Posted Mar 25, 2012, 1:12 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 3,867
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More details:
Quote:
Private passenger train vision calls for double-tracking Florida East Coast
TRAINS.com
March 23, 2012
MIAMI – Even if 40 miles of new track are not built by 2014, a new privately-run passenger service in Florida may run anyway, the head of passenger rail development for Florida East Coast Industries tells Trains News Wire.
Eugene Skoropowski, who was named senior vice president of passenger rail development earlier this month, said the railroad would run on the existing FEC from Miami to Cocoa, and until the new extension was completed, it could offer connecting service at Cocoa to Orlando.
Skoropowski said that while months of studies remain, the company envisions operating trains on one-hour headways. He told Trains columnist Fred Frailey that the existing FEC would need to be double-tracked for the service. “The FEC once was double track, and all the sub-ballast and the bridges are still there,” Skoropowski said...
Skoropowski, well known in the railroad industry for his successful management of California's Capitol Corridor passenger service, said he looks at the new service as "Capitol Corridor East" but with a much bigger market.
...Financing the project may not be as large a hurdle as it would appear. Florida East Coast Industries’ parent Fortress Investment Group has $43.7 billion in assets and raised $4.2 billion in capital during 2011... Florida East Coast Industries has real estate expertise since it also owns Flagler Development Group, one of South Florida’s largest development companies. It owns 5,000 acres of land in the state, including nine acres in downtown Miami that would be used for new development, including a new passenger station.
Skoropowski said if the project moves ahead, the railroad would likely run trains at 79 mph from Miami to West Palm Beach, 110 mph from West Palm Beach to Cocoa, and 125 mph on the new segment to Orlando. He said two possible alignments are under consideration for the new Orlando route.
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