Transit Needs More Money

Just when we thought the All Aboard Florida transit plan was privately funded we hear that they have asked for a Federal loan. More support that transit is not “sustainable”.

All Aboard Florida seeks federal loan

March 18, 2013|By Dan Tracy, Orlando Sentinel

All Aboard Florida, seven50, transit,

The builders of a privately financed train linking South Florida with Orlando International Airport have applied for a federal loan to pay for the $1.5 billion project.Karen Hedlund, deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, on Monday confirmed the application but would not go into detail, saying she couldn’t because the document contains proprietary information.Calls to the train company, All Aboard Florida based in Coral Gables, were not returned. The paperwork was filed Friday, Hedlund said.The railroad administration website indicates the loan repayment can stretch as long as 35 years at low interest rates. Among other uses, loans can be granted to acquire new facilities or improve existing ones.The largest loan approved by the government in recent years was nearly $563 million to Amtrak in 2011. The smallest was more than $56,000 to C&J Railroad in the Mississippi Delta.

The railroad agency is committed to having trains provide an alternative to airports and more, Hedlund said. Trains are especially adept at moving people on trips that last three hours or less and cover no more than 500 miles, she said.

“We see rail as the transportation mode of the future,” said Hedlund, who was in Orlando to address a meeting of transportation executives and government officials.

 

Read the full Orlando Sentinel article on All Aboard Florida

Filed under: All Aboard Florida

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