On Mar 11, 4:37*pm, Gene wrote:
On Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:24:40 -0500, wrote:
On Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:57:12 -0500, Gene
wrote:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:44:10 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2011 12:17:00 -0500, Harryk
wrote:

I hate to say it because I do love the state, but
Florida seems to elect one idiot after another for governor.

"Three weeks after Gov. Rick Scott put the brakes on high-speed rail,
the Florida Department of Transportation on Wednesday released a study
showing the line connecting Tampa to Orlando would have had a $10.2
million operating surplus in 2015, its first year of operation.

The study showed the line would have had a $28.6 million surplus in its
10th year."

I'd guess Governor Scott nixed the project because he couldn't figure
out a way to personally benefit from it.

That was based on the wild assertion that 3 million people would ride
on it. That is what the Acela gets, with 50 times the number of people
within 50 miles of the stations.

3 million was a low-ball..... Acela doesn't serve Mickey World....

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/mar...rt-high-speed-....

That is a bogus number. Are you really saying the meager populations
of Tampa and Orlando would match the ridership of a train between
Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York metro and Boston?

Who would fly to Tampa to take a train to Orlando when Orlando has a
nicer airport with lower landing fees (cheaper tickets)

That is particularly true when you figure out it only takes about an
hour to an hour and a half to drive it. You are not going to be able
to do much in either town without a car anyway.
If these cities want a commuter rail line, let them build it but don't
confuse that with a cross state train line that will run empty most of
the time.

Landing fees don't tell the whole story. It is *considerably* cheaper
to fly to Tampa rather than Orlando and hotels in Tampa are about half
the price of Orlando.

But who wants to stay in Tampa to take a vacation in Orlando?

Not me.