March 29, 2024

Transportation

Making Tracks

Two pending deals between the state and CSX will reshape freight and commuter transportation in central Florida. Did everybody get a good deal?

Barbara Miracle | 12/1/2006

Three years ago, Orange County voters rejected a half-cent tax increase for Mobility 20/20, a highly touted plan to raise $2.6 billion to widen I-4 and build a light-rail commuter system from the ground up.

But even as voters were rejecting Mobility 20/20, Florida Department of Transportation officials were talking informally with CSX executives about a different way to create a commuter train system in metro Orlando using existing railroad tracks, says Tawny Olore, an FDOT project manager in Orlando.

In 2004, CSX shared its plan with FDOT, looking for common ground between its own long-term needs and the state's desire to use commuter rail to mitigate gridlock on central Florida's roads. CSX's position was "if the state wanted to act, we could work out an agreement," says CSX spokesman Gary Sease.

What emerged from the discussions are deals that will shape freight and commuter transportation in central Florida for decades.

In part, the deals are economic development subsidies: The state is giving CSX big bucks help to move some freight operations to a state-of-the-art hub that gives CSX additional freight capacity. And in part, the deals are transportation policy -- a shift toward public transportation. Together, they represent a $600- million-plus bet by the state that a commuter rail system in central Florida will reduce gridlock on area roads. But did everybody get a good deal?

Boxcar Profits :
Higher oil prices, efforts to cut auto emissions and heavy traffic on interstates and other roads have been a boon to railroads. CSX's operating revenue for the year ended Dec. 30, 2005, was up 7.2% from 2004. Earnings from continuing operations were up 72.2% for the same period, due in part to what CSX calls a "robust pricing environment."

Tags: Politics & Law, Around Florida, Government/Politics & Law

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