csx railroading: what’s the hub bub?
Editor’s Note: You may have read a bit about some changes coming to passenger and freight rail lines between Tampa and Orlando. The insider workings on the huge multi billion dollar deals are becoming apparent, but we haven’t had the time to properly find out exactly what is going on. So we asked our friend for a bit of help.
Chuck Welch is the publisher of Lakeland Local, and has been following this story since the Tampa Tribune first broke it. He’s written stories and compiled a bunch of articles and links that pertain to what is going on. We asked Chuck for an overview on what he has learned thus far. Here is his story.
Most people don’t think about railroads. Well, except when they’re waiting at a crossing or hearing that plaintive whistle in the distance.
Or the sound of that rail hub next door.
That’s a sound some Polk county residents don’t want to hear. But this is Sticks of Fire, and why should you be concerned with some Polk County Rail Hub in Winter Haven?
Well, sing along with me: Winter Haven is connected to Lakeland, and Lakeland is connected to Tampa, and Tampa is connected to Orlando and Orlando is connected to Jacksonville and Jacksonville is connected to Tallahassee and Tallahassee is connected to your wallet.
And that’s the way of politics.
I’m pretty new to Florida, but I heard there was once this great idea for a passenger train from Tampa to Orlando. From what I’ve read, that route is the busiest between Florida cities. Sounds like it was a great idea. Well, some thought so. Then some didn’t. Too bad it was killed, as it seemed like a huge forward step for the state.
Wait. Wasn’t I writing about a rail hub in Winter Haven and your wallet? Why, yes, yes I was and I still am. After the commuter train was derailed, someone stepped up with a new, bold plan. Give state money to CSX to improve its rails. Why? So CSX will move out of the way for a passenger rail in Orlando. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Not passenger rail from Tampa to Orlando, but just a 61 mile or so rail through the Orlando metro area. For the state to do that they are “purchasing” track from CSX, who will be “forced” to build a new rail hub to replace the old one on that track.
That means busier tracks for Lakeland, busier roads for Polk County, better facilities for CSX, and less money for you. You see, the state is paying over 450 million for the privilege of helping railroads improve their operations.
I know. I know. It doesn’t make sense. Who came up with this plan?
CSX.
Not surprised are you?
As recently as February, the project looked like a done deal. The fact all this is even in the news is primarily due to the work of a Tampa Tribune reporter stationed in far-flung Polk County. Billy Townsend has been on this story for months. Doing what no other Polk County reporter is doing: following the money. Here’s part of the introduction to a recent front page special report from the Tribune:
A plan to link Tampa and Orlando was the centerpiece of the state’s high-speed rail program. But three years ago, Gov. Jeb Bush helped lead the fight to kill it - with help from freight rail companies CSX and Florida East Coast Industries.
Their victory led to a new passenger rail plan for Florida and a boon for the railroads. The plan gives priority to the purchase of lines owned by CSX, a major Bush family campaign donor, and FEC, another politically connected railroad company.
I won’t try to explain every nuance of this project. In this short piece you won’t read how businessmen convinced a politician to use state money to improve their business. How less than 200, plus maybe 2000 became 8500. Today, you won’t read how a national company could claim they made no backup plans, and do so with a straight face.
After this little missive, you’re not going to decide if the major rail plans are good or bad for Florida. But I hope you spend the time to research the project for yourself. Please take that time. You have over 450 million reasons to look into this one.
Polk County Rail Hub Information Links
Polk County Rail Hub: This is a collection of links to every thing written about this project: Pro, Con and Indifferent. Plus some original maps and photos. I maintain the site, and I’m a couple of weeks behind.
Lakeland Local – My site, and all my CSX related entries. I started out indifferent to the project. I just wanted to get some straight answers. The answers are starting to come, and we may not like them.
Empirical Polk – A Winter Haven site published by well-respected author Josh Hallett. He has done some work on reporting the rail hub story.
Winter Haven Chamber – A blog written by the Winter Haven Chamber of Business. They are the de-facto CSX community outreach blog. I’ve spared a bit in print with the chamber, but this is the place to find the pro-CSX view.
The Media:
The Tampa Tribune is all over this story. Especially reporter Billy Townsend’s Polk County News Blog
The Ledger, paper of record in Polk County, not so much on the ball. Check out their site and search for CSX.
Winter Haven News Chief is barely in the game.
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September 20th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Devils Advocate:
450 Million dollars for a start on a Orlando/Tampa commuter rail link is a lot less than 4 billion or so to purchase ROW and then construct a HIGH SPEED rail link between Tampa and Orlando. It wasn’t straight, flat out commuter rail — it was a billion dollar first-of-it’s-kind-in-the-US-HSR-Line that would be part of a network of High Speed rail links between five of Florida’s biggest cities.
I’m pro-rail and know CSX stands in the way of rail properly working in the south, period. AMTRAK nationally has to share rail with CSX (another governmental deal) and plays second fiddle on those rail lines — making it impossible to use rail for commuting between southern cities unless it’s specially set up at greater cost.
But there is a rat in this… And I expect it to show up soon enough, as we’ve seen time and time again certain interests in government tend to take advantage of these transit options in development: Expressway authority members buying property where a new expressway is proposed, legislative members buying up land adjacent to a proposed state road, etc.
September 20th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
BTW — saying I am pro-rail doesn’t mean pro CSX or pro corporate railbaron. It’s an alternative to driving that I am all for. An alternative to flying as well… I want more choices and I believe commuter rail can help get local rail plans to a moving-ahead point.
September 20th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Great information Tommy and Chuck, thank you.
Can’t we just have our HIGH SPEED rail proposal back?
September 20th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
GKR
How can you possibly support a proposal that was on the ballot, received overwhelming public support, would help reduce pollution, save on fuel, save lives, and provide for better urban planning ?
Gov. Bush should have been impeached for his clear stance against democracy and the clear will of the public in the repeal of high speed rail.
September 21st, 2007 at 10:56 am
The political history of the HSR/Florida Overland Express is unusual, but the basics of it were that the people voted for it, but weren’t willing to pay for it. Funny, but the constitutional ammendment that passed said nothing about the cost or who should foot the bill. Once there was a proposed ammendment with money involved, the whole thing died. Classic case of “Yeah, I want it … if I don’t have to pay for it.”
The questions that I have not heard answered in any of the coverage:
- Did Orlando want the rails?
- What would it have cost Orlando to build their own system vs. utilizing the existing rails and right-of-way?
- Who is getting the current CSX hub, and what is the plan for it? How much did they pay?
- Isn’t Southeast Polk one of the lowest cost-per-acre areas in central Florida? So it kinda is free enterprise at work (cost control) to move industry to that area to serve the rest of the market — or in this case 2 markets (Tampa and Orlando).
The real irony is that Lakeland is complaining because train traffic will increase … but if it weren’t for the railroad that runs right through it, Lakeland wouldn’t even be there.
September 21st, 2007 at 11:16 am
FYI - the High Speed Rail isn’t completely dead. Because of the existance of FOX (Florida Overland Express) during the design phase of the I-4 reconstruction, the medians are wider and the overpasses a few feet higher to accomodate the addition of “some future transportation system.” It is to the specification of the same TGV trains used in Europe and Japan.
The I-275 project in Downtown Tampa is being built with the same considerations.
That way when - or if - the time comes for it to happen, costs the land is already there and obstructions minimized.
September 21st, 2007 at 12:30 pm
oh man, the memories keep racing back on this one …
Another of the problems with the high speed rail project of the 80s and 90s was economics: The cost of transportation went down during that time — rather than the assumption that the costs would escalate perpetually.
Airlines moved to a hub system, and the infill of commuter airlines drove the price of a airline tickets down … meanwhile, gas prices stayed relatively stable, and gas mileage improved.
Most people were not concerned about the cost of getting from Tampa to Orlando, which hurt the train concept.
Even in the mid 90s, when the model was getting close to construction, their own numbers showed that a train ticket would cost 6 times as much to drive between Tampa and Orlando. And with the number of stops, the travel time was nearly identical, with the drive actually being faster in some cases … and upon arrival via train, many passengers would still need additional transport to their final destination.
Yet the projected ridership numbers were not adjusted.
That left their target population as those without cars (includes tourists, because the cost to use the train to move around Florida for a week was less than the cost of a rental car.)
But most tourists in Florida fly into the nearest airport, and then stay close by … how many need the train? More would be more likely to utilize local mass transport (i.e. Orlando airport to Disney and downtown, TIA to downtown(s) and the beaches.)
The numbers got a little better when you looked at the Orlando to Miami leg, because of 2 factors - it was more expensive to drive (tolls on the turnpike) and the train was able to cover the route faster than a car (more distance, fewer stops). And there is Tri-Rail and the Metro already in place in South Florida.
Research hinted that a Tampa-Miami leg might also be of interest, but it was relegated to “future route options.”
There is still some information out there if you Google “Florida Overland Express” or Florida High Speed Rail” … it’s pretty interesting to read a decade later.
The truth of the matter is that with I-4 mostly done, the drive between Tampa and Orlando isn’t all that bad anymore.
September 21st, 2007 at 1:09 pm
““Yeah, I want it … if I don’t have to pay for it” should replace “The Sunshine State” as Florida’s motto.
September 22nd, 2007 at 10:57 am
Wanted to weigh in on the subject. Lots of interesting comments. The funny thing is that people in other counties are asking questions and most people in Polk County are oblivious to what’s coming.
I think the biggest reason for the concerns is the fact that the City of Winter Haven did everything in their power to down play the railroad hub, and try to avoid state reviews, all the while knowing the impact on the county and state.
Lakeland’s concerns are valid. And the comment that Lakeland would not be there if it were not for railroad is actually backwards. Lakeland was there and the residents asked the railroad to come and donated land to the railroad to open up the flow of goods and mail. Most towns can’t say that.
We keep hearing how this hub will help traffic by taking 300 trucks off the road for each train. That won’t be the case here because they are closing the Orlando site to reopen here. Not taking any trucks off the road, just transferring them from Orlando to Polk County.
September 22nd, 2007 at 4:09 pm
For timley updates on passenger rail go to floridabullettrain.com