, as well as a station at OIA. The proposed stations will benefit
from transit connections and easy access for tourists and business travelers. In the first three
years of operation, FEC estimates about $145 million annuallv in fare revenues.
FEC studied its decision to provide service between Orlando and Miami. Orlando is the world's
most popular city with S7 inillion visitors in 2012. Further, the South Florida region attracts a
significant amount of international visitors from South and Central America, while Orlando's
international visitors originate more from European or Asian nations. Though many visitors may
intend to only visit their destination city, many travel to other nearby large cities and according
to FEC, close to 50 million trips are taken between Orlando and Miami each year.
Transit Oriented Development and Econamic Growth
The proposed passenger rail service intends to provide high-quality rail service between Miami
and Orlando, but FEC has also hopes to stimulate economic growth at the four stations. At each
of the station locations, FEC already owns a significant amount of acreage where transit-oriented
stations can be constructed with the largest nine-acre site in downtown Miami. Both the Miami
and Orlando stations will function as components of intermodal centers connected with the
respective airports and other transit and automobile connections.
Challenges to the Project
If successful the new FEC passenger rail service will be the first privately-owned, operated, and
mainta.ined passenger rail system in the United States since the Rio Grande Zephvr shut down in
1983. Competing with several other proposals for high-speed passenger rail service in other
metropolitan areas across the country, FEC cited several reasons why they are confident their
proposal will succeed. Despite the optimism, challenges have been raised.
Cost and Fundin�
In 2012, FEC estimated project costs at approximately $1 billion, an estimate that was raised 150
percent to $1.5 billion in 2013. This cost takes into account the cost of laying an additional rail
from Miami to Cocoa, leasing land from OOCEA/FDOT ($12 million lump sum), and
constructing rail from Cocoa to Orlando. FEC already owned nine acres of land where the Miami
station will be constructed, recently spent $2.4 million to purchase land for the West Palm Beach
station, and is currently in talks to purchase land in Fort Lauderdale and at OIA.
As a result of increasing cost estimates, All Aboard Florida applied for a federal loan from the
FRA in March 2013, yet the details remain uncertain. If approved, the FRA could loan All
Aboaxd Florida up to $563 million to assist with construction costs for the passenger rail service,
with FEC using some of its assets as collateral for the loan. As with most transportation projects,
cost estimates and funding will likely remain a challenge thoughout the duration of project
design and construction, particularly because of the project's heavy reliance on future ridership
and fare revenue to cover loan payments. The project also relies on significant development on
FEC land surrounding the stations. To be successful, development projects and passenger rail
service will need to work together to raise enough revenues for FEC to turn a profit.
Grade CrossinQs
In addition to funding and project costs, another significant barrier that FEC faces is the number
of grade crossings included in the project. Along the 200-mile segment from downtown Miami
to Cocoa there are 314 highway grade crossings. Each of these grade crossings are currently
functional and used daily for freight rail service but will need to be modified to handle passenger
rail operating at a higher speed. Regardless, this does pose a challenge to FEC plans to run trains
between 79 and 110 mph in this part of the corridor.
A large concern regarding the grade crossings is noise. Several groups of residents living along
or near the FEC railway have raised concerns that "the economic ain�of the rail projec� is
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overshadowin the impact on nearby residents." Train crossings require freight or passenger
trains to sound their horns four times at each grade crossing, unless the crossing is converted into
a"quiet zone." For a"quiet zone" crossing, local municipalities must approve and pay for
warning lights, gates, and raised medians, resulting in a cost-intensive upgrade. For instance, a
full "quiet zone" upgrade for one major intersection in West Pa1m Beach is estimated to cost
$600,000 or more. As a result of the noise concerns and high projected costs, residents are
advocating that to continue with the project, FEC should bear the costs to upgrade the 314 grade
crossings to "quiet zones."
Conclusion and Additional Information
Overall, FEC's All Aboard Florida appears to be moving forward. However, it is yet uncertain
how the details of the project will fall in place and how barriers will be addressed. If successful,
FEC will have set a new precedent for private involvement in transportation, potentially
encouraging more privately funded rail projects. As the project continues to move forward, more
information can be found at the project website "All Aboard Florida."
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