Rick Scott: no state money for All Aboard Florida

Renderings of All Aboard Florida
Renderings of All Aboard Florida

All Aboard Florida is not going to receive state subsidies after all, Florida Gov. Rick Scott says.

Scott sent a letter to All Aboard Florida president Michael Reininger on Monday clarifying that a $10 million allocation in the state budget was not intended for the $2.5 billion project. Instead, that money is earmarked for local governments to cover safety improvements at train crossings. The municipalities who request a cut of the money must match whatever amount they seek.

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“I want to be clear on a critical point: the All Aboard Florida proposal is a private sector venture to construct, operate and maintain a passenger rail system,” Scott wrote, as cited by the Palm Beach Post. “There will be no state subsidies for this project.”

As proposed, All Aboard Florida would run 16 daily trains from Miami to Orlando and back, with stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. [Palm Beach Post]Eric Kalis