Monorail to Orlando airport / Tampa airport

[mitros]

The millionare industrialist that wanted the train actually paid for ads telling people that the train would pay for itself. As it turns out, it is going to be paid for with a lot of taxpayer money. Take a look at what happened down here with the dimpled and pregnant chads and that should tell you how many people here in Florida are not real bright. Present company excepted of course.....

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Can't the people of Florida vote to undo the expensive damage that has been done? Of course I'd like to have the train in place but my 2 rides per year won't go far in paying for it.

 

[manning]

Toll roads eventually pay for themselves,but have you ever seen a toll road- once it's paid for- stop being a toll road ? I never have. That would mean laying off hundreds of people. So even though a toll road pays for itself, we NEVER stop paying for it.

I-65 just south of Louisville was a toll road. It got paid off sometime in the 70's.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

If I remember correctly, the preferred plan was to merely have WDW be one of the stops, but Disney threatened to not allow a WDW station unless they were the only stop.

I don't think that's quite right, Matt. I'm pretty sure the ultimate plan is for the train to run from Orlando to Tampa. Universal and the Convention Center wanted the route to dog-leg between the airport and WDW, while Disney insisted on a more direct route.

 

[seashoreCM]

>>> how luggage would work?

Have you ever flew into a city and used the subway instead of a limo or shuttle to get to your destination? (I have, a lot.)

If so baggage handling for the new Orlando to Tampa train will probably work the same way. You just carry it on board.

I think the train would run more efficiently with everyone carrying on baggage as opposed to having a baggage car.

Then at the Disney stop there will be shuttles like Mears'.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

Oh yes, if you have flown into Orlando you already experienced a train ride, from the gate to the airport main terminal.

 

[Mr D]

Disney's plan is to immediately hold onto those coming into Orlando, keep them away from SW, USF/IOA and any places of lodging other than inside the par.

Of course the best deal is to build an airport (enlarge the current one) to handle mid sized jets like 737, 757 etc, a Disney terminal, a Disney baggage claim, Disney airport shuttle.

They could even use the 3 letter airport code "WDW"

 

[YoHo]

2 thoughts

1: doug, you like I live in Oregon. How can you know so much about how highways and Government work when our State itself doesn't understand?

2: About the Aceala. As a train buff, Everything I've heard is that its problems have as much to do with the aging and unreliable tracksystem of the NorthEast Corridor as with the trainsets themselves. That is an Amtrak Budget problem. You would think they'd front some money to fix their only profitable route, but hey, they're a government agency, what do you expect.





As for the Idea of a bullet train. I agree make it a conventional 79MPH train service first. The track is already there. I have a similar issue with Portland Or. Which overruled a local referendum blocking expansion the the light rail system and is going to spend Taxpayer dollars on it anyway. Yet Portland has conventional track throughout the entire metro area. They could have spent fewer dollars on a conventional system.

 

[DancingBear]

My understanding is that Acela runs mostly on other company's (not Amtrak's) tracks, so the deficiencies in that track are not entirely an Amtrak budget problem.

 

[YoHo]

Not true, Amtrak owns all the electrified Track in the North East corridor. It is the only mainline track they own in the entire country. Which makes the lack of upgrades even more perplexing.

 

[rangebob]

Doug your statement is incorrect. Disney did leverage the battle and said if we aren't the only stop on the track we don't want it to come over here. They even went on to say that they would offer free shuttle service from the airport to Disney if it did the proposed stops at the convention center and the Universal area and then to Disney. Yes you are correct in stating that ultimate goal is to connect Orlando and Tampa but disney pulled their weight and won.

As for the voters being tricked the pro light rail people used shady publications to sway the vote their way. The main things that I saw and thought about was the Metro Rail in Miami and train service that they have in Broward county are both working over budget. I did vote against the light rail system when it came to vote. Bush saw the light and is trying to put it back on the ballet to repeal the vote.

 

[DancingBear]

Just how is Doug's statement incorrect? He said

Universal and the Convention Center wanted the route to dog-leg between the airport and WDW, while Disney insisted on a more direct route.

 

[ChairborneRangr]

Even if this plan stinks and gets repealed, I hope some plan goes through eventually. I have been to Florida for a number of reasons... Vacations, conferences, training, etc. When I am vacationing in WDW I want to get there fast. The amount of time it takes to get to the resort from the time wheels hit the tarmack at MCO is WAY too long. It takes me less time to get from COlorado Springs to a hotel in Manhatten than it does to get from C/S to a resort at WDW. That is just wrong.

If I could step off my plane transfer over to the WDW "concourse" and grab an Elevated lightrail to the TTC with no stops, I'd pay double what I pay for shuttles etc.

That goes double if I can check bags through to my final destination and have them show up in my room, and be able to check them at the station at the TTC on the way home.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

doug, you like I live in Oregon. How can you know so much about how highways and Government work when our State itself doesn't understand?

I grew up in California, which, up until the second Brown administration, had the best freeway system in the nation. Between 1990 and 1997 I worked for a road building contractor, and in 1993 I married a Caltrans employee. In 1998 I went to work as a consultant on a Caltrans project. So I've talked to a lot of different people about transportation systems and funds. I only moved to Oregon in 2001.

Just how is Doug's statement incorrect?

Thanks, DB. I was wondering the same thing myself.