^^ Yes

Minutes from the presntation that All Aboard florida made to the Broward MPO on May 10, 2012:


Husein Cumber, representing Florida East Coast (FEC) Industries, showed a PowerPoint
presentation on the All Aboard Florida program. He explained that Florida East Coast
Industries is the parent company of Flagler Development, which is the FEC Railway’s
sister real estate company. Flagler Development is driving the project because it is not a
freight rail project.

Mr. Cumber noted that passenger service on the FEC railway ended in the late 1960s.
Since that time, there have been continuing discussions of providing passenger service
once more along the FEC corridor. FEC began investigating this opportunity internally
between Miami and Orlando to determine whether or not the right-of-way could be leveraged. They arrived at the conclusion that they could construct the first privately
operated, owned, and maintained passenger rail system in the U.S.

The system would travel 240 miles and would connect Miami and Orlando, with
intermediate stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The passenger system
would also provide frequent round-trip service throughout the day, with trains running once
per hour or slightly less often. There would be significant transit-oriented development
opportunities at the four stations in the system.

Mr. Cumber stated that FEC is currently reaching out to stakeholders such as the MPO as
part of the project’s due diligence phase. Subsequent phases include engineering, an
investment-grade ridership study, and environmental permitting. FEC has determined the
route alignment and is reaching out to public agencies that own rights-of-way, as well as
private landowners. They are identifying potential station locations and are studying
existing rolling stock technology that can travel at a speed of up to 125 miles per hour.
The goal is for the system to become operational in 2014. The cost of the project is
approximately $1 billion, including new tracks, road crossings, and signal updates. Mr.
Cumber noted that FEC is not asking for State or federal grant money to fund the project.
Commissioner Varsallone asked how this development would affect the municipalities in
which the stops are located. Mr. Cumber explained that the stations would go through the
regular city and County permitting processes, and the transit-oriented development would
fit into the fabric of the surrounding area. Travelers would be able to quickly move out of
stations into the local areas, or would be able to leave the platform and easily access
another mode of transportation if desired.

Commissioner Garcia asked if the system would move cargo as well as people. Mr.
Cumber said roughly 14 freight trains a day operate between Miami and Jacksonville at
present; this would not be displaced by the proposed system.

Commissioner Brummer emphasized the need to accommodate local service, noting that
the proposed service would not provide anything for the cities with no stops along its route.
Mr. Cumber said the goal of the project was not to slow the ongoing discussions of
commuter rail service, but to encourage this project as well, as it would directly tie into the
ridership of the Miami-Orlando service. It is in FEC’s best interest to make sure the
capacity exists for both systems.

Vice Chair Rodstrom requested confirmation that the proposed service would be privately
funded and would not preclude the development of commuter/ passenger rail with multiple
stops. Mr. Cumber confirmed this.

Commissioner Johnson asked what the cost to passengers would be for this service. Mr.
Cumber said he could not estimate this before the investment-grade ridership study is
complete; however, he felt it would need to be competitive with the airfare between the two
regions, as well as the overall cost of travel.

Vice Chair Rodstrom asked what fuel would be used by the rolling stock. Mr. Cumber said
it would be powered by diesel, as electric trains would require overhead infrastructure.
Chair Blattner advised that FEC should consider coordinating its improvements with the
MPO’s 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), as there are plans for road
improvements that could affect crossings. Mr. Cumber suggested that there could be a
technical team meeting between FEC and MPO Staff to discuss the details of the LRTP
and an ideal construction schedule.

Mr. Stuart encouraged all the members to take this information back to their respective
municipal boards.

State Representative Gwyndolyn Clarke-Reed noted that high-speed rail would decrease
the travel time more dramatically. She expressed concern that the proposed service would
not be sufficiently faster than traveling by car to make a great difference for travelers. She
pointed out that freight rail would take priority on the available tracks, which would affect
travel times as well.

Chair Blattner requested that Councilmember Caletka provide a brief report on the recent
MPOAC meeting at this time. Councilmember Caletka said FDOT had reiterated their
desire to turn each urbanized area into a single MPO, which would combine the MiamiDade, Broward, and West Palm Beach MPOs into a single entity; however, they realized
there would not be the necessary votes to make this change at present. The MPOAC also
provided the Governor with six alternative funding methods for highways, which are more
user-based than gas tax-based.

http://www.browardmpo.org/system/meeting/Agenda_Item_R-24.pdf

Calendar : Coordination Meeting with FEC

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2012

TIME

2:00 pm - 3:30pm

LOCATION

MetroPlan Orlando Office (Board Room)
315 East Robinson Street, Suite 355
Orlando, Florida 32801

RELATED ITEMS

RSVP for this Event

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Representatives from Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) will be providing an update on its proposed Orlando-Miami passenger rail service line to several transportation industry experts. This meeting is being posted in compliance with Florida's Government in the Sunshine laws, as two or more MetroPlan Orlando committee members may be in attendance.

http://www.metroplanorlando.com/calendar/details/coordination-meeting-with-fec-2012-07-13/

FEC exec Husein Cumber will make a presentation before the Dade County Beacon Council on August 8.

Finally the free market can grow the economy.

Commuter rail project on FEC tracks gains steam:
http://miamitodaynews.com/news/120726/story7.shtml

John Flint

Senior Vice President of Rail Infrastructure

All Aboard Florida is pleased to announce the addition of John Flint to the team as Senior Vice President of Rail Infrastructure. In this role he will focus on designing, engineering and constructing the rail system and station platforms. John will also help manage the environmental permitting process.

John has more than 35 years of experience in transportation and engineering consulting, going back to his days in Conrail’s railroad engineering management training program. That position taught John the rail business from the bottom up, including railroad operations, inspection, maintenance and design. His expertise has evolved to providing transportation planning, feasibility studies, and preliminary and final engineering, which has made John a recognized leader overseeing the construction of complex multi-modal transportation projects.

John comes to All Aboard Florida after four years with T. Y. Lin International, a globally recognized full-service infrastructure consulting firm with a projects resume that includes the historic Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge; Miami International Airport’s South Terminal and Automated People Mover system; San Francisco Bay area’s underground BART and MUNI stations; and the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line Assignment, for which John served as Quality Manger.

We are excited to add John to our stellar team of esteemed industry leaders whose expertise will serve to make All Aboard Florida the country’s premier passenger rail system. Click here to read the rest of his biography.

More details leaking out about this project:

-FECI has suggested two possible station locations to West Palm Beach officials. This first is on Quadrille Boulevard between Clematis and Banyan Street, currently a parking garage. The second is along Rosemary Avenue between third and seventh avenue, currently leased to the salvation army

-No details on Ft. Lauderdale station, but a Broward MPO spokesman said that land adjacent to the Broward Central Bus Terminal might be ideal, and the MPO had already dedicated $8 million for a bus station and streetcar facility at that site

-The head of Tri-Rail says that the state of Florida should use opportunity to use the FECI request for right-of-way to Orlando as leverage to open the South Florida tracks for commuter service


all above per SFBJ