Thwarted as
they have been in Wall Street capital markets, AllAboardFlorida, or Brightline,
as it is now called, appears to be turning back to the federal government for
the money to build the rail system it wants to link West Palm Beach to
Orlando. But more on that later. In the meanwhile, they have been touting the
start of long-delayed commuter service from West Palm to Miami. Expect to see great hoopla about this before
the end of the year. The State-funded rail
terminal in Orlando is also being built to the tune of $220 million, but it
still has no railroad to use it, and won’t for the foreseeable future,
especially if CARE FL, Martin County and Indian River County are successful in
derailing Phase II construction.
Based on the
knowledge that they have reapplied for a bailout from the Federal Railway
Administration (FRA), Steve Ryan and his colleagues in Washington, together
with others on our side of the issue, have held face-to-face meetings with a
wide range of government agencies and elected officials to supplement and
reinforce our written comments and presentations. We believe that all fronts are being covered,
but must await government action before we can take any new formal, legal
action. As with everything in
Washington, the future is murky, but the rat has to come out of his hole
sometime and, with the continued help of Mariner Sands and other devoted
opponents, CARE FL is ready to pounce!
-Bob Snyder
CARE FL Chairman
|