Editor’s Note:  The metropolitan population centers in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Orange Counties expect to gain from All Aboard Florida, a proposed express rail service between the Orlando International Airport to downtown Miami, with stops in West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale.  Meanwhile, the three Treasure Coast counties of Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River, as well as Brevard County to the north, will see no benefit from 36 trains a day speeding through their communities at up to 110 miles per hour.  

Local critics of All Aboard Florida argue that, in the short term, high speed rail service between South and Central Florida will only result in higher local taxes, as city and county governments are forced to spend million of dollars improving railroad crossings to allow for quiet zones.  In the long term, 36 trains a day speeding through the Indian River County, will also increase traffic problems, especially within the City of Vero Beach, local critics say.

As the following Palm Beach Post story reports, Vero Beach and Indian River County officials are not the only ones with serious questions about All Aboard Florida’s plans to speed 36 bullet trains a day between Orlando and Miami.  Palm Beach County officials, too, are concerned about safety issues and about the cost local governments will be expected to bear in providing for railroad crossing upgrades.  

EMILY ROACH/Palm Beach Post Staff Writer