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We have so many foreign companies fighting over this high-speed rail project. Where are the American proposals? This should be setting us ahead - Florida should become the rail building epicenter of North America. Instead we have nothing but imports because we can't make an effort.

My understanding is that the American companies ran away from Florida after the FOX debacle.

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The construction has to be here, the actual parts can come from other places and only final assembly done here. I am not sure how things go with Canada - I don't know if the Fair Trade agreements allow the trains to be built by bombardier up there. In any case the engineering, etc. will be heavily biased towards the foreign companies. As a specific case, I guess get what you can. But this is a golden opportunity for the US to break into a new major market, and yet we are letting it slip away.

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Government leaders may kill high-speed rail

Scott could join other new GOP governors to snub funds

Just as it looked liked a nationwide high-speed rail system was taking off, a backlash by conservatives who now control many state governments is threatening to knock it off the tracks.

And Florida is on the verge of becoming the biggest derailment yet.

Florida has received $2 billion from the federal government -- 70 percent of the total cost -- to build a line from Orlando to Tampa. It is envisioned as an alternative for workers and tourists to the state's often snarled interstate system, promising, roaring along at 168 mph, to deliver them to their destinations in a fraction of the time.

But Gov.-elect Rick Scott and the state's leading transportation force in Congress, Rep. John Mica, are signaling that it is not too late to stop the project -- and that they may be the ones to do it.

It is a shocking turn of events for high-speed rail advocates who thought they were on the cusp of gaining a national model for getting cars off highways while creating up to 10,000 jobs building and running the train line.

Read more about Government leaders plan to kill high speed rail here >>

I just realized why this country is going backwards.....the unholy alliance between suburban and rural America continue to put urban America (and the greater U.S. economy) at risk. What's with these country bumpkins and country-club Republicans beef with Great American Cities????

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Government leaders may kill high-speed rail

Scott could join other new GOP governors to snub funds

Just as it looked liked a nationwide high-speed rail system was taking off, a backlash by conservatives who now control many state governments is threatening to knock it off the tracks.

And Florida is on the verge of becoming the biggest derailment yet.

....

I just realized why this country is going backwards.....the unholy alliance between suburban and rural America continue to put urban America (and the greater U.S. economy) at risk. What's with these country bumpkins and country-club Republicans beef with Great American Cities????

I don't really understand it. Republicans at one time could agree on infrastructure projects. It's been one of the most bipartisan legislative agendas in recent history. I'm entirely disillusioned with the American public ... the same group of people desiring to slash education, vital infrastructure, health benefits and social safety nets have no issue writing a blank check to the discretionary defense spending. It is disappointing on a level I cannot describe. I don't just blame the GOP, I blame the democrats for being spineless on these issues.

I figured by now the state of things would be enough to shock some sense into people, but that does not appear to be the case. I don't know what the solution is. It's a complicated problem.

On the bright side, the dull electorate goes both ways. In a couple of years, they'll vote for people who want infrastructure ... but, just like in this election, they won't have a really good explanation as to why they did.

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Well, now we know where that seedy Doug Guetzloe went. He was making the papers enough in Orlando and got run off. Now, he is starting to make the news in the Tampa area. It just goes to show that you can run just a short distance away and people won't even know that you are corrupt.

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The state is gonna be on the hook for all the money they've spent so far designing this thing. That could be well into the millions depending how far they got in the engineering process. I know they got surveyors and soil testers out there so the state's looking at a big hole if they gave the money back. Scott should try to convince the feds to pony up some of the remaining $300 million needed from that pool that was forfeited by Ohio and Wisconsin. Then for once Florida could benefit from federal transit dollars instead of being left behind.

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The state is gonna be on the hook for all the money they've spent so far designing this thing. That could be well into the millions depending how far they got in the engineering process. I know they got surveyors and soil testers out there so the state's looking at a big hole if they gave the money back. Scott should try to convince the feds to pony up some of the remaining $300 million needed from that pool that was forfeited by Ohio and Wisconsin. Then for once Florida could benefit from federal transit dollars instead of being left behind.

Exactly. The Fed is going after NJ for money already spent on the unfinished tunnel that Gov Christie just cancelled. About 1/2 billion has been spent so far. Not sure how much of that was fed money but probably $200 mil or more. The NY Port Authority which was funding as much as the fed might also be seeking reembursment. Christie might have had a point though, as the agreement was worded so NJ was on the hook for all cost overruns and cost overruns were really starting to pile up. I'm not sure how the HSR agreement is structured. Anyone?

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  • 3 weeks later...

From today's NY Times:

"Ohio and Wisconsin’s loss of $1.2 billion in federal stimulus money for rail projects will be California, Florida and 11 other states’ gains, federal officials said on Thursday.

"The money will be redistributed to 12 other states, with the biggest winners being California and Florida, which are building high-speed trains."

Here's hoping governor-elect Rick Scott does not join his Luddite friends from the same party and bring ours to a screeching halt as well.

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Huge news!

According to the NY Times article, florida will get $342 million on top of the roughly $2 billion that we received already. That should put us at close to 100% (may still have to commit to our match on the original amount).

It will be interesting to see what backlash the incoming governors get in OH and WI...and how that affects our governor.

But - to be fair - he hasn't actually squashed anything yet down here and has already backed down from his some of his campaign fodder.

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Huge news!

According to the NY Times article, florida will get $342 million on top of the roughly $2 billion that we received already. That should put us at close to 100% (may still have to commit to our match on the original amount).

It will be interesting to see what backlash the incoming governors get in OH and WI...and how that affects our governor.

But - to be fair - he hasn't actually squashed anything yet down here and has already backed down from his some of his campaign fodder.

Rick Scott did say he was going to push for our tax liability to be 0 and he was going to push for whatever will cost the taxpayers less. I think its pretty clear now he will not go against it, as it sounds like we'll have to spend more money to reject the system, having to pay back the feds, then to implement it, and Rick Scott has said he welcomes the federal government to do it, its just not something he would do or support state tax dollars being used towards. I think this news pretty much cements it in stone, I can't see Rick Scott going against it with so much federal funding and so little state funding necessary for it.

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We have so many foreign companies fighting over this high-speed rail project. Where are the American proposals? This should be setting us ahead - Florida should become the rail building epicenter of North America. Instead we have nothing but imports because we can't make an effort.

Well, the companies might be "foreign" but the trains will be built in the US (by law). I have a Honda and a Toyota. One was built in Ohio and the other in Kentucky. All big companies are really international.

Off topic story. About 25 years ago a small town in NJ was upgrading its small truck fleet. They had a local law that they could only buy US built trucks. Options were Chevy Luv, Ford Currier, and a VW Rabbit pick up. The VW won because the Chevy and Ford were built in Japan and the VW had a plant in the US. Don't get too bent on the nationality of the company.

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If Scott truly wants to bring 700,000 jobs to Florida in 7 years, this would be a good way to start. SunRail's biggest foe is Paula Dockery, but she is also high speed rail's biggest advocate, and is a part of Scott's inner circle suggesting that he'll have pressure on him from his closest advisors to keep this project on track.

What's more, Obama sent a clear political signal by redistributing Ohio and Wisconsin's funding instead of swallowing it up in other transportation initiatives like roads -- namely that their decisions became their loses and others' gains. Do you think Scott really would just give up 2.7 billion dollars in federal funding, knowing now that it would only be redistributed to California, Washington, the Northeast? I'm still skeptical, but see how this may actually happen.

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I am for transit, but I think the Orlando Sentinel does a disservice (or adds value to the critics statements) in their editorials.

We shouldn't build this thing and incur dept for jobs and jobs alone. There needs to be a return on investment. That doesn't mean a net operating profit, which is good because it quite possibly won't have one. But the Sentinel doesn't ever get into the qualitative benefits of rail, nor does it bring up the real issues of the cost of road construction/maintenance, projected needs of the region, the victims of an auto-centric region, etc etc etc.

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I think the real financial benefit comes from the Orlando to Miami line. When they build the Tampa leg the train service station will be in Orlando so building the miami section is laying pipe and putting in a few stations. The Tampa leg is just a stepping stone for the Miami one.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is going to end up a disaster.

Activist studies are going to be tossed around, there's going ot be a huge battle over funding, and in the end there are going to be huge lawsuits over compensation for spent funds that the state backs away from and biased reports, and it's going to cost the state far more in the end than it would cost to just build the thing.

I figure, if the state does not want any state money going for it, then it should also have no say over it AND get no financial benefits from it. Personally, I think the state owes the federal government not only the money alredy given it for studies, but interest as they had no intention of using the funds. Otherwise, it is the foes who are cheating the tax payers, not the project.

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