Study Keys on Tri-Rail Plan to Use FEC Tracks

By Chuck McGinness
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

WEST PALM BEACH — Ann Iles says hardly a day goes by that she and other Riviera Beach residents aren't held hostage by freight trains that block railroad crossings along Old Dixie Highway in her city.

What should be a quick crosstown trip can take more than a half-hour when long trains shut crossings at Blue Heron Boulevard, Silver Beach Road and 13th Street, said Iles, a Riviera Beach City Council member.

So what's going to happen, Iles asks, when Tri-Rail begins running commuter trains along Florida East Coast Railway tracks up to Jupiter, possibly as early as 2012?

A study on returning passenger trains to the FEC line in South Florida will look at this problem and possible solutions, such as elevating Blue Heron over the tracks.

About 75 people attended a public meeting Monday at the Kravis Center's Cohen Pavilion to hear about the study. The rail line runs through 28 downtowns from Jupiter to Miami.

"This is probably the most significant thing we're doing in South Florida now," said County Commissioner Jeff Koons, who is also chairman of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority and the county's Metropolitan Planning Organization. "It's a powerful study that's basically going to rebuild South Florida."

During the first phase of the study, which should be completed in the spring of 2007, consultants will survey transit riders and consider alternatives, including express buses, trolleys and streetcars, commuter rail and a heavy rail system such as Miami's Metrorail.

The second phase will look at possible routes. The results will be sent to the Federal Transit Administration by 2010.

Without federal money, the goal of expanded commuter train service might be a dream. The cost of buying the 82-mile FEC corridor has been estimated at $500 million to $1 billion, not including stations and other improvements.

Cities will play a major role in the study. Those making zoning changes that encourage transit-orientated development will have an advantage when it comes time to pick station sites, said Carlos Cejas, project manager for consultant Gannett Fleming.

West Palm Beach Commissioner Bill Moss said he wonders how interested the FEC is in sharing its corridor. The city has complained about freight trains blocking railroad crossings for extended periods but has received little cooperation from the FEC, Moss said.