Florida governor Rick Scott (R) has rejected the federal money to build the high speed rail between Orlando and Tampa (with stops at Walt Disney World and other locations of interest to tourists), effectively killing the project.
Do you think this will suppress traffic to Disney World? Would you have taken the train from Tampa? (or alternately, taken it from WDW over to Tampa?)
I personally would have taken it, simply because my grandmother has a condo in Tampa and we like to visit her, then go over to Disney World, but that would be once every couple years, so it’s a good thing they aren’t basing their plans on my patronage ;)
This is a shame. I’m moving to Central Florida next month, and I would have definitely used the rail to visit both WDW and Tampa. The country as a whole needs more high-speed mass transit, and I think this particular project could have really helped Central Florida.
Like it or not, high speed rail is the future if transportation. And the longer these greedy lobbying government crackheads delay the inclusion of these transportation devices the more expensive it will be in the end. And the more damage will be caused to our environment burning too many fuels.
I may sound like a green econut but it’s just my belief. There is a reason places like New York , London, Vancouver and Japan are considered to have the best transportation systems in the world.
I would have taken it. Being a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays I’d love to go see their games when I’m in town, but I hate the drive. I would have taken a train without hesitation. Depending on their schedule and my planned trip I might go see them play 2-5 times a year. I’m sure still not their target, but the Rays could have really used this to help their attendance.
I don’t know that I would take it into Tampa (although I’m sure it would be popular for those that live there), but if those other stops included Universal then yes, I would use it.
Very bad news for Florida today.
I would have loved it, owning a condo in Clearwater and loving Walt Disney World. It also really stinks for Busch Gardens, who could have officially considered themselves part of the Orlando theme park circuit with the rail connecting it to all of the Orlando attractions.
That having been said, and partisan politics aside, this wouldn’t have been all that big of a time saver for anyone. As with the stops for loading and unloading passengers, the drive from Tampa to Disney World would have taken just as long. Where such a thing is needed is on the I-95 corridor between Boston and Washington, DC. But as anyone who knows anything about the construction of that interstate can tell you, finding enough support for such a massive undertaking in such a crowded and geographically diverse part of the country would be next to impossible.
All this having been said, I would have liked to ride that rail. An hour or two asleep from 1-3am followed by a 20 minute drive home sure beats fighting to stay awake for the whole car ride from Disney to Tampa.
The link between the airport and Universal would have gotten good traffic, but the plan to link Tampa was expensive and idiotic. Few tourists make that journey, and no locals would have used the train, because, factoring in stops, its average speed would have been under 40mph and it was more expensive than driving. Then, at your destination, since neither city has reasonable mass transit, you’d end up needing a car anyway. And the link from the airport to Disney is already serviced by the free Magical Express. So I thank the governor for saving Florida taxpayers not only the $280M but also the ongoing losses. Hopefully California can make better use of the Federal funds than this plan did.
Florida's Governor puts the brakes on High Speed Rail http://ht.ly/3XH9h
This Rail project was canceled because the ridership numbers showed it would have not earned enough to sustain itself. The same thing is happening here in California, They want to build a line between San Fransisco and San Diego. Problem is, in order for it to work the government would have to heavily subsidize it, as fares alone would not keep is economically viable.
Is it fair to ask taxpayers in Ohio to pay for high speed rail in Florida and California?
The line between Orlando airport and WDW is a different story and would probably be able to sustain itself. This is the reason a Republican rep (Can’t remember his name) is trying to preserve that section of the project.
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