Stimulus Plan for Rail Line Shows System of Weak Links

“Stimulus Plan for Rail Line Shows System of Weak Links”

By Michael Cooper

NY Times

March 22, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/us/23train.html

Recently, the Obama administration awarded Florida $1.25 billion in stimulus money to link Orlando to Tampa with a fast train to encourage high-speed rail service in the United States. The train would reach speeds of 168 miles per hour and make five stops along the 84-mile route. It is expected to make the trip in 54 to 58 minutes, while test drives along the same route took 82 minutes; shaving off only 30 minutes of the trip. Travelers may also be disappointed with their transit options upon arrival in either city; Tampa, in particular was noted in Frommer’s travel guide as being nearly impossible to navigate to major sights and restaurants without a car. Light rail is planned in both cities, but no connections to the high speed rail are planned. Also, the rail would go to downtown Tampa, but not the airport, and it would go to the Orlando airport, but not downtown Orlando. America 2050, a planning group, found that to capture riders, cities must be at least 100 miles apart; an estimate that is nearly 20 miles longer than the proposed route. Studies have estimated that the train would draw 11 percent of the 4.5 million people who drive between the Tampa and Orlando each year, but this would not be sufficient numbers to improve traffic flow on Interstate 4. The Obama administration saw the route as the fastest and cheapest way to get a high-speed line up and running because most of the right of way has been acquired and plans have been in place for decades. If the project is built and not successful, it may be harder for other high-speed rail projects to get money in the future.