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<p>[quote user="jclass"]Thought this exchange in the article's comments was interesting. ````````````` "This is mainly private money - so it doesn't really make any difference to me" what private money? 1) The State has already bought land so private AAF can build the new train from Cocoa to Orlando 2) The Airport (state) will build the Orlando Terminal. 3) The Feds will lend 1.6 billion to this. Will it be repaid? If AAF folds, private FECR will retain the tracks, improvement and freight business 4) The State will fund improvement to existing private tracks and freight trains so they can later add a low cost commuter service, parallel to tri-rail. 5) Besides the 3 stations that will be privately funded, Cities, Counties and State will build a dozen of commuter stations. 6) They will apply for TIGER grants to improve at grade crossing security. I really hope AAF to succeed otherwise this will be one of the biggest public money grab from a private equity fund. `````````````````` This is misleading. 1. The State had bought land which be part leased - at great cost - to AAF, and part used for their own infrastructure upgrades. (Also AAF, bizarrely enough, has had to pay the Turnpike a one-off $4M fee to cover "lost revenues" for the latter if it goes ahead. I'm not making that up.) 2. The Airport is building an intermodal terminal that it's had planned since the 1990s. It's not AAF specific, intended for SunRail, Amtrak, FLHSR if that ever appears, and even some other private ventures such as a weird Maglev link to Disney that I'll believe exists when I see. And yet again, AAF will be paying through the nose to use it - several dollars per alighting passenger on top of lease payments for space and facilities. 3. (a) It hasn't been decided whether the Feds will loan anything, or even if AAF will make an application. The $1.6B figure the media's been using appears to be a mixture of conjecture and confusion based upon an earlier, cancelled, application. (b) FECR will not "retain the tracks, improvement, and freight business". The Right of Way belongs to AAF. If AAF folds, and is unable to pay back the loan, the ROW will be sold to pay it back. The ROW is worth _billions_. And, FWIW, FECR would consider it a problem if they inherited the newly "upgraded" FEC mainline. They don't want the expense of maintaining a 110mph double tracked system. 4. The State wants an unrelated commuter service from Miami to Jupiter running along the FEC mainline. They will indeed pay for upgrades to the FEC mainline to get them. If AAF doesn't go ahead, those upgrades will cost more. You've got this backward: the State will save money if AAF goes ahead. 5. I gather Boston will be funding a museum too. What's your point? Those stations have zero to do with AAF, they're related to the commuter rail project. 6. AAF is covering the full costs of upgrading grade crossing safety. TIGER grants may be used by local governments to implement quiet zones, but that's an entirely different issue. And, FWIW, as someone who lives 1.3 miles from the FEC mainline, I can tell you the quiet zones are needed with or without AAF. They'll be cheaper if AAF goes ahead though, given AAF's grade crossing safety upgrades overlap considerably with what's needed to implement a quiet zone. Again: if AAF goes ahead, taxpayers will save money over what they would have had to pay if it didn't. I live on the Treasure Coast and finding it increasingly embarrassing to admit that, as the local media and a few extremist groups have basically been misleading and lying about the project, making us all look like NIMBYs. I'm sure you're just repeating what other people are telling you, but be careful with what you hear. These same people were claiming the trains will close crossings for five minutes a time until it became abundantly clear that was ridiculous. That's the level of discourse here. Don't believe the NIMBYs. They're lying about almost everything. [/quote]</p> <p>I am sure that there are some good thoughts here, but without topical sentences and paragraphs, reading it is a slog.  </p>
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