One of
the many locations in the U.S. trying to push ahead in regards to rail travel
is the state of Florida. I grew up in
Central Florida, and traffic and an inadequate public transit system have been
a problem in the state for decades.
Major development in the state coincided with the rise in auto-centric
society, which created a very spread out suburban infrastructure. The number of major highways and interstates
in the state has, however, remained very low, meaning that getting around
without taking congested routes is very difficult. Compared with Oregon, Florida is only smaller
physically; the population of Florida is five times that of Oregon (19,000,000
vs. 3,800,000, respectively).
 |
Highway Traffic Congestion During Peak Hours
Image courtesy Federal Highway Administration
|
 |
| Florida's Population Density |
Central Florida, while it does
possess a public transportation system, that system could hardly be called
robust. Trimet covers a service area of
570 sq. miles, while Lynx, which serves Osceola, Seminole, and Orange counties
in Central Florida, services 2,500 sq. miles with a third the number of buses
as Trimet. Lynx also carries a third as
many passengers as Trimet, 29.1 million passengers versus over 100 million
carried on Trimet. This bus system is wholly inadequate for the amount of use Central Florida needs to relieve their highway congestion.
In 2000, Floridians voted to amend
the state constitution to require that a high speed rail system be built. That constitutional mandate was repealed
shortly after, but . Recently, a number
of projects have begun to create commuter and high speed rail systems
throughout the state, interconnecting at a number of points and run by various
agencies including Amtrak, Sunrail, and the Florida High Speed Rail
Authority. Through heated political
battles which almost killed off rail plans in Florida and the loss of two
billion dollars in ARRA money, work is finally underway on some of these
projects, namely the Sunrail commuter system in Central Florida.
 |
| Map Courtesy: Transport Politic |
The Sunrail system will run on currently
in-use standard gauge track shared by CSX freight trains and Amtrak. Construction has begun on the project, which
will be completed in two phases.
Currently, the construction consists of inspection bays and maintenance
facilities, 12 stations, park and rides, grade crossing improvements, and
double tracking to allow trains to travel simultaneously in both
directions. Phase One construction is
slated to be finished and the system brought online in Spring 2014. The final construction will be 61 miles long
and consist of two phases, both north and south of the original run from Debary
to Sand Lake Road. Phase Two is expected
to be completed by 2016. The plan also
includes exclusive travel times where CSX is able to move freight along the
line without interference from commuter trains.
 |
| Map courtesy: Wikipedia |
The
system will cost a total of $615 million, of which the Federal government will
pay for half. The state of Florida and
local governments will each be responsible for 25% of the costs. The state will also be responsible for the
maintenance and operations of the system, including dispatch of commuter trains
and freight moving through the area.
Fares are expected to be $2.50 within a single county and an additional
$1 for each county the rider is travelling through. This presents a significant cost benefit to
driving and a moderate time savings as well.
It will
be interesting to see how the Sunrail system affects travel along the I-4
corridor and whether or not it will alleviate traffic in the area. The plan was developed as backbone to serve
other areas of the state, so it is possible that the system could grow
significantly in the next decade.
High-speed rail may not still be a possibility, but at least the
residents of Florida are getting some sort of highway alternative.
Thanks to Asawari Kulkarni for reviewing this post.
References:
It will be interesting to see what affects Sunrail has in the Orlando area. The major problem I see with it is that the Orlando area is unique in having such a high combination of tourist traffic and commute traffic that compounded by the auto centric development patterns area that I am not sure Sunrail is the answer for the problems although at least something is being done.
ReplyDeleteAnother point is that the service will not be very usefull to those outside of commuters with trains running only every two hours or so in the off peak hours.
Some argue that we shouldn't spend money on commuter rail that is only designed to help commuters but instead put the money to solving intra urban transportation problems.
It is also interesting to note that as part of Sunrail CSX will be moving more of their frieght traffic to their rail line to the west that avoids many of the major cities although it has made many of those along that line very unhappy over the prospect of more trains. The advantage is that it will move through frieght trains out of the major urban areas of the Orlando area which is a plus.
I definitely agree with you. What the area needs is a light-rail network, but such a network would need to be pretty expansive because of the spread-out nature of the metropolitan area. Sunrail will hopefully alleviate some of the rush-hour problems the area has, though.
DeleteWhen I lived in Orlando, freight trains moving through the urban area was a huge problem for traffic congestion. Hopefully moving the CSX trains will alleviate some of the problems that the area has had where major thoroughfares intersect with rail lines.