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http://www.theledger.com/article/20101122/NEWS/101129825/1410?Title=Florida-High-Speed-Transit-Plan-Could-Be-Derailed

Florida High-Speed Transit Plan Could Be Derailed

Just as it looked liked a nationwide high-speed rail system was taking off, a backlash by conservatives who now control many state governments is threatening to knock it off the tracks.

And Florida is on the verge of becoming the biggest derailment yet.

Florida has received $2 billion from the federal government ó 70 percent of the total cost ó to build a line from Orlando to Tampa. It is envisioned as an alternative for workers and tourists to the state's often snarled interstate system, promising, roaring along at 168 mph, to deliver them to their destinations in a fraction of the time.

But new Gov. Rick Scott as well as the state's leading transportation force in Congress, Rep. John Mica, are signaling that it is not too late to stop the project ó and that they may be the ones to do it.

It is a shocking turn of events for high-speed rail advocates who thought they were on the cusp of gaining a national model for getting cars off highways while ≠creating up to 10,000 jobs building and running the train line.

The Central Florida line is one of seven links around the country supposed to start up by 2015, leading to a wider web of rail lines in coming decades. Advocates envision the network linking all the state's major urban areas, as well as running up the nation's Eastern seaboard.

Now, however, even the project's biggest advocates are wincing at the possibilities that it could go nowhere.

'The industry is extremely nervous about what could happen with this project,' said Mike Bedke, president of Connect Us, an advocacy group based in Tampa. 'We're at a crossroads.'

Florida is not alone. The backlash against high-speed rail is happening around the country, led by conservatives who contend that the projects are only worsening the federal debt, will not attract enough riders in a culture built around cars and instead will end up costing states far more than anticipated to subsidize.

In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie became a hero almost overnight among conservatives when he axed a $8.7 billion rail line and tunnel connecting New Jersey to New York, despite decades of planning and the promise of federal funding to help pay for the project. Christie said the $6 billion from the federal government and other sources won't cover the cost overruns that he fears New Jersey residents will be stuck with.

In Wisconsin, Gov.-elect Scott Walker staked his campaign partly on a promise to kill a proposed high-speed rail line connecting Milwaukee and Madison, even though the state had already received $810 million from the federal government. Walker said future operating and maintenance costs are too much for his state's taxpayers.

And in Ohio, newly elected governor John Kasich has vowed to reject $400 million of federal funding to build a high-speed rail connection in central Ohio. Kasich said with trains expected to go just 50 mph in many stretches of Ohio, he fears riders won't have any incentive to get out of their cars to ride it.

Even former rail advocates are beginning to show a change of heart, none more important than Mica, the incoming chairman of the House Transportation Committee. Mica, a Winter Park Republican, has long professed to be a fan of high-speed rail, but last week he proposed re-directing Florida's money to urban areas of the Northeast such as New York and Philadelphia, where Mica thinks there would be better ridership.

No issue has become more of a rallying cry of government overreach for conservative Republicans, brimming with power and confidence from the Nov. 2 elections, than high-speed rail. In opposing rail, newly elected conservatives are able to show they are serious about reining in government spending while also opposing a key element for President Barack Obama's federal stimulus plan, Guetzloe said.

'It has become the poster child for government excess,' Doug Guetzloe, founder of a Hillsborough County group opposed to rail projects.

Guetzloe, who is also a leader in Florida's Tea Party movement, said he is planning grass-roots rallies and activities to keep the pressure on Mica and Scott to turn down the rail line.

The wild card in the battle could be one of the state's biggest opponents of another rail project ó a $1.2 billion commuter-rail line in central Florida. State Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, has long opposed the proposed SunRail commuter line as a waste of money because of how much the rail line would cost to buy from CSX, but said she is doing everything she can to convince Scott to support Florida's high-speed rail line.

Dockery, who is a member of Scott's transition team, said Florida's high-speed rail project is justified because it requires so little state money, will have ridership in large part because of tourism, and will creating thousands of high-paying construction jobs.

'Anyone who is trying to kill it is hurting all of Florida,' Dockery said.

Dockery said the fact that Florida would be the first project under way for the nation would be a major attraction for the international high-speed rail industry to move their operations to Florida. Dockery said that could mean hundreds of other jobs in the state to build high-speed rail cars and components.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is also fighting for the project and trying to influence Scott. At a conference in Orlando two weeks ago, Nelson said the 84-mile project is key to remaking Florida's transportation system.

'High-speed rail will be a game changer for Florida's economy, along the likes of the Interstate system and Disney,' Nelson said.

Dockery said Florida's situation should not be confused with what happened in New Jersey and elsewhere. She said the state of New Jersey was set to pick up a lot more of the tab than Florida would for its project. Christie has said almost as much. During an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, Christie said New Jersey's deal was not close to what Florida was able to get. New Jersey's taxpayers were expected to put in more than $2 billion, even without hidden cost overruns.

Dockery said she knows Scott is concerned about the cost in Florida even though most of it is covered by federal money. She said she is working to get private investors to step up and help pay for the remaining $300 million for Florida and have them pick up future operating costs.

Another new source of money could be Wisconsin and Ohio. If those states forfeit their money, Florida could could get it because of how much the federal government wants Florida's rail project to be a model for the nation, Bedke said.

Scott has been tight-lipped about what he will do since he won the governor's race on Nov. 2.

A spokesman for Scott said the incoming governor supports modernizing the transportation system.

'However, he is opposed to investing in projects that have little or no return on investment to the state,' said Trey Stapleton, a spokesman for Scott. 'After looking at a final feasibility study on high-speed rail projects and determining what the state would be responsible for, he will assess the states funds and determine if there is adequate return on investment for the taxpayer's money.'

The pressure against high-speed rail can be traced to conservative think tanks like The Heritage Foundation. That influential group has long opposed high-speed rail, calling it jazzed up technology from the 19th century.

Ronald Utt, who has written the Heritage Foundation's reports against high-speed rail, said the country is finally rising up because voters see rail as being too expensive at a time states are struggling to balance their budgets.

'In each of these states, governors are dealing with horrible budget pressures and they simply cannot afford this,' Utt said.


Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC
1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Suite 705
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-1880
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com
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