Amtrak, FEC mull passenger train deal
By PETER GUINTA
Staff Writer
Publication Date: 01/26/01
The nation's largest passenger railroad, Amtrak, may be close to signing an agreement with St. Augustine-based Florida East Coast Railroad to secure an Amtrak station in St. Johns County.
However, the deal depends on the companies' securing $60 million in state Department of Transportation money for capital improvement, mainly new railway side tracks, or sidings.
Kevin Johnson, an Amtrak spokesman based in Chicago, said the agreement is moving forward, but isn't yet solid.
''St. Augustine is an excellent destination,'' Johnson said. ''Basically, it will be up to the community to show interest. But there are all kinds of things that have to happen first.''
The state DOT has said stations are possible at Daytona Beach, Titusville, Melbourne, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce and Stuart, though that list is very tentative and subject to approval by the Legislature.
An Amtrak station in St. Augustine would most likely be sited at a proposed $10 million to $15 million multimodal transportation center that is planned across U.S. 1 North from the St. Augustine Airport.
This facility, also called a ''consolidated transportation center,'' would jointly house air, bus, train, taxi and rental car companies, with passengers making connections from one mode of transportation to another.
A walkover over U.S. 1 would provide connections to commuter flights at the airport.
The St. Augustine Airport Authority's board of directors has already taken the lead and said it will work with St. Johns County officials to apply for grants to pay for the multimodal center project. The authority already owns land on the west side of U.S. 1, where the terminal would be located.
Next month, a citizens committee and a technical committee plan to meet at the airport's administration building to chart the terminal's progress.
Edward Wuellner, the authority's executive director, said Amtrak once offered passenger service along the East Coast of Florida, but that ended after a bitter railroad strike during the 1960s.
''We've been working on this project for at least a year,'' he said. ''The city said they couldn't do this inside city limits and felt it would be better in the county. We called Amtrak and got a $126,000 grant for a feasibility Study.''
A Jacksonville engineering firm will measure ridership forecasts, how money for the project will be raised, what the building should look like and where it will be located. This study should be completed by spring, Wuellner said.
He said the cost will come from a ''public/private partnership,'' if possible.
Jane Covington, FEC's director of communications, said Amtrak and FEC have agreed on most major provisions of the arrangement.
''There are a number of issues, but both sides are really, really close,'' she said. ''The state still has to give us the money for the capital improvements.''
Covington said that after the money is secured, it will be at least 10 months before the improvements can be made for one passenger train to begin service.
The improvements include some crossing changes and additional sidings so fast-moving passenger trains don't get delayed by slower-moving freight trains. Slow trains will then be able to pull onto sidings while faster ones fly by on the main track, she said.
''Amtrak is interested in serving the East Coast of Florida with on-time service. The railroads are congested right now and Amtrak service is suffering,'' Covington said. ''We're running a freight operation here. We don't want anything to mess up both our schedules.''
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