There is passenger train service coming to the Treasure Coast which will be called “All Aboard Florida”. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to come aboard anywhere on the Treasure Coast since we are being bypassed. It will run nonstop from Orlando to West Palm Beach and then on to Fort Lauderdale and Miami. That doesn’t mean Martin and Stuart won’t have the train, it will just be the one rushing through 32 times a day once everything gets up and running.
The price of a one way ticket will be about $100 and take 3 hours’ time from Miami to Orlando. Florida East Coast Industries, the route’s owner, expect tourists and business people to make up the bulk of the ridership. Currently FECI not only owns the right of way but also is one of the largest real estate companies in Florida. According to their website, they currently have over 7 million square feet of commercial space. The company is a direct successor to Flagler’s railroad empire and is currently controlled by a Wall Street firm, The Fortress Investment Group.
So why is this important to the residents of Stuart and Martin County? There will be an impact to our roads and boating. With 32 added trains, although each much smaller than the current freight trains, travelling at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, those roadway gates and rail bridges will be down more than currently. Also, how about the added noise along the right of way not to mention the expense of maintaining the road crossings with the higher use?
Will the trains provide any benefit to us? If there is no stop in Stuart, I can’t see any. A few officials and the rail road executives have said that people on the train will see the beauty of Stuart and will want to come back for a visit. That may hold true for a few of the Floridians who catch a glimpse as the train speeds by, but tourists who elected to bypass the area are not likely now to rent cars and return. All in all, the train will cost us dollars and not bring any to us in return.
What is the probability of the long term success of “All Aboard Florida”? FECI is touting the train as not receiving any public tax dollars. There is not one current passenger system in the country that is not government subsidized. So the likelihood of this venture succeeding is slim. So why would a savvy Wall Street hedge fund attempt to do this? The same reason Flagler did over a century ago…to develop the real estate and bring tourists to his hotels.
If you look at the plans in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando, these cities will not only have stations but also be development hubs for office buildings, hotels and apartments. The trains will act as a loss leader to the company. FECI will not be receiving subsidies for train travel but will have tax and development incentives for the new properties being built. Once the development is in place, if the trains then prove to be too unprofitable and government refuses to subsidize the travel, another experiment in private mass transport will end.
Currently there is no benefit to Stuart or Martin County in this passenger train plan. The likelihood that either Fort Pierce or Stuart will have even one train a day stop is not great. I’ve heard that tri-rail could be extended or Amtrak, but I wouldn’t hold my breath given the dearth of public financing. While there is nothing wrong in lobbying FECI for a rail stop in Stuart, I wouldn’t spend any tax payer dollars to move that forward at present.
Until we, as a nation, decide to subsidize mass transit including inter-city rail travel, then ventures like “All Aboard Florida” will probably not succeed as a transportation alternative. It would be a great benefit to many of our citizens to have an affordable option such as this but, as a county and a city, we should not count on it happening. What we really need to do is to expand our own mass transit system with more reliable and frequent busses and trams. If Stuart wants to have a more livable downtown, this is something that we need to explore.