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.

High Speed Rail - Impact On Tampa Bay!

As part of the $787 billion federal stimulus plan to generate jobs, The Federal Rail Administration (FRA) has been given an allocation of $8 billion to distribute to states through competitive grants for high-speed intercity passenger rail programs. The first round of applications were due for funding for engineering, construction and program development projects on August 24th. This Friday, October 2nd, marks the deadline for the second round of applications which focus on the actual corridor program.
40 states will file detailed high-speed rail applications with the FRA and in December President Obama will announce which states will be granted funds from the stimulus plan. An additional $5 billion could be allocated to 10 high-speed corridors nationwide. According to the Tampa Tribune, Florida is seeking $2.5 billion and is a leading contender. See full article.

"If Florida gets the $2.5 billion it seeks, it will represent a stunning reversal of political fortunes - after 25 years of promise and setbacks - that will provide thousands of new jobs as early as 2011, when construction on the 95-mile Tampa-Orlando segment could begin. The Florida funding request also covers planning an Orlando-Miami segment that could complete a 361-mile high-speed rail corridor between Tampa and South Florida in 2017."

The advantages that Florida has include the fact that the environmental plans for the Tampa - Orlando corridor are complete, unlike other U.S. corridors. Florida is the ONLY state that has acquired a high-speed rail right of way via the Interstate 4 median, estimated to be worth more than $100 billion!!!

Key Facts:
Speed: Up to 150mph.
Travel Time: Tampa to Walt Disney World - 42 minutes; Tampa to Orlando International airport - 64 minutes.
Annual Ridership: 2.8 - 3.2 million passengers, with trains making 14-22 round trips daily.

Think about the impact of what this would mean to Florida, Tampa Bay and relocation!
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