State & Local

FL: Pedestrian deaths and environmental concerns threaten Florida's high-speed train project

The Guardian: It launched to a fanfare two weeks ago: the first privately funded US express passenger railway in decades, a new start for long delayed plans, and a “green” alternative to Florida’s increasingly congested highways.

Yet for executives of Brightline, an ambitious $3bn venture that will eventually ferry travellers from the theme parks of Orlando to the beaches of Miami in just three hours, the champagne moment soon lost its fizz.

Even before passengers left the station at Fort Lauderdale on opening day, a pedestrian was struck and killed at a road crossing by a Brightline train meant to showcase a high-speed link to journalists and dignitaries. Two further crossing strikes in the next seven days, one of them fatal, reignited a contentious safety debate, even though the victims had all passed barriers.

Now, with environmental concerns also lingering over the final construction phase of the 235-mile line, from Palm Beach county to Orlando, lawmakers are seeking greater oversight of the private railway. One US congressman, Brian Mast, has called to shut down work altogether, pending an inquiry, and US senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio are demanding a federal review.

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