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Florida may get high-speed rail system

Anyone who has been reading this blog in the past few weeks knows that I’m turning into a big fan of light rail transportation. I’ve always had some interest in the idea of light rail trains, but I got even more inspired when I saw stories about the new light rail train system in Phoenix.
A few weeks later, I was in Baltimore and found that I could travel from Baltimore-Washington Airport to downtown Baltimore on that city’s light rail system. It was fast, clean and really cheap. I loved it.
Now I see that the Obama Administration has unveiled plans for high-speed rail service in 10 different regions of the country. And guess what — Florida is one of them!
Now, what Obama envisions is a bit different than the light rail system I dream about for the Tampa Bay area. This plan would link more far-flung cities rather than local communities. But that’s okay with me — if we get a high-speed system in Florida, I think our chances would be really good for a link-up to a new light rail system that could encircle the Tampa Bay communities.
Obama says a high-speed rail system could help unsnarl airport traffic and lighten the loads on our highways. If you have ever tried to drive on I-4 between Tampa Bay and Orlando and then on to Florida’s East Coast, you quickly get the idea.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to sit on I-4 while wreckers and police worked to clean up the mess of serious highway accidents somewhere up ahead. I-4 is over-used and under-built in most areas, and speeding cars roaring along in thick packs run into each other with alarming regularity.
 Obama said the plan would use $8 billion in his stimulus package which would be spent over two years. The money would serve as a sort of down payment to get the rail projects started. Then $1 billion would be spent each year over the next five years to move the projects forward.
He says the U.S. Department of Transportation could start awarding funds as early as the end of summer. I think Florida has  a good chance of being an early recipient of those funds — the state has been involved in planning a high-speed rail system since 2001, so we may be a bit ahead of other states.

Tags: Florida, high speed rail, real estate