ORLANDO, Fla. — Two members of Florida’s congressional delegation Friday said more federal funding is on the way for high-speed rail for the state and other areas of the country.
While more funds are available, a federal infrastructure bank is needed to “finance the infrastructure we need to be building,” Rep. John Mica, Republican leader of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said at the U.S. High Speed Rail Association’s conference here.
Mica said that leaders also need to consider innovative financing, leveraging, and private sector involvement. He encouraged Florida high-speed rail supporters to lobby administration officials to ensure more funding is directed to the state’s project. But he also said more funding should be directed into the Northeast corridor to build high-speed service “to benefit the most congested region in the U.S.”
“I’m confident with the current political leadership there will be further investment in high-speed rail even with the current deficit,” said Rep. Kathy Castor, who serves on the Democratic House Steering and Policy Committee.
In recent discussions with Federal Railroad Administration deputy administrator Karen Rae, Castor said she learned that the FRA will fast-track Florida high-speed rail, which recently won $1.25 billion from the first round of federal high-speed rail stimulus funds. Ray is working on preliminary funding details and design elements with Florida officials, Castor said.
Castor also commented on a statement made at the conference on Thursday from a Florida transportation official who said that a proposal for the private sector to design, build, and operate some or all of the project should be released in the next six months. “That’s too long,” she said.
The first phase of Florida’s project will run from Tampa to Orlando. Officials said that segment will have approximately two million passengers a year. And revenues collected after construction are expected to pay for operations and maintenance, which the state anticipates privatizing.
A financial adviser and an attorney here warned high-speed rail backers they must be realistic about ridership numbers.
Jeffrey Boothe, a partner at Holland & Knight, has been involved with large transportation projects across the country whose sponsors promised that they would be supported with ridership. The projects suffered from capital cost overruns and did not meet projections. “If you have cost overruns and don’t meet ridership goals that will cause problems,” he warned.
Michael Cant, president of Canada-based S.M. International, a financial advisory firm specializing in infrastructure, noted there seemed to be great public support for Florida’s system, but “at the same time you need to get private capital involved.” More than 20 investment banks and funds were invited to the conference, said Cant, but none were attending during his session.
