That is the question that tourism experts in the Sunshine State are asking after the announcement of plans for the construction of the first privately-funded, maintained, and managed high-speed passenger rail line in the nation. Will All Aboard Florida be another flash-in-the-pan transportation dream in the land of magic and make-believe, or transform how tourists and business travelers think about travel within the state of Florida, moving dollars and sustaining the recent boost in the tourism economy?
Clearly there is the benefit of posing virtually zero risk to Florida taxpayers as the project is privately funded through Florida East Coast Industries. Currently, the company is investing in land and property in Orlando, West Palm Beach, Miami, and most recently looking at options in Fort Lauderdale, where it is hoped that the rail project will revitalize a historically blighted area of Lauderdale’s downtown.
The All Aboard Florida project, with an estimated cost of $1.5 billon, is ambitious to say the least. For years, similar mass transit projects have been rumored in Central Florida, intended to serve the millions of tourists that visit its theme parks and resorts from the major cities of South Florida. Creators and supporters of this project not only hope to make their vision a long-awaited reality, but also tie into its network another project called SunRail, which connects Downtown Orlando to its suburbs in Central Florida, west to Tampa along I-4, and eventually north along the coast to Florida’s most populous city, Jacksonville.
The All Aboard Florida group predicts an economic boost of $500 million over the first five years of the rail line being in operation. After that they estimate an impact of $150 million per year. They also predict the generation of countless jobs, particularly to aid in the construction phases of the 235-mile rail line that will start at Orlando International Airport’s new South Terminal and end in Downtown Miami. The entire ride from Central Florida to South Beach is estimated to take 3 hours, comparable to the time investment made to drive the I-95 corridor, without traffic or construction.
Items still left to be determined are the actual rolling stock to be used, as well as their design. All Aboard Florida says that train engines that use “clean diesel” technology will be used, but other details have not yet been announced to the public. Also in question is the ticket price.
There will be two main focuses for the project’s outreach – one on getting tourists to consider train travel to South Florida, or Central Florida for day trips, and another on moving business travelers to the cities.
One item that stood out to me from the moment I first read about All Aboard Florida is where the train station in Orlando will be located. How will tourists that are already committed their vacations to the International Drive/Lake Buena Vista areas (at least 25 minute drive to the airport) feel about getting their families back to the airport, parking, and dealing with traffic just to ride a train a couple of hours to West Palm, Fort Lauderdale or Miami?
Without a strong marketing budget and plan, (with completely worked out logistics on how to get people who are on vacation from their resorts back to the airport to experience All Aboard Florida), this project could flounder. According to their website, All Aboard Florida is anticipated to be operational for 2016, not leaving much time for construction and most importantly positioning and marketing this concept to their core targets.
The train must be another tourism item to consider for vacationers, much like an excursion. Taking a day trip, or a multi-day trip to South Florida and vice versa to Orlando needs to be put on their radar screen as they are planning their bigger vacation. Pricing and the high touch point hospitality are also crucial factors in this equation. It will be interesting to see how this mega-project unfolds in the coming months and years.