TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are considering legislation to allow the state to join the Southern Rail Commission — but the motivation for that legislation could face a roadblock.
Bills in the state’s House of Representatives (HB 833) and Senate (SB 966) indicate the goal in joining the SRC is to revive service to Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Orlando from New Orleans, which expired when Sunset Limited service ended along that route in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina. The House bill is sponsored by state Reps. Yvonne Hayes Hinson (D-Gainesville) and Daryl Dampbell (D-Fort Lauderdale), while Sen. Tracy Davis (D-Jacksonville) sponsored the Senate version.
The identical bills note that one of the SRC’s projects is to restore service across the Florida Panhandle into South Florida, and that “by joining the SRC, Florida can leverage the power of a multistate coalition to study, plan, and obtain federal funding for passenger rail … without obligating this state to spend state funds on infrastructure.” The bills also note the SRC’s success in working to restore the service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., expected to begin later this year.
However, that terms of that service may block any extension to Florida, at least temporarily. When Mobile’s city council approved an agreement to help fund the Gulf Coast service, council members amended the agreement to include a clause that the city could terminate its agreement if that service is expanded beyond the current plans for two round trips a day — or if service is extended east or north of Mobile [see “Mobile, Ala., council votes to approve Amtrak funding …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 6, 2024]. That clause was added by council members concerned the passenger service could interfere with operations at the Port of Mobile.
The three-year agreement limits Mobile’s responsibility for a subsidy to that period, after which new sources of funding will need to be found. But without funding involvement, Mobile would presumably not be able to continue to impose limits on expansion of service.
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