Rumor Higher Speed Rail from MCO to Disney World

[LAKid53]

Just the opposite. From what I've heard, it was always a very slow route. And now much of the track has been sold to a local freight line, which means it's maintained to an even lower standard. But hopefully it could be brought back to it's former state, or even upgraded.

It was slow because, like much of the Sunset Limited route, it shared tracks with freight lines. That and it stopped at several podunk towns in the Pandandle, like Crestview.

There has been a push to reestablish that portion, to no avail. Shame.

We where?

Tally

 

[Lilofan]

We do have an Amtrak station.

Amtrak/Tallahassee ceased operating in 2005 unless you know more info. Hurricane Katrina ring a bell?

 

[LAKid53]

Amtrak/Tallahassee ceased operating in 2005 unless you know more info.

There's been a push to reestablish the NOLA to Jax portion of the Sunset Limited route. The station still exists. The tracks are still there. Freight trains do run through town.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Amtrak/Tallahassee ceased operating in 2005.

I'm pretty sure they are aware.

But hopefully it could be brought back to it's former state, or even upgraded

There has been a push to reestablish that portion, to no avail. Shame.

 

[LAKid53]

Amtrak/Tallahassee ceased operating in 2005 unless you know more info. Hurricane Katrina ring a bell?

The tracks destroyed by Katrina were repaired by CSX by February the following year. Service could have resumed then.

Amtrak ran an inspection train a few years ago from NOLA to Jax to check on track conditions. It stopped at our station on its way to Jax. There's a proposal for an Amtrak ling distance service that would include a route along the Gulf Coast to Orlando.

 

[LAKid53]

I'm pretty sure they are aware.

That we are. And we've been pushing to have it resumed.

 

[LAKid53]

Very funny. Unexploded bombs were stored underneath but that was probably before your time.

"Unexploded" bombs are frequently stored at US military instillations and on naval ships.

 

[joelkfla]

There's been a push to reestablish the NOLA to Jax portion of the Sunset Limited route. The station still exists. The tracks are still there. Freight trains do run through town.

They're working on service from NOLA as far as Mobile; I think state of Alabama is chipping in. CSX and the Port of Mobile are fighting it, claiming it would interfere with freight service to the port.

No news on continuing into FL; that's the part I heard CSX sold off.

ETA: The route still shows on Amtraks system map as "suspended service," but Amtrak recently released a map showing proposed service enhancements, and Mobile-JAX is still shown "suspended".

 

[lazyboy97o]

Trains can't and won't run through the Everglades...it's a national park. And no one is calling for commuter rail crisscrossing the state. But it's a viable option along the east coast from Miami to Jax, with a branch that could feed Orlando and Tampa. Which was the original plan...minus Jax.

Commuter rail usually means the service within a metropolitan area like SunRail around Orlando or Tri-Rail around Miami. It should run somewhat frequently and consistently (something SunRail does not always do). Actually going up and down the east coast would be inter-city travel and have less frequent trips like Brightline plans for its route. Part of the problem with the second Florida High Speed project was all of the stops on the route that dragged its average speed down to something like 75 mph.

One of the big advantages of Brightline’s preferred routing is that it provides a means to connect SunRail to Brightline and the airport. SunRail and GOAA do now also have an alternate means of funding the rail connection to the airport as the FAA just revised their rules to allow airports to help fund actual transit systems instead of isolated airport connections.

 

[LAKid53]

They're working on service from NOLA as far as Mobile; I think state of Alabama is chipping in. CSX and the Port of Mobile are fighting it, claiming it would interfere with freight service to the port.

No news on continuing into FL; that's the part I heard CSX sold off.

ETA: The route still shows on Amtraks system map as "suspended service," but Amtrak recently released a map showing proposed service enhancements, and Mobile-JAX was not on it.

There's a group that wants to reestablish train service along the Gulf Coast to Jax. But not the Sunset Limited.

Rail advocates contend new Gulf Coast Amtrak service isn’t the Sunset Limited

Officials with the Southern Rail Commission said that the new Gulf Coast Amtrak service will be regional, and not transcontinental like the previous Gulf Coast service provided by the Sunset Limited.

www.al.com

 

[LAKid53]

They're working on service from NOLA as far as Mobile; I think state of Alabama is chipping in. CSX and the Port of Mobile are fighting it, claiming it would interfere with freight service to the port.

No news on continuing into FL; that's the part I heard CSX sold off.

ETA: The route still shows on Amtraks system map as "suspended service," but Amtrak recently released a map showing proposed service enhancements, and Mobile-JAX is still shown "suspended".

Unfortunately, Florida failed to participate in the multi-state commission formed to review restoring service east of NOLA and thus didn't participate in the grant. Even though there is demand. And what would be restored would exceed what was there before. Instead there was a push to build more toll roads. Everything was skuttled in this year's legislative session, except for the push to extend the Turnpike northward to I-10 in Jefferson County, just east of Tally.

 

[jt04]

Unfortunately, Florida failed to participate in the multi-state commission formed to review restoring service east of NOLA and thus didn't participate in the grant. Even though there is demand. And what would be restored would exceed what was there before. Instead there was a push to build more toll roads. Everything was skuttled in this year's legislative session, except for the push to extend the Turnpike northward to I-10 in Jefferson County, just east of Tally.

Because Hurricane evacuation is bit more important than redundant train transportation.

Horse before the cart and all.

 

[Lilofan]

Unfortunately, Florida failed to participate in the multi-state commission formed to review restoring service east of NOLA and thus didn't participate in the grant. Even though there is demand. And what would be restored would exceed what was there before. Instead there was a push to build more toll roads. Everything was skuttled in this year's legislative session, except for the push to extend the Turnpike northward to I-10 in Jefferson County, just east of Tally.

Florida knows how to extract $$ from the millions of tourists / locals that use the toll roads. Leaving MCO in a rental car is a toll road gotcha.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The trouble with all rail systems in this country is that the majority are not rail advocates. It will be, I'm guessing a couple of generations, at best, before there is a full fledge support of rail systems in the states. We didn't build all those trillion of dollars worth of highways to leave the car at home and add another group of steps to getting from one place to another.

 

[LAKid53]

Because Hurricane evacuation is bit more important than redundant train transportation.

Horse before the cart and all.

Ahhh, you really think former Senate president Galvano was thinking that when he pushed through the controversial plan to build 3 toll roads? A processed that bypassed the normal process to build major roads in Florida... that required transportation studies to determine if need and prior identification as a priority by state transportation and local officials. Almost unilaterally, Galvano said the roads were needed to boost the economies in rural parts of the state.

The current bill to repeal the 2019 legislation kills the Heartland Parkway. It does extend the Turnpike past Wildwood - but to where yet to be determined. Along with improving US 19 from the Suncoast Parkway to I-10 in Madison County. The 2019 proposal would have required BILLIONS of dollars in bonding, with no guarantee that Turnpike tolls could pay for those bonds. Along with destroying sensitive habitat and wetlands in that part of the state and impacting poor communities in the region.

Yet HSR was deemed too expensive?

 

[Lilofan]

Ahhh, you really think former Senate president Galvano was thinking that when he pushed through the controversial plan to build 3 toll roads? A processed that bypassed the normal process to build major roads in Florida... that required transportation studies to determine if need and prior identification as a priority by state transportation and local officials. Almost unilaterally, Galvano said the roads were needed to boost the economies in rural parts of the state.

The current bill to repeal the 2019 legislation kills the Heartland Parkway. It does extend the Turnpike past Wildwood - but to where yet to be determined. Along with improving US 19 from the Suncoast Parkway to I-10 in Madison County. The 2019 proposal would have required BILLIONS of dollars in bonding, with no guarantee that Turnpike tolls could pay for those bonds. Along with destroying sensitive habitat and wetlands in that part of the state and impacting poor communities in the region.

Yet HSR was deemed too expensive?

Toll roads are a cash cow ( a no brainer ) for FL with the millions of tourists, retirees, locals using them on a daily basis. The issue of the toll roads destroying nature etc is noteworthy but merely just that. $$ from the toll roads to fund FL trumps it all. Tree huggers don't have their day.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Florida knows how to extract $$ from the millions of tourists / locals that use the toll roads. Leaving MCO in a rental car is a toll road gotcha.

Is the Beachline Expressway a toll road now? That used to be free at least to I-4. I know that if you left the airport on the backside of the parking garage you automatically were on a toll road. I'll be honest it has been at least a decade since I drove in from MCO. Living in NC made it easy to just drive my car down there and skip all tolls.

 

[Lilofan]

Is the Beachline Expressway a toll road now? That used to be free at least to I-4. I know that if you left the airport on the backside of the parking garage you automatically were on a toll road. I'll be honest it has been at least a decade since I drove in from MCO. Living in NC made it easy to just drive my car down there and skip all tolls.

Yes it is a toll road.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Toll roads are a cash cow ( a no brainer ) for FL with the millions of tourists, retirees, locals using them on a daily basis. The issue of the toll roads destroying nature etc is noteworthy but merely just that. $$ trumps it all.

True in some places but here in NC there is one beautiful highway that is a toll road. However, while being distracted trying to decide the gender of bathroom users it didn't occur to them that there were at least 5 other roads that could be taken to go the same place. Some were just two lane roads that increased traffic on less safe roads while that beautiful highway remains almost deserted. It is used by people traveling through because they don't know any better, but most do. Waze easily directs them around. Not only that but that stretch is only 20 miles long so a round trip is $9.00. Just a little to steep.

 

[Rich Brownn]

It's a little over 1 hour to drive between Tampa and Orlando. I-4 is a heavily traveled roadway and getting more and more congested. It is arguably the busiest interstate. Why do you think it's being expanded?

Why fly between those two cities when it is faster to drive, when you consider the added time - and hassle - flying?

The point isn't the eventual switch to electric vehicles. You'll still have a heavily congested road. The point is to reduce vehicular travel in a heavily congested corridor.

Anyone driving from Orlando to Tampa between 3pm and 9pm knows the joys of both 535 and Four Corners. :/