Published: Thursday, June 29, 2017 - 12:30pm
Documents confirm AAF is seeking a new Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). AAF and DOT have done their best to prevent the public from knowing this, and it is the latest... more
Published: Thursday, June 29, 2017 - 9:45am
All Aboard Florida and its parent company, Florida East Coast Industries, inquired in recent months about obtaining a low-interest loan to finance Brightline's train service from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad... more
Published: Monday, June 26, 2017 - 10:15am
During a federal subcommittee hearing Thursday, U.S. Representative Brian Mast questioned former All Aboard Florida head Michael Reininger about the "challenges and opportunities" facing intercity passenger rail projects such as Brightline.... more
Published: Monday, June 26, 2017 - 10:00am
"AAF has claimed that it is a private enterprise. But the evidence does not support this claim." - Brent Hanlon
Tune into a statement by Brent Hanlon, Chairman of Citizens Against Rail Expansion (CARE FL) after the hearing with the U.S.... more
Published: Friday, June 23, 2017 - 10:45am
Treasure Coast's U.S. Representative Brian Mast and key railroad executive, Mike Reininger, behind AAF's Brightline high-speed passenger rail clashed in Congress yesterday with Mast contending the company is getting public tax dollar... more
Published: Monday, June 19, 2017 - 9:30am
The Martin Metropolitan Planning Organization paid consultant Jeffrey Weidner, vice president of Martin Engineering, $80,000 to study if the county should build a crossing on St. Lucie Avenue and a stairwell-and-ramp walkway near Railroad Avenue... more
Published: Thursday, June 8, 2017 - 8:30am
A proposal for digging a trench under the railroad tracks at Monterey Road and building an overpass over the tracks at Indian Street in Martin County would make those crossings safer for traffic but would come with hefty price tags.
This... more
Published: Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - 7:45pm
Brightline hasn't picked up a train passenger or even announced what fares will be when it does, but its former boss Mike Reininger says the train will "break-even or profit" during its first full year in operation.
Big talk for a company... more
Published: Thursday, May 25, 2017 - 9:00am
On Tuesday, All Aboard Florida's Brightline high-speed passenger rail company gave a tour of its West Palm Beach station with public officials, business leaders and media - heralding it the beginning of a new era of "mobility" in South Florida... more
Published: Thursday, May 25, 2017 - 9:00am
Another major piece to the MiamiCentral transportation hub is proposed airspace easement from the City of Miami. City commissioners have the item under consideration for a vote today.
This would authorize the city manager to execute an... more
Published: Tuesday, May 23, 2017 - 9:30am
The news on All Aboard Florida's Brightline lawsuits ignore the major danger, Stuart Robert A. Gibbons comments in this letter to the TC Palm. He comments that the major danger is if the latest safety equipment, including automatic braking... more
Published: Monday, May 22, 2017 - 9:30am
The formerly segregated community Overtown, Miami, once called "Colored Town," was full of renowned clubs, brightly colored churches, a thriving mix of Caribbean and African cultures that played itself out in city streets each day. That is, until... more
Published: Monday, May 22, 2017 - 9:30am
On May 10, 2017, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper dismissed the case filed in 2015 by Martin and Indian River Counties, after the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) withdrew the $1.75 billion Private Activity Bond (PAB)... more
Published: Monday, May 15, 2017 - 1:30pm
Two years ago, Martin and Indian River Counties filed federal lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to stop the inappropriate use of taxpayer subsidized bonds to construction All Aboard Florida's high-speed passenger rail... more
Published: Monday, May 15, 2017 - 12:45pm
In April, the fire chiefs of the Florida Treasure Coast sent a letter to the governor, concerned over the lack of training to prepare for materials transported across Florida East Coast's railways in the future.
Last Wednesday, they... more
Published: Friday, May 12, 2017 - 9:00am
U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper dismissed the case filed by Florida Treasure Coast Indian River and Martin Counties against the United States Department of Transportation and All Aboard Florida Wednesday night.
Originally... more
Published: Thursday, May 11, 2017 - 12:30pm
Yesterday, Federal Judge Christopher Cooper dismissed Martin and Indian River counties' lawsuits against the All Aboard Florida passenger railroad project. We'd like to thank our representatives of these counties for their hard work to protect... more
Published: Thursday, May 4, 2017 - 10:00am
Stuart Vice Mayor Troy McDonald is the first candidate entering the 2018 County Commission race. He is seeking the District 2 seat currently held by Ed Fielding, who declined to comment Wednesday of whether he would run for re-election.
... more
Published: Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - 10:45am
On July 6, 2013, a runaway oil-tanker of 72 cars went along a seven mile stretch before derailing in the town of Lac Megantic, Quebec. The pileup ignited the oil, engulfing the small town in flames and killed 47 people. After hearing of such... more
Published: Friday, April 28, 2017 - 11:15am
In a guest column by the TC Palm, Martin County Administrator Taryn Kryzda relays why Martin County is against All Aboard Florida's Brightline high-speed passenger train project. She highlights important concerns regarding the safety of the local... more
Published: Friday, April 21, 2017 - 1:15pm
Senators Anitere Flores and Debbie Mayfield have yet to receive answers from the Florida Development Finance Corporation (FDFC) and its approval of a $600 million private equity bond application for All Aboard Florida.
These... more
Published: Tuesday, April 18, 2017 - 9:15am
ON APRIL 12, THE TREASURE COAST FIRE CHIEFS' ASSOCIATION (TCFCA) SENT A LETTER TO GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT regarding emergency service and LNG (liquified natural gas) concerns, and services to prepare them for what is coming.
"As proud as we... more
Published: Monday, April 17, 2017 - 10:00am
It's taken a month and a half from Sen. Debbie Mayfield for the FDFC's executive director, William Spivey, to answer Sen. Anitere Flores' letter asking about new financing for the Miami-Orlando high-speed rail service All Aboard Florida.
... morePublished: Monday, April 17, 2017 - 9:15am
Florida Senate President Pro Tempore Anitere Flores, R-Miami, and Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, are pressing the Florida Development Finance Corp. to be more forthright about the $1.75 billion of bonds that were given to All Aboard Florida's... more
Published: Monday, April 17, 2017 - 9:00am
Two Republican lawmakers are still waiting for a response from the Florida Development Finance Corporation about its approval of a $600 million private equity bond application for All Aboard Florida.
FDFC approved the issuance of $1.75... more
Published: Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - 10:45am
The Los Angeles-based, high-speed tube train called Hyperloop One could get you from Miami to Orlando in 26 minutes - quite a number when compared to the 3-ish hour, $3.1 billion high-speed Brightline trip.
As of right now, Brightline is... more
Published: Monday, April 10, 2017 - 9:30am
A Miami-to-Orlando proposal is one of 11 contenders in the United States under consideration for a 700-mph tube train. Hyperloop One, a private company developing revolutionary transportation technology, announced 11 proposals Thursday that span... more
Published: Thursday, April 6, 2017 - 3:30pm
Around 5:30 a.m. a man and woman were hit and killed by a train in St. Albans. Kanawha County Sheriff's say the two were walking along the train trestle when they were hit.
Another train had passed through the area moments ago and the... more
Published: Monday, April 3, 2017 - 3:30pm
Unique Safety Issues and Cost Burdens Related to the AAF High Speed Rail Project March 28, 2017
Executive Summary: The proposed AAF high speed passenger rail system through the Treasure Coast counties of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin... more
Published: Friday, March 31, 2017 - 6:30am
Martin County leaders fear All Aboard Florida’s high-speed rail service proposed to travel through the Treasure Coast may cause significant safety risks. George Gavalla, a national rail safety expert and consultant, wrote a 7-page report, calling... more
Published: Thursday, March 30, 2017 - 9:15pm
Rail accidents would rise “dramatically” with the advent of Brightline passenger rail, according to a report commissioned by Martin County.
President of Connecticut-based Triad Railroad Consulting George Gavalla of Martin County released... more
Published: Wednesday, March 29, 2017 - 10:45am
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Published: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - 10:00am
"Judging by their recent combative media push, All Aboard Florida officials must really be worried about the possibility of having to publicly address the safety and financial concerns so many of us have expressed." - Brent Hanlon, a Martin... more
Published: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - 9:15am
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