[Ache]

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/09/1 ... llion.html

In a surprise announcement, the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday announced it will give Florida more than $300 million -- the balance of the money needed by the state to start building the bullet train between Orlando and Tampa.
The news was first relayed to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in a phone call from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.
``Florida is getting one heck of an early Christmas present,'' a Nelson statement said. ``Some $342 million for building the bullet train from Tampa to Orlando. More specifically, the U.S. Department of Transportation has agreed to send Florida the money to complete construction of the planned high-speed rail link between the two Central Florida hubs now rather later.''


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/09/1 ... z17edxGFqi

[Novus]

Why does it have to be a high speed train when a low speed (80mph) train will do for a fraction of the cost? Perfect example of declining marginal returns.

[PrestonSturges]

I wonder if it will go to the airports?

I've always figured the airports are our future train stations.

[perdition79]

I live in St. Pete, so I can clarify this bullet train issue a bit. Tampa and Orlando are both suburban regions, and since the recently completed expansion of I-4, the drive between the two is between 90 minutes and 2 hours long. Takes me two hours from St. Pete. I use $20 in gas, round trip in my Neon.

The train station in Tampa is actually in Ybor City, which is just north of the industrial seaport, known as the Port of Tampa, and about two miles east of downtown. Ybor is a terrible neighborhood, with only one really safe place to park a car, and it's not within walking distance of the train station. Additionally, this terminal is not in a tourist-heavy location, and will most likely become a magnet for the worst thieves from the worst neighborhood in Tampa, which lies just on the north side of I-4 from Ybor. All those negatives and I haven't even bothered to mention the public transportation in the region. (It sucks, by the way. If tourists don't get mugged in Ybor, they'll get mugged at the downtown Tampa HART bus hub. Our homeless from St. Pete have migrated to Tampa after we ran them off!)

I'm thinking that nobody will use this train. America, you're building another bridge to nowhere.

[Tanada]

I wonder how much of this is the $400M that Ohio turned down for the Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland project and the Fed Transportation secretary said they would give to other states for rail?

[jdmartin]

I wonder how much of this is the $400M that Ohio turned down for the Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland project and the Fed Transportation secretary said they would give to other states for rail?

I wonder that too. The states don't mind sucking off the federal government for what they want, then they expect to just redirect that money however they want. I'm no big fan of federal spending, but I'm glad to see someone tell the states "Ok, you don't want it? Fine, take a hike".