It's Official - High Speed Rail A Go!

Yesterday, in a Town Hall meeting at the University of Tampa, President Obama and Vice President Biden made a rare joint appearance to announce that that Florida would receive $1.25 billion in economic stimulus money to help build a High-Speed Rail line from Tampa to Orlando.

"We're going to put more Americans to work building our infrastructure and building our infrastructure for the future,'' Obama said. "There's no reason why other countries can build high-speed rail lines and we can't, and that's what's going to happen right here in Tampa.'' At a time of record high unemployment in the area, this is the result of a huge bipartisan effort

The $1.25 billion represents just under half of the request for #2.6 billion. A total of $8 billion will be handed out to Florida and 12 other places for fast trains, but no single grant will be for more than half of the original request. Still, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., predicted, "This will be one of the largest boosts to the state's economy since Disney, since the interstate highway system."

Design work and construction could start late this year or early in 2011. Operations could begin in early 2015. Disney has promised to support the train and has offered up to 50 acres of free land for a station. As proposed, the train would start at Orlando International Airport and run along the BeachLine Expressway and Interstate 4 until stopping in Tampa, a little past Ybor City. It would have stops at the Orange County Convention Center, Walt Disney World (near Celebration) and Lakeland.