TAMPA, Fla — Right now, Amtrak is the only passenger train that comes to Tampa.
Mercedes Smester used one to visit here from South Florida.
“It was very good. The cost was a very reasonable price. And the convenience, very very comfortable. We just loved it,” she said.
Sierra Nursey is heading home to West Palm Beach on Amtrak.
“It was very nice. Actually, the Uber was more expensive to get to the train station than it was to get from West Palm to Tampa by train,” she said.
Tampa Bay's leaders have spent decades discussing bringing more rail service here.
“In my opinion, my guess, you are probably a decade away,” said Bob O’Malley, a former executive with both Brightline and CSX.
He’s now working for Orlando’s rail expansion and updated Hillsborough County’s Transportation Planning Organization on what needs to be done before rail expansion here.
“There’s still things you can be doing today now and there’s still things that you should be doing and that you actually are already doing whether intercity rail ever comes here or not,” said O’Malley.
O’Malley says that includes extending street car service and improving bicycle and pedestrian lanes so people have more options to get around once they arrive by train.
Brightline runs between Miami and Orlando and there are plans to extend to Tampa.
However, how and when that will happen is still unclear.
So is the taxpayer cost.
“I think if we invest in rail people will see it, see the convenience of it. Be open to it. Maybe my generation, younger generations. And I think we’ll see it be more successful,” said Tampa City Council member Guido Maniscalco.
Other projects that have to happen before Brightline comes to Tampa include the planned expansion of I-4 and existing rail lines in Orlando.
But some question if it's all worth it.
“Trains used to be the most accessible, affordable form of transportation there was. The private industry left that for a reason. The private industry is trying to get back into it but with really really steep government subsidies,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Joshua Postal.
Tickets for a Brightline train ride between Miami and Orlando are between $50 and $90 each way.
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