Sunrail commuter train still on track

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer hopes the third times the charm as he tries to get approval from the Florida legislature for the controversial Sunrail Commuter train.

The project has already been shot down twice by the Florida Senate over questions of liability insurance. But Dyer says he has a new and improved deal that renegotiates the liability issues and gets more federal dollars up front to pay for the $420 million dollar price tag. Were not quitting, said Dyer. This is so critically important to Central Florida that it’s worth the time and effort to go back to the legislature and convince them it’s the right thing.

CSX Railroad owns the 61 miles of track the Sunrail trains would use from De Land in Volusia County to Poinciana in Osceola County. The company agreed to sell the tracks. Once the deadline to get a deal done passed last week, CSX agreed to extend it another six months.
Mayor Dyer thinks state lawmakers can vote on Sunrail again as early as September if they go back to the capitol for a special session on another issue, or just wait for the regular legislative session in the spring of 2010.

Once approved, work could start in 30 days, but Sunrail trains wouldn’t start carrying passengers for another two years.

Metroplan Orlando also heard Wednesday about plans for a high speed rail line linking Orlando and Tampa. It would also connect to the commuter line.
The bullet train would average about 90 miles an hour and get riders from downtown Tampa to Orlando International Airport in about an hour. It would run down the median of Interstate 4 and along the Beachline Expressway.

The $2.5 billion dollars needed for the train would come from the new federal stimulus package. A final decision won’t come till December.