Gov. Rick Scott said before he'd make a decision about whether or not to pursue high-speed rail, he'd first examine a thorough feasibility study of the 84-mile project linking Tampa and Orlando.
It appears that study is this January 2011 report from the libertarian Reason Foundation. (Noah Pransky of Tampa Bay's 10 first reported the link.) The 24-page Reason Foundation report appears to mirror Scott's statement rejecting federal dollars this morning.
- The report says Florida could be on the hook for construction cost overruns from $540 million to $3 billion, even though Florida officials have repeatedly said they would not sign a contract for the project unless private contractors assumed that risk. (Scott, in his comments Wednesday, only cited the high-end $3 billion figure).
- It makes the same comparison to Amtrak's Acela line when saying the Florida rail rider projections are too rosy. Those projections ignore the other Amtrak rail service being used by more than 7 million riders in the northeast United States.
- It says Florida could have to repay all $2.4 billion in federal funds if the project fails (Washington officials said they would be willing to negotiate protections into a final agreement)
The main author of the Reason report, Wendell Cox, regularly offers a skeptical view of rail. The work was overseen by Robert Poole, a Reason foundation director who served on Scott's transition team for transportation issues.
-- Aaron Sharockman
Rick Scott is a disgrace !
Posted by: Chas | February 16, 2011 at 04:48 PM
Smart move........rail has been.....is....and always will be.......a BIG LOSER FINANCIALLY!
Scott saved us from having to subsidize like AMTRAK
Posted by: George Fuller | February 16, 2011 at 05:33 PM
It is interesting how after the miserable failure of the so-called stimulus boondoggle that people still believe Government Spending is the answer. I for one support Governor Scott's decision for this project was going to inevitably be another in a long line of Government Spending boondoggles.
Posted by: Jim | February 16, 2011 at 06:18 PM
Reason Foundation talking out of both sides of its mouth regarding high-speed rail.
http://bit.ly/hzAUuW
Posted by: Saint Petersblog | February 16, 2011 at 07:49 PM
Governor Scott has changed the party of no to the party of no clue.
Posted by: older American | February 16, 2011 at 08:32 PM
SAD ...24,000 jobs given away ...not smart at all for a guy that ran on jobs...so far he killed 8000 state jobs ,,now 24,000 more so -32,000 to start..lets get out of work
Posted by: stevyz | February 17, 2011 at 12:26 PM
Yeah, it's disgraceful that they can't make rail travel profitable, the way highways are...
Posted by: Rocco Gibraltar | February 19, 2011 at 12:45 AM