The first privately-operated high-speed passenger rail service in the US now boasts a new connection to Miami. Daniel Hicks reports from Florida.
Rick Rose owns the popular Grandview Gardens Bed & Breakfast andVacation Homes in West Palm Beach, Florida.
As a German-American and small business owner, he wondered for a long time why the Sunshine State lacked a sleek, high-speed train system similar to the one he rode in in Germany or that exist in other European nations and East Asian countries like Japan. Well, not anymore.
Since Jan. 13, the first privately-operated, high-speed passenger rail service in the US has been carrying hundreds of daily South Florida commuters between West Palm Beach and the city of Fort Lauderdale, its neighbor some 60-80 kilometers (37-to 49 miles) to the south along the Atlantic coast.
And beginning May 19, Brightline will be able to carry riders further south via a new connection to Miami, the hustling and bustling metropolis and gateway to Latin America.
Later this year, All Aboard Florida, the company that owns Brightline, plans to launch a second phase of the rail project and extend service to the central part of the state. Eventually, a new station will break ground in the growing metropolis of Orlando, which has witnessed a huge influx of American citizens from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Irma devastated the Caribbean island last year.
Once the 240-kilometer leg of the service route from West Palm Beach to Orlando is complete, up to 20 million people a year are expected to travel between Orlando and Miami, two of Florida’s most popular tourist destinations.
Profiting from own assets
“All Aboard Florida capitalized on assets they already had,” said Andy Kunz, president of the US High-Speed Association in Washington, D.C. “They owned the tracks, unlike California and Texas that face the challenge of acquiring land that covers hundreds of miles.”
So while it will be another 15 years before California completes its high-speed rail system, Brightline in the meantime promises to improve mass transit throughout Florida, reduce passenger car traffic between Orlando and Miami as well as provide a more sustainable alternative to road travel.
And with the private sector backing it, Kunz said that Brightline shows that high-speed, passenger rail systems do not have to become a money pit for the public sector. As a backdrop, the US Congress is currently debating a significant boost to infrastructure spending.
Transit-oriented development
With Brightline, the history of rail transportation and urban development in Florida come full circle.
The economic benefits that will flow to local municipalities and Florida East Coast Industries are an example of transit-oriented development or TOD, a set of urban planning and land-use principles embraced by a new generation of real estate developers.
For more read the full of article at The Dw
