Disney wants driver's seat on rail route
By Jim Stratton | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted December 12, 2002
Walt Disney World officials on Wednesday restated their opposition to any high-speed rail line that serves the Orange County Convention Center and International Drive.
Disney World Vice President Tom Lewis said if the state builds along the Bee Line Expressway, the company will not steer its visitors toward the billion-dollar train. Those visitors, when they arrive in Central Florida, now take a bus from Orlando International Airport to Disney resorts.
On Wednesday, consultants told the state's High-Speed Rail Authority that Disney could add 2 million people -- and more than $26 million in fares -- to the bullet train. But not if state officials ignore Disney's request to build the line along the Central Florida GreeneWay.
If they choose the Bee Line, Lewis said, "We'll continue running our bus system."
Two years ago, voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring the state to build a high-speed rail line linking Florida's five biggest urban areas. The first leg would run from Orlando International Airport to Tampa and is expected to cost about $1 billion.
The line's route has become an explosive political issue. Disney wants the GreeneWay -- a route that bypasses International Drive -- while Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty and other tourism leaders support a route that follows the Bee Line and Interstate 4.
That route, they point out, could serve both International Drive and Disney by shooting west from the airport then turning south along I-4.
Ridership projections say each route would provide about 2 million trips a year -- until consultants tally Disney guests who now ride charter buses.
When those tourists are added -- which Disney says will happen only if the rail line follows the GreeneWay -- ridership jumps to 4 million a year.
Critics say Disney opposes the Bee Line route because it would bring business to International Drive hotels and attractions. But Lewis said Disney supports the GreeneWay because "it's the best route for the community."
Lewis said if high-speed rail is built along the Bee Line, it will prevent light rail from ever being built there. They say a light-rail line, with cheap fares and several stops, would better serve locals.
State officials will approve the system's route next year, but they are expected to rely heavily on the private group chosen to run the system.
And those groups may insist on a route catering to Disney's 2 million riders and the $26 million they represent.
The operator, said rail-authority member Skip Fowler, "is going to be the one taking the risks. So he should get the reward."
By Jim Stratton | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted December 12, 2002
Walt Disney World officials on Wednesday restated their opposition to any high-speed rail line that serves the Orange County Convention Center and International Drive.
Disney World Vice President Tom Lewis said if the state builds along the Bee Line Expressway, the company will not steer its visitors toward the billion-dollar train. Those visitors, when they arrive in Central Florida, now take a bus from Orlando International Airport to Disney resorts.
On Wednesday, consultants told the state's High-Speed Rail Authority that Disney could add 2 million people -- and more than $26 million in fares -- to the bullet train. But not if state officials ignore Disney's request to build the line along the Central Florida GreeneWay.
If they choose the Bee Line, Lewis said, "We'll continue running our bus system."
Two years ago, voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring the state to build a high-speed rail line linking Florida's five biggest urban areas. The first leg would run from Orlando International Airport to Tampa and is expected to cost about $1 billion.
The line's route has become an explosive political issue. Disney wants the GreeneWay -- a route that bypasses International Drive -- while Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty and other tourism leaders support a route that follows the Bee Line and Interstate 4.
That route, they point out, could serve both International Drive and Disney by shooting west from the airport then turning south along I-4.
Ridership projections say each route would provide about 2 million trips a year -- until consultants tally Disney guests who now ride charter buses.
When those tourists are added -- which Disney says will happen only if the rail line follows the GreeneWay -- ridership jumps to 4 million a year.
Critics say Disney opposes the Bee Line route because it would bring business to International Drive hotels and attractions. But Lewis said Disney supports the GreeneWay because "it's the best route for the community."
Lewis said if high-speed rail is built along the Bee Line, it will prevent light rail from ever being built there. They say a light-rail line, with cheap fares and several stops, would better serve locals.
State officials will approve the system's route next year, but they are expected to rely heavily on the private group chosen to run the system.
And those groups may insist on a route catering to Disney's 2 million riders and the $26 million they represent.
The operator, said rail-authority member Skip Fowler, "is going to be the one taking the risks. So he should get the reward."
