I have to say that I have lived in both Massachusetts and Florida. In Massachusetts EVERYTHING gets held up by environmentalists and NIMBYS and nothing gets done quickly or without great cost . . . e.g., Southcoast Rail, Greenline Extension, Greenbush, etc.
OR never happens . . . e.g., Grand Junction service to North Station, reactivation of the East Boston Branch, Woburn's New England Transrail rail-to-truck transfer station, etc.
In Florida, they just seem to do it. Like the "S" Line upgrade or the reactivation of the Miami Port Branch or the South Florida Rail Connection Projects (
http://www.fdot.gov/design/training/Des ... ilaire.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).
Think about this . . . Brightline just built a massive new rail line directly into the midtown of a major U.S. city while FEC reactivated a freight line through that same city with little to no opposition. Can you imagine this happening in many other U.S. cities?
I'm for being good to the environment too, but I have to say it's nice to actually see something getting done to expand rail service. Brightline is a most impressive operation.