Gov. Scott: Privately built Orlando to Tampa high speed rail in works

[TexasTowelie]

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott, who rejected $2.4 billion in federal funding for a high-speed train from Orlando to Tampa as one of his first acts in office, revealed Friday that a similar but privately funded project is on the table.

The Florida Department of Transportation received an unsolicited proposal in March from Brightline to lease right of way and build a high-speed rail line connecting Orlando and Tampa along Interstate 4.

Brightline already is building a rail line from Miami to Orlando, with a terminus at Orlando International Airport. The company on Tuesday got approval from Orange County leaders to lay tracks across wetlands for that project.

To see if other companies might be interested in the Orlando to Tampa route, Scott said DOT and the Central Florida Expressway Authority will put out a bid for the project, with proposals due in four months.

Read more: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-high-speed-rail-orlando-20180622-story.html

[OnDoutside]

1. This Miami to Orlando one is going to screw towns along the way because instead of building over

Bridges, the cheapos are keeping level crossings meaning sections of town will be cut off a dozen or so times a day.

[csziggy]

2. They might as well build bridges

A lot of that area is swampy or very high water table - the effort to support the tracks will be about the same as building a bridge the entire way. Why not elevate it, skip the hazard of cross track traffic, and prolong the life as the water continues to rise?

ETA - Also putting the rails above ground level allows for water flow, animal migration and traffic, and does not cut the ecosystem into even smaller chunks.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/122858051

[OnDoutside]

3. That would be the logical choice ! But more expensive for them. It's going to hurt towns

caught on the sea side. My brother has moved house already, inland on the other side of the tracks.