No Tampa airport HSR link foreseen

Florida officials say they will not seek funding to link Tampa, Fla.’s international airport with the Tampa-to-Orlando high speed rail line, now under preliminary construction. Downtown Tampa will remain the western termination point, at least for now.

According to Nazih Haddad, chief operating officer of Florida Rail Enterprise at Florida’s Department of Transportation, the state will apply next month for $1 billion in additional federal funds, but the application will not include an airport link.  “It would take three more years to plan an extension,” said Haddad. Florida received $1.25 billion in federal funding in January for the HSR project, estimated to cost $2.7 billion for the initial leg. An extension from Orlando to Miami is in the planning phase.

Work began Monday along the Interstate 4 median corridor in preparation for laying track, which was defined as “geotechnical exploration.”

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio believes light rail, not HSR, would be a better fit for any airport link with downtown Tampa, saying LRT could serve any HSR station downtown while also better serving local transport needs.