Florida Bullet Train

Over the past few weeks, I have been researching transportation alternatives for a Science and Technology class at Florida Gulf Coast University. As I began to look into this subject, I stumbled across an engineering marvel called a bullet train. Although this topic isn't a new concept for Floridians, it's still only a topic and not reality. In the Far East, countries like Japan and China have already implemented such programs and have been using them successfully for over forty years. The United States on the other hand continues to stick to the same old plan by subsidizing new roadways. Throughout this page I will do my best to stay completely neutral towards both sides of this debate in order to provide a detailed analysis of the issue. However, at the same time, I will refute Jeb Bush's decision to veto the funding for this project. My job is to objectively educate you, the reader, yet provide the evidence that clearly supports the production of a Florida bullet train. More roads are not the answer, and after looking at the big picture, new roads will sound progressive to only the naive. To those who know what I am talking about, our government is spending far more money on building decadent roadways than they ever would on a foundational new infrastructure; a bullet train. To see what I am talking about view the pie chart provided below. To see this information in more detail, view the PDF file linked below the pie chart.

The "Florida Bullet Train" is an idea taken from Asian engineers. According to the Florida Transportation Association, the technology is meant to reconstruct our current infrastructure enough to provide better intercity transportation and balance the overpopulation on the roads. The highly efficient trains are nothing like the railroads of old. These sleek new designs are powered mainly by electricity and can travel up to speeds of over 200mph, making a commute from Orlando to Miami only an estimated two and a half hours.

As you read through this site, keep in mind that this technology is not just a concept. Many countries around the world have materialized it and have been using it for years. Many Floridians are aware of this topic, however the majority are unaware as to why it disappeared. Currently Florida has a transportation plan called the "2030 plan" and in this plan, the state is looking for ways to create jobs, unclog roadways, and clean up our environment. Very little is mentioned about transit systems, and nothing is mentioned about a bullet train at all. To see for yourself, click here. And to no surprise, all of the answers that the "Capital Region 2030 transportation plan" is looking for, resides on the Florida Bullet Train's website. Hopefully the education gained from my site will clear up personal issues as to why the train hasn't been built. Is it the technology, or merely politics?

Bullet Train, a.k.a. ,High-speed rail is public transport by rail at speeds in excess of 200 km/h (125 mph). According to the International Union of Railways, "high-speed train" is a train that runs at over 250 km/h on dedicated tracks, or over 200 km/h on upgraded conventional tracks.

There is no single definition of the term, but rather a combination of elements—new or upgraded track, rolling stock, operating practices—that lead to high-speed rail operations. The speeds at which a train must travel to qualify as 'high-speed' vary from country to country, ranging from 160 km/h (100 mph) to over 300 km/h (186 mph). The countries that have high-speed rail in operation are: Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For details of current systems, see High-speed rail by country.

Much of the technology behind high-speed rail is an improved application of existing technology. By building a new rail infrastructure with 20th century engineering, including elimination of constrictions such as roadway at-grade (level) crossings, frequent stops, a succession of curves and reverse curves, and not sharing the right-of-way with freight or slower passenger trains, higher speeds (250–300 km/h) are maintained.

Although the technology has been around for over forty years, just like the modifications made to newer state of the art automobiles, High Speed Rail has progressed into a state-of-the-art, world-class transportation system that provides efficient, reliable and comfortable city-to- city travel at speeds of 120 mph or greater. High speed trains contain modern amenities and conveniences, and are time and price competitive with other modes of transportation. Currently, several high speed rail systems operate in the United States, Europe and Asia. Amtrak's Acela Express trains operate at speeds in excess of 135 mph between Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.

In Florida, the proposed high speed rail system will be constructed on tracks or overhead guide ways that will be completely separated from automobile traffic. Several high speed technologies exist in the marketplace today including conventional steel wheel on steel rail systems and magnetic levitation (maglev) systems. The Authority's Request for Proposal remained technology neutral, allowing those proposing, to select the technology that worked best for their system and business plan. The authority is made up of multiple different people, but most notably the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate. To read in more detail who makes up this prominent group, click here. The Fluor Bombardier team proposed the Jet Train, a turbine propelled steel wheel technology. Global Rail Consortium proposed an electric train system, also steel wheel on steel rail. (To learn more view www.FloridaHighSpeedRail.org)

(To see more history and comparisons of bullet train technology, click the encyclopedia link below.)

Florida's Bullet Train

The proposed Florida bullet train was to be modeled after French technology, called a TGV, which is French for High Speed Rail. Called the Florida Overland Express(FOX), The "FOX" bullet train was to begin by connecting Tampa, Orlando, and Miami. The system would consist of ten car train sets, each set would hold a capacity of 295 passengers and be able to reach speeds of 200mph.

To learn more about what a TGV is, click the link provided below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGV

To learn more about the specific TGV called the Florida Overland Express(FOX), click the link provided below.

http://www.cefa.fsu.edu/FOX.html

Comparison with Other Modes of Transport

High speed rail (HSR) is often viewed as an isolated system and simply as advantageous or disadvantageous as compared to other transport systems, but all transport systems must work together to maximize benefits. A good HSR system has capacity for non-stop and local services, and has good connectivity with other transport systems.

Due to current infrastructure designs in many nations, there are constraints on the growth of the highway and air travel systems. Some key factors promoting HSR is that airports and highways have no room to expand, and are often overloaded. For example, highways are continuously being expanded from four lanes to six, and soon from six to ten. Eventually there will just not be enough room to build anymore roads. HSR takes up much less space while still providing enough transportation to a significant amount of people. High-speed rail has the potential for high capacity on its fixed corridors, and has the potential to relieve congestion on the other systems. High speed trains in themselves are more environmentally friendly than air or road travel. This is due to:

lower energy consumption per passenger kilometer
reduced land usage for a given capacity compared to motorways
displaced usage from more environmentally damaging modes of transport.

The poll questions and results below were taken from the "Florida Bullet Train" website. This particular information is meant to show the differences in cost to implement different projects in the Southern Florida area. To view more polls that pertain directly to this subject, click here.

Advanced Polls

High Speed Rail Segment, between Tampa and Orlando $23 and $25 Million

13 Miles of I-595 in Broward County $154 Million

Polk County Parkway $37.1 Million

Which do you think costs more, per mile, to build?

High Speed Rail Segment between Tampa and Orlando 6 Votes (21%)

13 Miles of I-595 in Broward County 15 Votes (53%)

Polk County Parkway 7 Votes (25%)

Poll Statistics - Which do you think costs more, per mile, to build?

This Poll closed on January 12, 2004

The Winner of this poll was “13 Miles of I-595 in Broward County”

Total Number of Votes: 28

Researchers say China will consume all the current world's oil consumption in 15 years. Oil prices will continue to rise and could rise to $10/gallon in a short time. What will Floridians do then? Every poll shows that people want an alternative to driving and flying--they want clean, reasonably priced, and frequent trains that go where they want to go. (www.Floridabullettrain.com)

*The following information was submitted by Bill Dunn of Miami, Florida, and lists all the positive aspects to the implementation of a bullet train in Florida. (www.Floridabullettrain.com) High-Speed Rail is just such a project. Every dollar spent by the State of Florida will be returned with interest over the thirty-year franchise and the private sector will be investing side-by-side with the State. In addition to getting our money back, we also get all the things that we expect from an economic development investment:

1. We own it!
2. We create of tens of thousands of new jobs
3. We add $ Billions to Florida’s Economy
4. We impose no new tax to finance the investment
5. We get a new transportation alternative to serve Florida citizens and visitors for centuries to come
6. We set the standard for High-Speed Rail for the nation

Yes, High-Speed Rail is the PERFECT investment because we get so much for our money, and then WE GET OUR MONEY BACK WITH INTEREST.

To better support the idea that a bullet train is the most economical solution, both the Florida Transportation Commission and the Florida Bullet Train website provide information about cost. According to both, the state of Florida has a $6.5 billion dollar annual budget. The majority of that budget is being spent of the creation and repair of roadways. The implementation of the first leg of the Florida Bullet Train however would only cost a fraction of that amount. The idea is that the Florida Bullet Train is the solution, but not a solution over night. It is a supplemental way to travel, making our society and environment a better place to live.

Table 6-2: Transportation Expenditures by State and Local Governments: 2000¹

(Current $ in millions)

State Total Highway Transit Air Water

Florida 7,648 5,256 709 1,341 342

Notice that the total cost of highway and air transportation expenditures reaches an estimated $6.5 billion. To build the first leg of the system (Tampa to Orlando), the state will need to provide about $75 million per year. This would be less than 1.5 percent of the state’s $7.6 billion transportation budget.

The money for high speed rail need not come from any other part of the budget or cause taxes to go up. In fact, construction of the first segment of the bullet train will create 7,000 new jobs and $9 billion in economic benefits. (www.Floridabullettrain.com)

A Look at the Proposed New Infrastructure

This picture was taken from www.nationalcorridors.org/df/df11012004a.jpg

A Look at Future Ticket Prices

This picture was taken from http://www.floridabullettrain.com