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November 8, 2008
Officials hopeful on commuter rail

By Jessica Solis
Staff Writer
© Osceola News-Gazette

Central Florida’s commuter rail project is set to be at the top the Florida Legislature’s agenda in the spring, with Osceola County officials and leaders showing the strongest support among the counties in the region that would be served by it.

A survey conducted last month by myregion.org, a group of public, private and civic leaders from Osceola, Seminole and Orange counties showed that despite modest public awareness of commuter rail transit details, there is still strong support for the project, which made it to the Florida Legislature, but was not approved this year. The project would allow the Florida Department of Transportation to purchase railroad tracks from international transportation company CSX Corp. and create a rail-based mass transit system connecting Orange, Osceola, Volusia and Seminole counties.

Overall, 81 percent of people surveyed in Osceola, Seminole and Orange counties approved the construction of a commuter rail transit system. According to survey results, the strongest supporters for commuter rail, 47 percent, are from Osceola County.

“If I had a voice in it, I would propose it,” county resident and Lynx bus user Henry Shamily said.
Shamily also said that combined with buses, a rail-based transportation system could work, and eventually reduce traffic in the region.

“You have to look at it in the long run,” he said.

Last month, Osceola County Commission Chairman Ken Shipley wrote to Gov. Charlie Crist urging him to “finish the work necessary to complete the commuter rail project.” Shipley said commuter rail could provide new job opportunities to county residents hoping to work in downtown Orlando.

“Trying to grow right is the right thing to do, and to accomplish this, commuter rail needs to be in place,” Shipley wrote.

Kissimmee and St. Cloud city officials have supported commuter rail efforts. St. Cloud Mayor Donna Hart said Central Florida is in need of it.

“This region is going to get bigger and keep growing, and eventually we’re going to have to figure out how to move people around,” she said.

In 2007, Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties, along with the city of Orlando, approved funding to establish the first 61 miles of commuter rail from Volusia through Osceola counties. During the 2008 legislative session, the project fell short of approval due to liability language stating that, as part of a deal between CSX and the Florida Department of Transportation, CSX would have been provided with legal immunity meant to protect the company from lawsuits.

One of commuter rail’s critics during the 2008 session, state Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, said the legal language, as well as the possibility of increased rail traffic to Lakeland, caused her to oppose the project. In May, she requested the state team up with Amtrak to implement a new version of the commuter rail project.

Despite falling short of approval at the last legislative session, Osceola County Commissioner John Quiñones said the county and others involved have good reason to remain confident in the project next year. It has already secured state and federal funding totaling $300 million. He said commuter rail might survive next year’s legislative session due to the creation of regional collaborations like myregion.org.
“I think the chances are looking pretty good right now,” Quiñones said.

He said that if different counties affected by the project team up to fund the 25 percent of the project they are required to fund and come to an agreement on the legal liability issue, it could ultimately get the green light.

“I think that can be resolved in this legislative session,” Quiñones, a former state representative, said.
The rail system, if built as proposed, would begin in DeLand and have Osceola County stops at stations on Osceola Parkway, downtown Kissimmee and in Poinciana.
The 2009 legislative session begins in March.

On a related note, the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission’s Technical Advisory Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3 at the Florida Department of Transportation’s District 5 Urban Office, 133 S. Semoran Blvd., Orlando. Anyone with questions, or anyone needing special assistance at the meeting, should contact Marianne Gurnee at or 407-492-0836.