It's been 41 years since passenger trains last rolled down Henry Flagler's old railroad between West Palm Beach and Jacksonville.

But if Florida gets its way, Amtrak will run down those tracks beginning in the fall of 2012, stopping in coastal towns such as St. Augustine, Cocoa Beach and Stuart.

The Florida Department of Transportation has applied for federal stimulus money for railroad projects to bring Amtrak service to the Florida East Coast Railway.

``Everybody has always thought this was a good idea. The problem has always been the funding,'' said Kim Delaney, a planner with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, an agency that serves Boca Raton to Vero Beach.

Amtrak currently runs between Miami and Jacksonville on the CSX Transportation tracks, which parallel I-95 in South Florida. But instead of continuing up the coast like the FEC, the tracks veer inland to Orlando and Tampa before heading to Jacksonville.

It takes 9 hours to make the trip by train, 11 hours if the trains stop in Tampa.

NOT FAR OFF

While plans don't call for Amtrak trains to continue south along the FEC to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, the possibility may not be far off. State transportation officials are studying how to revive passenger service on the FEC between Jupiter and Miami.

LOOKING BEYOND

The Amtrak project also may open the door for Tri-Rail's long-awaited northward expansion to Jupiter along the FEC tracks. The commuter train currently stops in Mangonia Park just north of West Palm Beach.

The state has plenty competition for the $8 billion high speed and intercity rail funding available. The Federal Railroad Administration said this week it received 278 applications for funding totaling $102 billion.

In addition to the Amtrak project, Florida wants $1.2 billion for the first leg of a Tampa- Orlando-Miami high speed rail line.

``The response has been tremendous,'' U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. ``It's time to look beyond our highways and invest in public transportation services like rail, which will enhance regional mobility and reduce our carbon footprint.''

The first grants will be awarded this fall.

Florida is requesting $70 million for the Amtrak project plus additional expenses for locomotives and passenger cars.

Construction could begin in April with the goal of service starting in October 2012.

The stimulus money would be used to build eight stations in Stuart, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Melbourne, Cocoa Beach, Titusville, Daytona Beach and St. Augustine; track sidings so trains can pass each other; and a new crossover north of downtown West Palm Beach that would allow Amtrak to switch between the FEC and the western CSX tracks.

Between West Palm Beach and Miami, all of Amtrak's stations are on the CSX tracks that parallel I-95.

Initial service using the West Palm Beach-to-Jacksonville segment of the FEC would include two round trip trains, including one between Miami and Jacksonville and another between Miami and New York. The trains would make the switch to the FEC in West Palm Beach.

SECOND WIND

In 2001, Amtrak proposed running to beach cities from West Palm Beach to Jacksonville.

But the project fell apart when Amtrak, which was carrying a lot of debt at the time, couldn't secure federal funding for new routes and had to scale back service.

President Barack Obama breathed new life into the project this year when he made rail a priority in crafting his economic stimulus package.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@