Today, Governor Charlie Crist stood with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and other elected officials at the historic Church Street Station as he signed House Bill 1B, landmark legislation passed during the recent special session. The bill will allow for the creation of SunRail, Central Florida’s first commuter rail line and pave the way for a future statewide rail transportation network.
“Future generations of Floridians will look on this day as a bold step toward modernizing how residents and visitors will travel in our state,” Governor Crist said. “Individuals and businesses from North Florida to South Florida will benefit from the economic and job opportunities that will arise along each of the rail corridors. Together, we move the Sunshine State into a new era of collaboration and innovation.”
Beyond providing Floridians with desperately needed transportation alternatives, this groundbreaking rail plan will spur the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs at a time when they are desperately needed in the state.
SunRail, specifically, will create nearly 10,000 jobs almost immediately. Over the next 25 years SunRail will create more than 250,000 jobs and more than 8 billion dollars in economic impact.
“This groundbreaking legislation and the rail renaissance it has created, is not just a win for Central Florida, but a defining moment for our community and our entire state,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “It would not have been possible without the cooperation and partnership that began in Central Florida with historic, unanimous support for SunRail and ultimately developed between communities and elected leaders around our state who shared our vision for the transformational power of rail transit. I applaud the Governor’s Office and our Legislature for taking this brave and historic step in approving this important bill.”
The primary components of House Bill 1B include the following:
·       SunRail – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is working with the federal government and Central Florida officials to develop and operate SunRail, a commuter rail transit project that will run along a 61-mile stretch of existing rail freight tracks in Orange, Seminole, Volusia and Osceola counties. The legislation authorizes FDOT to complete the purchase of the Central Florida Rail Corridor once the Federal Transit Administration has established a full-funding grant agreement.
·       Tri-Rail – The legislation also provides additional funding for Tri-Rail, which currently operates 50 trains daily from Palm Beach County to Miami-Dade County. The operator of the passenger line, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA), announced in April 2009 that it was in danger of significant service reductions without additional resources.
·       Florida Statewide Rail Commission and Florida Rail Enterprise – The legislation creates the Florida Statewide Rail Commission to advise the FDOT and the Legislature on the development and operation of Florida’s passenger rail systems. In addition, it creates the Florida Rail Enterprise within FDOT to oversee all state-owned passenger rail systems. The legislation addresses liability risks associated with state-owned passenger rail corridors and requires FDOT to work with communities affected by increased freight rail traffic resulting from routing modifications.
This statewide rail transit program also sets the stage for Florida to leverage billions of federal dollars for the Tampa-Orlando-Miami High Speed Rail Program. Earlier this year, President Obama allocated 8 billion dollars in federal funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for transportation projects across the country. Florida has applied to receive $2.6 billion in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds for the Tampa-Orlando segment. and lay the groundwork for an Orlando to Miami corridor. The federal government is expected to announce funding recipients early next year.
