[Lakelander]

The top speed would be 110mph.

The train, with a top speed of 110 mph, would target the millions of people who travel between Central and South Florida. The trip would take about three hours.

If the route is as successful as FECI hopes, it could be expanded to Tampa and Jacksonville, the company said.

Fares were not announced, nor were exact stops. Barney said feasibility, revenue and ridership studies could be ready within a couple of months.

It is unclear how the train would get the 40 miles from the east coast to Orlando, and whether it would link with Orlando International Airport or Walt Disney World. The most likely way to get to Orlando would be along the right of way of the BeachLine Expressway, which is jointly owned by the state and Metro Orlando's expressway authority.

The proposed route appears similar to the second leg of a high-speed train system that Gov. Rick Scott scuttled last year. Many experts said the Miami-Orlando leg would have had more potential than the Tampa-to-Orlando route that Scott nixed.

Few public officials and transit experts in Central Florida had heard of the proposal Thursday.

MetroPlan, which sets transportation policy in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, had not been notified, said spokeswoman Cynthia Lambert.

And officials at the Florida Department of Transportation had only seen the news release.

But FDOT spokesman Dick Kane said, "The department is always willing to listen to private sector proposals to the tune of $1 billion."

full article: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/...ssenger-trains


I'm guessing that this is a way for them to become a freight player in Orlando and Tampa. Currently, CSX is the only major rail carrier in those metros. This should be big news around the state over the next couple of days, as the details come out.