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Nancy Smith

All Aboard Florida Chugs Ahead, Announces Siemens Will Build Rail Cars

September 10, 2014 - 6:00pm

Despite mounting criticism from communities along its east coast route, All Aboard Florida announced Thursday it has selected Siemens to build the locomotives and coaches for its $2.3 billion, 240-mile Miami-to-Orlando passenger service.

According to a press release from Siemens, "both the locomotives and the passenger coaches will be 'Made in America' at Siemens' solar-powered rail manufacturing hub in Sacramento."

The release claims that when completed, All Aboard Florida will be one of the highest speed train routes in the U.S., running at maximum speeds of up to 125 mph.

The plan is for All Aboard to buy five train sets, with two diesel-electric locomotives and four passenger cars for each. These will serve the first phase of the project, downtown Miami to West Palm Beach, set to open for service in 2016.

Siemens will complete the rest of the order, expanding to seven coaches and an additional five train sets for the second phase, from West Palm Beach to Orlando International Airport.

In a prepared statement, Michael Cahill, president of Siemens' rail systems division in the U.S., said, This is an exciting time for rail in America. Intercity rail is an important lever to improve existing infrastructure challenges and bolster city and state economies, clearly something that All Aboard Florida will succeed at doing.

"Everyone is watching the development of this progressive operation with great interest, and we are extremely proud to be part of this effort."

Everyone is watching along the Southeast Florida coast, certainly, and those opposed to the traffic, safety and general quality of living problems Florida East Coast Railway and All Aboard Florida propose are unlikely to give up their fight.

Gov. Rick Scott has asked All Aboard Florida officials to slow down, be particularly sensitive to the concerns of residents along the route.

Phyllis Frey, chair of the American Coalition 4 Property Rights, has said her organization has gathered 29 resolutions from city councils, county commissions, homeowners associations and civic and fire-rescue/safety organizations. She said, "25,000 concerned citizens have signed our petition in opposition to All Aboard Florida."

Said the Vero Beach activist, "This is not a NIMBY issue. This is a NOMAD issue -- Not On My Dime. ... All Aboard Florida is not about passenger rail service, it is All About Freight. But more than that, it is All About Land. Because the (federal) loan at 5.75 percent covers not only trains and tracks, it also includes real estate development."

All Aboard Florida, which claims to be a "privately funded rail system" in spite of its need for a federal loan, says it will create 1,800 temporary construction jobs and another approximately 100 jobs in the Orlando area when it begins operations along the full route in 2017.

Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith

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