Florida Bullet Train to Run to Disney Resort

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Oct 27, 2003 | MIKE BRANOM -- Associated Press Writer

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A proposed bullet train across central Florida will run directly to the Walt Disney World resort from Orlando International Airport, bypassing the taxpayer-funded Orange County Convention Center en route to Tampa, a state panel voted Monday.

The Florida High Speed Rail Authority's 7-1 decision ended a debate that has simmered since voters, in a constitutional amendment passed in 2000, mandated the construction of a bullet train network spanning the state.

Disney sold the authority on the potential revenue gained if the train's first leg followed the Central Florida GreeneWay toll road from the airport, instead of taking the Beeline Expressway to the convention hall, located in the International Drive tourist district in Orlando.

The resort promised to place on the trains 2.2 million riders a year, people who currently are bused to their destinations by Disney. The convention center could offer less than a quarter of those "captive riders," giving the GreeneWay route a projected advantage in annual revenues of $55.1 million compared to $40.6 million for the convention center stop.

The resort also promised to donate 50 acres of land for a station at the confluence of three major traffic arteries: Interstate 4, U.S. Highway 192 and the Osceola Parkway.

The state predicts the rail leg could cost as much as $2.5 billion. High-speed rail has been decried as a boondoggle by Gov. Jeb Bush and many legislators since its approval by the voters.

The two contractors vying to run the system are Fluor-Bombardier, builder of the nation's only current bullet train line, the Northeast corridor's Acela; and Global Rail Consortium, a partnership of several firms that has no experience in developing a system on the scale projected for Florida.

[Willie Green]

High-speed rail as an alternative mode of transportation in the U.S. is long overdue. We are reaching the point of diminishing returns as we expand our 4-lane interstates to 6, 8 or (gasp!!!) 10 lanes. And even costly airport expansions make little sense when (prior to 9/11) the air corridors themselves are over-congested.

High-speed rail and maglev offer the perfect alternative to augment & supplement our highway and air transportation infrastructure. For regional trips between 100 and 500 miles, it is faster than automobile and not that much slower than air. Yet offers the potential to alleviate both congested highways and air corridors!

In light of current economic conditions, construction of this vital transportation infrastructure should be accelerated.

[Willie Green]

ping

[Petronski]

Hopefully these trains will cut back on the number of cars on my way on the highway.

[Ditto]

So what if I don't want to go to Disney?

[dinodino]

Great! Open up your wallet and pay for it! Oh, I forgot--you're not a Florida resident like me. Of course you won't have to pay for it. If you are so keen on high-speed rail, move on down from Michigan or wherever you're from and start plunking down some cash.

[Willie Green]

Build one that'll take you to Kennywood.

[TonyWojo]

Also don't forget we have to pay for reduced class sizes, Oh and paid pre-K has to be offered also we get to pay for that also. And don't expect the pregnant pigs to be of any help.

[bluewater bird]

The bullet train won't come anywhere near the Panhandle, but we get to help pay for it. These constitutional amendments (class size, train, pregnant pigs) have no place on the ballot!

[longtermmemmory]

Hopefully these trains will cut back on the number of cars on my way on the highway.
** **** *****

100% guaraneeted that will NOT happen. It is a short drive to orlando from miami. Why would a tourist rent a car twice? This rail is an excersise in waste.

It would not have been approved if the voters knew what kind of white elephant it was. In fact it is going to come up for an additional vote when the ACTUAL cost to the taxpayers is known.

BTW: They said the same thing about the dade,broward,palmbeach express tri-rail. To date a mega failure.

[TheCPA]

I agree with you. I am a Florida resident and I voted against this bullet train.

[Ditto]

Build one that'll take you to Kennywood.

I never go there. I demand one that goes from my front door to where ever the hell it is that I want to go that day. ;~))

As to this one, I used to travel often to Orlando for work (and avoided Disney like the plague) and they have been talking about this mono-rail thing for years with The Mouse doing major lobbying for it and the rest of the tourist industry down there fighting it. Disney wants it so they can lock as many tourists as possible into there hotels, without cars, and keep them on Disney property for their entire stay. As it is with most renting cars (cheep) they can stay off property, eat where they want, visit Universal, Sea World and other area attractions and not just be locked away in Eisner's mega gift shop. It has absolutly nothing to do with mass transit.

[kidd]

This is an example of Disney flexing its muscle to keep the train from going through an area full of Disney competitors. I'm not really sure why less people would take the train by going on the Bee Line Route; it looks like both pass thru WDW anyway.

[JoeSixPack1]

When SOS Glenda Hood was Orlando Mayor she fought for the train to go to Disney against the entire voter population of Central Florida. Everything goes to Disney.

I'm thankfull to see in the article the reference to the Taxpayer Funded Convention Center that was BYPASSED to go to disney.

The Current tourist route out of Orlando international is via taxicab or car rental. Both of those industries are in a world of hurt if this train actually gets built going straight to disney. If it went to the convention center first, the surrounding feeder industries would still be profitably survivable.

But after living in Kissimmee for 17 years I am well schooled to the fact that what disney wants, disney gets. And no one gets in their way.

[RightWhale]

A better ride than anything at Disney

[oceanview]

this is a one way ticket to an income tax in florida.

[longtermmemmory]

florida's constitution prohibits an income tax. That provision has protect the citizens for many years.

BTW: Disney is a florida municipality in its own right.

[The Wizard]

if it's maglev, it will be a hit and people will ride it like an attraction, if it's just a fast train...ho hum

[longtermmemmory]

fast train only

[oceanview]

where will the money come to build this then? more rental car taxes? more hotel and airport taxes?

[meyer]

High-speed rail as an alternative mode of transportation in the U.S. is long overdue. We are reaching the point of diminishing returns as we expand our 4-lane interstates to 6, 8 or (gasp!!!) 10 lanes.

Heck, I've seen 16 lanes through downtown Atlanta. Too bad they can't build a road through Atlanta that doesn't require us out-of-towners to tangle with local traffic.

As for the high speed train, I would believe that a train from the airport to Disney might be about the only route in Florida that stands a chance of paying for itself.

High-speed rail and maglev offer the perfect alternative to augment & supplement our highway and air transportation infrastructure. For regional trips between 100 and 500 miles, it is faster than automobile and not that much slower than air. Yet offers the potential to alleviate both congested highways and air corridors!

I doubt if very many people would choose high-speed rail over the automobile for trips less than 600 miles. Sure, there are exceptions, but I would never consider that route for anything but the occasional business trip and then only if my employer arranged for a rental at my destination. Its just too inconvenient to travel to another city and then have to go through all the BS of renting a car to get around town with. And, there's a limit as to how much stuff you can carry. Plus, I travel armed - that probably won't be an option on a train and definately is not on a plane.