Thursday, May 1, 2014

Commentary: All Aboard committed solely to passenger rail travel | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

All Aboard Florida President and Chief Development Officer Michael Reininger does a smack down of the Palm Beach Post's Frank Cerabino. He points out that Florida East Coast Railway, and Florida East Coast Industries are two distinct companies, complete with independent ownership and management. The railway company will always be about freight and the FECI portion will be about passenger service. Click title for link. From the op-ed:
What is missing in Cerabino’s fictional tale is any understanding of the reality that FECR cannot operate any passenger service on its property; and conversely, All Aboard Florida cannot operate freight. The owners and investors of All Aboard Florida won’t spend their money for improvements to a business they have nothing to do with and from which they receive no benefit. And why would they? If FECR desires to expand its infrastructure to accommodate growth, it has the unencumbered right and ability to do so.
[And later]
Rather than get distracted by the tales of conspiracy and intrigue conjured up by Cerabino, we remain focused on doing once again what this railroad has done in the past — building a backbone upon which Florida can grow and compete with other places in the country that are committed to a better, smarter tomorrow.