Chamber Board Hears Case
for High Speed Rail
At the May 26th Board of Governors meeting, members heard from Lecia Stewart, Vice President, High Speed Rail North America at Bombardier Transportation, which was named last fall along with its partner, Fluor, as the preferred bidder for the initial phase of Florida’s proposed High Speed Rail system from Tampa to Orlando.
In her presentation before the board, Ms. Stewart stated the time to implement high speed rail had arrived. To support her case for moving ahead, she cited the Fluor-Bombardier partnership’s reputation for worldwide leadership in passenger transportation projects and its state-of-the-art JetTrain technology along with its designation of a world class train operator, Virgin, as the operator the project.
Ms. Stewart called the financial plan for high speed rail a “win-win” for Florida and sought to allay concerns have been raised by some regarding the project’s costs and feasibility. She maintained the high speed rail would operate near a “break-even” basis with private investors and contractors taking the risks while the state would realize the benefits from the jobs created, improved transportation mobility and increased investment. Board members were urged by Ms. Stewart to encourage state leaders to move ahead with implementation of the high-speed rail project mandated by Florida voters in 2000.
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