Two stories on the expansion of train service in our region...

One is an op-ed by Richard Blattner who is a city commissioner in Hollywood and chairman of the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization. That is a group that is responsible for directing various monies toward transportation improvements. Palm Beach County has a similar organization and Mayor Triolo is our representative here. He points out that besides expansion of passenger service along the FEC, freight will be increasing in our region as well. He points out the following:

Third and least discussed is freight. PortMiami and Port Everglades are in the process of spending millions, creating new marshaling yards to accommodate increasing container shipments. New intermodal container transfer facilities are also being built at each port that will result in freight being placed on trains that can be up to 2 miles long. These 2-mile-long freight trains will block rail crossing significantly more than current freight trains. Traffic will likely increase fourfold over the next five years, but we will likely see a reduction in truck traffic on our streets and highways.
Make no mistake: it is freight that will truly impact our communities, even if All Aboard Florida and/or Tri-Rail Coastal Link never become a reality, freight is already here and will increase.

In another article, All Board Florida has prepared an economic impact study of its fast passenger train service between Miami and Orlando, with stations in Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach as well. Here is what is predicted for Palm Beach County. Click here for link to article.

Palm Beach County is poised to gain more than 1,000 railway-related jobs and about $164 million in positive economic growth from All Aboard Florida, according to a report the company said it will release today.
The jobs would be generated through the construction and ongoing operation of the express passenger rail, which is proposed to run 16 roundtrips per day from Miami to Orlando with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
Statewide, All Aboard Florida will create more than 10,000 jobs during the rail line construction, generating $2.4 billion in income, the economic impact study estimates.