Nine other developers filed plans previously. The Florida High Speed Rail Authority in Tallahassee starts evaluating the plans this month and could ask for more detailed proposals by June.
If the $490 million Orlando-Disney leg succeeds when it is completed in 2004, American Maglev's team tells the Department of Transportation it will need an additional $1.2 billion in public money to complete the next phase of the system from Orlando to Tampa.
Gov. Jeb Bush, facing a tight budget, is under pressure to start some kind of a high-speed rail network by November 2003, based on a constitutional amendment voters passed in 2000. Lakeland, FL millionaire real estate developer C.C. "Doc" Doherty spearheaded the amendment vote in 2000.
Doherty is also a member of the Florida High Speed Rail Authority which will pick the developer for the unprecedented project. Estimated costs of the venture run from $1.2 billion to $6 billion.
The bullet train venture is aimed at creating new economic development and jobs for the state. The Congress currently is looking at three bills that would allocate billions of dollars to 10 designated high-speed rail corridors in the nation. The Orlando-to-Miami system is among the candidates.
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