Florida Is on Track to Build New Passenger Train System
Emily Pollock posted on July 06, 2018 | | 36 views
The Brightline train company recently submitted a bid to run a passenger line between Tampa and Orlando, a move that’s been generally welcomed by transit-hungry Floridians. (Image courtesy of Brightline.)
Seven years after Florida’s governor rejected federal funding for a public passenger train service, the state’s department of transportation is taking bids for a private company to provide rail service between the cities of Orlando and Tampa.
On June 22, Governor Rick Scott announced that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) had gotten an “unsolicited proposal” from private passenger rail system Brightline to build a high-speed train system along the state’s Interstate 4. Because of this, FDOT has launched a formal request for proposals (RFP) process, where any other interested parties will have six months to submit competing proposals. Scott rejected federal money for building a rail system back in 2011 because of fears that the project would end up costing Floridian taxpayers.
The Tampa-Orlando line would stretch the 86 miles between Orlando International Airport and downtown Tampa. If Brightline receives the contract, it would be the company’s third rail line in the state, after a West Palm Beach/Fort Lauderdale train that launched this January, and a Fort Lauderdale/Miami line that launched in May. Brightline’s…