Florida Starts Work On High-Speed Rail Between Orlando, Tampa

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced on Friday the Florida Department of Transportation has begun a procurement process to launch a privately-funded high-speed rail service from Orlando to Tampa.

Gov. Scott said the FDOT had issued a Request for Proposals for those interested in leasing FDOT and Central Florida Expressway Authority owned right of way to establish a privately-funded high-speed rail service between Orlando and Tampa.

It should be noted that Gov. Scott turned down $2.4-billion in federal funding earmarked for high-speed rail in Florida in 2011.

Gov. Scott said, “This is an exciting opportunity for Orlando, Tampa and our entire state. When I became governor, the Obama administration was trying to use federal taxpayer dollars to pay for a rail connection that had an extremely high risk of overspending taxpayer dollars with no guarantee of economic growth.”

He added that the state’s goal in now advancing the high-speed rail process “is for the private sector to invest in this project. Through private investment, we ensure that this major project has zero financial risk to Florida taxpayers.”

The governor stated the initiative to begin the process for the high-speed rail service was based on an unsolicited proposal the state had received to lease property owned by the state and CFX to build a high-speed train along Interstate 4. The FDOT issued a Request for Proposals for the leasing of FDOT and CFEX right of ways on June 22. Respondents have 120 days to answer the RFP.

While the governor did not identify the source of the unsolicited proposal, Brightline, which is owned by an affiliate of All Aboard Florida, sent FDOT an unsolicited proposal in late March. Brightline currently operates high-speed rail service between Miami and West Palm Beach and is building a rail line between Miami and Orlando.

“As one of the nation’s fastest growing regions, Tampa Bay is a natural extension for Brightline. Our state’s residents, visitors and economy will benefit tremendously from a fully connected passenger rail system that includes our current operations in South Florida and our future line to Orlando,” Brightline president and COO Patrick Goddard said in a prepared statement. “We are currently engaged in the RFP process, which is the first step needed to extend the system to the Tampa Bay region.”

In the unsolicited proposal to FSDOT on March 26, 2018, Brightline’s Goddard stated that the proposal to complete the high-speed rail connection from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando to Downtown Tampa, would involve “no operational subsidy from the State of Florida.”

Brightline stated in the letter that it had not yet determined specific station locations, but noted that the “railway route will start at the Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal and continue into Downtown Tampa. The inner-city passenger rail line will provide access to international airports, seaports and existing commuter rail systems.”

The company in its 10-page letter did not spell out the cost of the project, however, Brightline said it would invest in the construction, purchase of rolling stock and initial operation of the venture. “This transformational investment will constitute one of the largest private capital infusions into Florida’s transportation network in the state’s history,” Goddard said in the FSDOT letter.