Florida governor gives support for Jax-Miami rail line
Written by jrood
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said that he plans meetings today with political and financial institutions in South Florida that are interested in bringing to life the long-gone Jacksonville-to-Miami passenger route along Florida East Coast Rail Road tracks, the St. Augustine Record reports.
"In the spirit of
Henry Flagler, we need to re-ignite the effectiveness of FEC," Crist said.
Passenger service along the
state’s east coast ended in 1968 after a rail strike.
The state recently applied
for $200 million in federal stimulus funds to restart that service, but that
request was denied last week. However, Florida did receive some of the federal
government’s $8 billion in high-speed rail funds for the Tampa-to-Orlando
bullet train, and Seventh District Congressman John Mica, R-Winter Park, said
he believed the coastal line appropriation would be approved next year.
