Tri-Rail, slow down: Study alternatives before building rail link to the VA hospital
Tri-Rail has been studying a plan to stretch service from its terminus in Mangonia Park, just north of West Palm Beach, to the county’s busy and vital VA Medical Center, three miles to the northwest.
They should keep studying.
Our veterans and their families are worthy of every service and convenience we can afford them. But “afford” is the key word here.
The projected price tag, $94 million, plus as much as $5.5 million a year in operating costs, begs that Palm Beach County transportation officials first consider other options for the near and long terms. After all, $100 million could buy a lot of luxury, disability-equipped buses, for example, without having to go infrastructure-heavy on CSX rail adjustments, road crossings, a station and a Beeline Highway-jumping pedestrian bridge — for a six-minute ride for 700 people a day.
Tri-Rail, take these considerations into account
The rail link could well turn out to be a great idea, if sufficient federal funding for construction and operations materialized. One possibility would be for the Palm Beach County Commission to ask voters to bump up the sales tax to generate money for this and other transportation projects. We would support that in any event, because the county is growing fast, downtown and the suburbs, and must avoid the road congestion that plagues our neighbors to the south.
South Florida commuters: Tri-Rail to offer express trains to Miami to help commuters get to work for $17.50 a day
In that light, it might also make sense, instead of dead-ending at the VA, for that Tri-Rail line eventually to extend westward, for commuters in growth areas along Northlake Boulevard. That would take place on a more distant time horizon but in transportation, traffic has a way of creeping up on metropolitan areas faster than road capacity can be built.
There are other considerations to take into account, changes not too far down the line. These include social shifts, like the uncertain impact of remote work on our transportation networks, and technological advances, like safely spaced self-driving vehicles, which might well reduce the need for iron horses. So, any further study must not be left to train specialists alone but assigned to transportation experts and urban planners with a more comprehensive perspective.
Bravo, Tri-Rail: Now, add more express rail service from West Palm Beach to Miami!
Where would Tri-Rail VA link run?
The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which runs Tri-Rail, proposed the VA link. The link would run partly on existing CSX tracks that pass by the medical center on their way out west, paralleling the Beeline Highway. The authority and state would need to buy those tracks, with CSX retaining an easement to continue using them for freight hauling. A Palm Beach Post article by Mike Diamond on June 7 noted that a previous effort to negotiate a purchase, in 1995, ended after the authority balked at the $11 million price. But according to the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency (TPA), which supports the link, CSX might be willing to revisit the deal, Diamond wrote.
But even though track already in place for much of the link, it's expensive to build a railroad. A TPA cost analysis estimates construction costs for the link at $38 million, trains and other vehicles, $42 million, and professional services, another $10 million. Throw in more than $14 million more for contingencies and pretty soon, as the saying goes, you're talking real money.
The TPA analysis suggests that federal, state and local money could be available for the VA project. The local money could include the county's general fund, the gas tax, or sales taxes.
The project discussion comes at a time when Tri-Rail ridership and revenues have returned to pre-COVID levels, as Diamond reported. Tri-Rail recently added service with a stop at MiamiCentral Station, which is already drawing more than 11,000 riders a month. The line's directors also recently approved once-a-day express service to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, to help fill a gap left when Brightline trimmed local commuter seat availability to leave room for more profitable Orlando jaunts.
We're glad to see Tri-Rail leaders looking pro-actively toward the future, as mass transit plays an increasingly important role in Palm Beach County. But before anyone commits to such a big-ticket project as the VA Medical Center link, let's do our homework.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tri-Rail link to VA hospital needs study before spending $100 million
