The lawsuit initiated by Martin and Indian River Counties against Brightline and All Aboard Florida was dismissed last week in federal district court. The dismissal ruling occurred because in 2014 the federal government’s loan guarantees were withdrawn from the sale of the bonds. Those bonds were to finance the West Palm Beach to Orlando leg of the rail improvements. The court ruled that the counties reasons for the lawsuit were now moot.
Brightline continues to insist that it will move ahead with its plan of running trains from Miami to Orlando. They will begin service from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale in July. Then, in September, service will be extended to Miami. Perhaps in the dense population corridor between Miami and West Palm Beach another rail option besides Tri-Rail is needed. This new venture faces a similar problem to Tri-Rail. If your final destination is not by the station, then how do you arrive at that final destination? You can call an Uber or a cab, but that is another expense. The total dollar amount needed and the time it takes door to door will influence whether you drive or not.
As to going between Miami and Orlando, not only does the same problem occur when you disembark at the station, but the ticket and other expenses are much more than driving a car. No city in Florida has the population density that New York, Boston or Washington has. Those cities also have mass transit systems that leave the train traveler with options once they disembark at the station.
There is currently no government unsubsidized rail service in the United States. Even if you go back to the 19th century when rail was in its heyday, railroads were constantly going bankrupt and being reorganized. Their profits came from the vast amounts of land the government gave railroads to sell and develop along their rights of way. It was a subsidy in real estate instead of cash.
While there is a future for freight being shipped by rail, as time goes on technology will make passenger rail less and less economically feasible. As driverless technology becomes more widespread, it will be much more convenient to “hire” a car to transport you from Point A to Point B. The enormous capital that is needed to build and maintain a rail system will ultimately help speed the spread of driverless cars. This will become our new mass transit.
Not only is the self-contained driverless vehicle ultimately a cheaper alternative, it will be able to safely travel at high speeds closer to other vehicles than autos can now. When arriving at a destination, they will self-park not in the garages and lots that we see today but packed bumper to bumper to accommodate many more vehicles. This future may be a few decades away…but, it is coming. To look at the 200-year-old technology of railroads and call it the future is to live in the past.
The market will ultimately decide whether Brightline succeeds or not. I would suspect that without a government subsidy of some sort, it never will happen or continue for very long. The Treasure Coast needs to continue to fight against Brightline as well as the increased freight that may come. Stuart could be devastated by one derailed car of oil, chemicals or compressed gas. This 19th century mode of transportation should be confined to history books not to our downtowns.