Re: “What? No showers on commuter trains?” Tom Germond’s column, April 15 Editor: I enjoyed Tom Germond’s article on high speed rail to Orlando and wanted to add my own opinion.
Of course, it would be nice to zip over there without having to encounter I-4. I must drive there in May to be with grandchildren and will take old Route 92 to preserve my nerves. It would also be nice to connect with a real high-speed train up the coast for a one-day trip to Philadelphia.
My objection to the current plan is that it will cost a billion dollars and require a whole new railroad company to run it. That will cost us forever, and there is no way that any passenger railroad in the world can make money. As I have been advising TBARTA, there is a proven way to provide fast, dependable service to Orlando at one third that cost, using existing tracks. No matter that CSX seems uncooperative now; let them make money running it and we will save a lot of management expenses.
I realize that the people planning this know almost nothing about railroad operations, and are merely in love with an idea. High-speed rail is great for long distances, but we can’t afford it here, no matter how nice it would be to zoom to Orlando.
