Fw: This Week at Amtrak/Business and Politics of Passenger Rail March22, 2012

[John Frank]

Can we  get these people to come to Texas?

jf

 

From: This Week at Amtrak

Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2012 11:06 AM

To: TWA

Subject: This Week at Amtrak/Business and Politics of Passenger Rail March22, 2012

 

The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail; March 22, 2012

A Companion Digest of Events, Opinions, and Forecasts to
This Week at Amtrak

By J. Bruce Richardson

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
America’s foremost passenger rail policy institute

Jacksonville, Florida • United States of America
Telephone 904-636-7739, Electronic Mail in...@unitedrail.org • http://www.unitedrail.org


Volume 2, Number 5

    Founded over 35 years ago in 1976 by the late Austin Coates, URPA is a nationally known policy institute which focuses on solutions and plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Virginia, Texas, New York, and other locations. For more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and other documents and a compendium of This Week at Amtrak, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

    URPA is not a membership organization.


    It’s started. No public money, completely private enterprise, nothing to do with Amtrak. Here is a press release from this morning.

[Begin quote]

Florida East Coast Industries, Inc. Announces Plans for Private Passenger Rail Service in Florida   

Business Wire

Florida East Coast Industries, Inc. (FECI), the owner of Florida’s premier passenger rail corridor, is developing a privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail service to connect South Florida and Orlando, which will be operational in 2014. By connecting the most visited city in the United States with South Florida’s business and vacation destinations, the passenger rail project, called All Aboard Florida, is designed to serve Florida’s growing number of business travelers, as well as families and tourists traveling for pleasure.

The All Aboard Florida passenger rail project will connect South Florida to Orlando through a 240-mile route combining 200 miles of existing tracks between Miami and Cocoa and the creation of 40 miles of new track to complete the route to Orlando. Eventually the system could be expanded with connections to Tampa and Jacksonville.

More than fifty million people travel between South and Central Florida annually, largely over highly congested highways. All Aboard Florida is envisioned to transform the way people travel throughout the state, offering a faster, safer, and more enjoyable mode of transportation between Florida’s two largest metropolitan areas.

Targeted to begin service in 2014, the approximately $1 billion project will operate on a regular schedule throughout the day transporting business and leisure passengers between South Florida and Orlando in approximately three hours. This new, convenient, affordable, fast and environmentally friendly intercity passenger rail service is expected to:

(1) CREATE JOBS AND GROW FLORIDA’S ECONOMY—approximately 6,000 direct jobs will be needed to construct the system and over 1,000 more jobs to operate and maintain it; new economic development opportunities also will be created for communities along the route;

(2) PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT—the service will take millions of vehicles off Florida’s roadways, resulting in a reduction in auto emissions and allowing for a far more fuel-efficient alternative to the automobile at this time of escalating gas prices;

(3) ENSURE SPEED AND RELIABILITY—travel time between regions will be approximately three hours and train service will be frequent throughout the day;

(4) PROTECT EXISTING FREIGHT CAPACITY—the new passenger service will not affect freight capacity in the rail corridor, thereby supporting Florida’s role in international commerce and allowing more intermodal freight movements.

By adding an entirely new travel choice, the All Aboard Florida passenger rail service will provide a high-quality experience for travelers. The system will include business- and coach-class service with advance purchase reserved seating, gourmet meals, Wi-Fi, and the ability to work productively throughout the entire trip. In addition, stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando mean convenient transfers to Metrorail, Metromover or SunRail, allowing passengers to reach their final destination.

FECI began a feasibility analysis for the project several months ago. Additionally, an investment grade ridership study and engineering work to design the system are underway. Today’s announcement marks the beginning of working in depth with local, state and federal officials, as well as the communities along the route.

Florida East Coast Industries, Inc. (FECI), through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a major owner and developer of real estate and transportation-related businesses within the State of Florida. Headquartered in Coral Gables, FL, FECI has a rich history dating back over a century when Henry Flagler first established the company and became a pioneer in the development of Florida’s eastern coast. Today, the company owns, manages, develops and leases commercial real estate properties, and its affiliate, the Florida East Coast Railway, L.L.C., owns the railroad over which freight is transported.

All Aboard Florida is an intercity passenger rail project that will connect South Florida to Orlando with intermediate stations in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. This rail service will give Floridians and visitors a viable transportation alternative to congested highways and airport terminals. All Aboard Florida will provide a high-quality experience for passengers and will be the first privately owned, operated, and maintained passenger rail system in the United States.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50213915&lang=en

[End quote]



    United Rail Passenger Alliance has an updated homepage and some materials on the web site have been reorganized for ease of use. We invite you to visit www.unitedrail.org to see the changes.


    Gil Carmichael, former FRA Administrator during the Bush I years, and former Chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council, as well as the Founding Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver has started a new series of reports, entitled the Gil Carmichael Report, Investing in Interstate 2.0. The reports are free, informative, and a must read for anyone serious about the future of railroads in the United States. Contact the report distributor at ge...@jdmandassociates.com for your very own copy.

___________________________________________________

    J. Craig Thorpe, noted Amtrak and railroad illustrator is available for all railroads, railroad-related companies, and organizations for his dramatic illustrations on a custom basis. Mr. Thorpe’s impressive gallery of work and contacts for engagement may be viewed on his web site, which is listed below.



    Useful links for the passenger train world (No new links have been added since the last edition):

www.passengerrail.org – Association of Independent Passenger Rail Operators
www.herzogcompanies.com – Herzog Transit Services, Inc.
www.keolis.com – Keolis Rail Services/America
www.railamerica.com – RailAmerica, Inc.
www.fecrwy.com – Florida East Coast Railway
www.ratpdev.com – Ratp Dev
www.veoliatransportation.com – Veolia Transportation
www.spartansolutions.org – Spartan Solutions LLC
www.durangotrain.com – Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
www.cumbrestoltec.com – Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
www.rockymountaineer.com – Rocky Mountaineer Railtours
www.viarail.ca – VIA Rail Canada
www.transport2000.ca – Transport Action Canada
www.transport-action.ca/ontario – Transport Action Ontario/Canada
http://highspeedrail.ca – High Speed Rail Canada
www.tampaunionstation.com – Friends of Tampa (Florida) Union Station
www.larail.com – Private passenger railcars for individual hire in Southern California
www.americanrail.com – American Rail Excursions, Inc.
www.newrivertrain.com – New River Train Excursions/Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society
www.bombardier.com – Bombardier, Inc.
www.hamilton-associates.com – Hamilton & Associates, Inc.
www.iowapacific.com – Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC
www.rhbohannan.net – R.H. Bohannan & Associates, LLC
www.tgaassoc.com – Thompson, Galenson and Associates
www.worldbank.org – World Bank
www.aar.org – Association of American Railroads
www.du.edu/transportation – Intermodal Transportation Institute, University of Denver
www.amtrak.com – Amtrak
www.dixielandsoftware.com – Privately provided Amtrak train status map
www.dot.gov – United States Department of Transportation
www.volpe.dot.gov – Volpe Center
www.fra.dot.gov – Federal Railroad Administration
www.unitedrail.org – United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
www.APRHF.org – American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation
www.azrail.org – Arizona Passenger Rail Association
www.colorail.org – Colorado Rail Passenger Association
www.railpac.org – Rail Passenger Association of California & Nevada
www.swrail.org – Southwest Rail Passenger Association
www.fcrprail.org – Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers
www.nmrails.org – Rails, Inc., New Mexico passenger rail advocacy group
www.railvermont.org – Vermont Rail Action Network
www.texasbytrain.org – Texas Coalition
www.texasrailadvocates.org – Texas Rail Advocates
www.TXARP.org – Texas Association of Rail Passengers
www.dot.ca.gov – Caltrans/California Department of Transportation
www.dot.state.fl.us – Florida Department of Transportation
www.SunRail.com – Central Florida SunRail Commuter Railroad under construction
www.tri-rail.com – South Florida Tri-Rail Commuter Railroad
www.dot.state.il.us – Illinois Department of Transportation
www.PassengerRailOK.org – Passenger Rail Oklahoma
www.PassengerRailKS.org – Passenger Rail Kansas
www.PassengerRailTX.org – Passenger Rail North Texas
www.bytrain.org – North Carolina Department of Transportation, Rail Division
www.virginiadot.org – Virginia Department of Transportation

www.armstrong.edu/Initiatives/passenger_rail_study/train_about – South by Southeast passenger rail project
www.railroaddata.com – Railroad Internet web site information consolidator
www.trainweb.com – Railroad Internet web site information consolidator
www.usa-by-rail.com – Informative route guide paperback book for the Amtrak system
www.americabyrail.com – America By Rail, rail tour operator
www.jcraigthorpe.com – Noted Amtrak and railroad illustrator and artist J. Craig Thorpe


    If you would like to have your company or organization’s Internet web site link listed here, submit it for consideration to bruceri...@unitedrail.org. Inclusion will be at the sole discretion of the publisher, and the publisher reserves the right to exclude any company or organization for any purpose. This list is not intended to be a complete list.

    Subscribers to This Week at Amtrak automatically receive a subscription to The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail; subscriber lists are maintained simultaneously for both publications, and neither publication can be subscribed to exclusively.

    If you are reading someone else’s copy of The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail, you can receive your own free copy each edition by sending your e-mail address to

fre...@unitedrail.org

    You MUST include your name, preferred e-mail address, and city and state where you live. If you have filters or firewalls placed on your Internet connection, set your e-mail to receive incoming mail from t...@unitedrail.org; we are unable to go through any approvals processes for individuals. This mailing list is kept strictly confidential and is not shared or used for any purposes other than distribution of The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail, This Week at Amtrak, or related URPA materials.

    All other correspondence, including requests to unsubscribe should be addressed to

bruceri...@unitedrail.org

    Copies of The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail and This Week at Amtrak are archived on URPA’s web site, www.unitedrail.org and also on www.todaywithjb.blogspot.com where other rail-related writings of Bruce Richardson may also be found.

    URPA leadership members are available for speaking engagements.


J. Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
Jacksonville, Florida    USA
Telephone 904-636-7739
bruceri...@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

---

_______________________________________________
TWA mailing list
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http://unitedrail.org/mailman/listinfo/twa

[Richard L. Friedman]

We'll see.  Why does a company the size of FECI decide to take on something they gave up a generation ago because (I guess) they felt they couldn't make a profit on it?  What is different this time around?  Passenger rail is still labor and capital intensive, maintenance of equipment requires trained and experienced personnel, who won't work for minimum wage and no benefits, and track will need to maintained to a much higher standard than the railroads provide for scrap metal. Maybe they'll make money the old fashioned way, by cooking the books. --- On Thu, 3/22/12, John Frank <jfra...@comcast.net> wrote:

[JohnF]

I think they have a unique situation in that they own the best ROW in
the state running directly up the east coast through all the most
populated areas. If they can actually build the 40 miles connection
to Orlando they have the 'perfect storm'. If they can get investors
and some state and Fed grants they can do it. I believe this is a
case of them knowing their row is going to be used for passenger rail
no matter what and them simply trying to gain control over the
situation. It appears to be a more practical and less expensive
version of the failed Florida high speed rail plan.
jf

On Mar 22, 11:27 pm, "Richard L. Friedman" <rfrie...@pacbell.net>
wrote:

> We'll see.  Why does a company the size of FECI decide to take on something they gave up a generation ago because (I guess) they felt they couldn't make a profit on it?  What is different this time around?  Passenger rail is still labor and capital intensive, maintenance of equipment requires trained and experienced personnel, who won't work for minimum wage and no benefits, and track will need to maintained to a much higher standard than the railroads provide for scrap metal.
>
> Maybe they'll make money the old fashioned way, by cooking the books.
>

> --- On Thu, 3/22/12, John Frank <jfran...@comcast.net> wrote:

[henrywulff]

$4 gasoline will make a lot of people clamor for passenger train service. A billion here, a billion there, it could become a reality.
States that want improved and expanded service better get their ducks in order.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

---

From: "Richard L. Friedman" <rfri...@pacbell.net>

Sender: sunset-li...@googlegroups.com

Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:27:07 -0700 (PDT)

To: <sunset-li...@googlegroups.com>

ReplyTo: sunset-li...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: Fw: This Week at Amtrak/Business and Politics of Passenger Rail March22, 2012

[Richard L. Friedman]

I can't see, Henry, that rising gas prices are doing much in the long run.  Sure, more riders are flocking to existing systems, but the lead time on new service is such that we'll sit with empty gas tanks for a long time before "transit" saves us. When the minimum wage wass $1.25, gasoline was $.30 a gallon, and cars got 12 mpg.  Now cars get 20+mpg, and gas is $4.00+, but the actual cost per mile of driving is probably a lot less than the cost was a generation ago.  It's just that Americans want something for nothing, and someone else to pay for that. --- On Fri, 3/23/12, henrywulff <henry...@aol.com> wrote: