All Aboard Florida Planning Passenger Rail Service
Between Miami and Orlando
There has been growing concern amongst recreational boaters and the Marine Industry over the past two years regarding a plan by a private company named All Aboard Florida to provide passenger rail service through the busy downtown Ft. Lauderdale corridor and other high traffic areas up and down the southeast coast of Florida. At the center of the issue is the certainty of increased train traffic and the affect that this will have on the frequency of bridge closures over busy waterways. The most recent development is now in effect. The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the standard operating procedure for the FEC Railroad bridge that spans the New River in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. The plan includes the addition of a bridge tender communicating with marine traffic via VHF channels 9 and 16. The deviation also requires the bridge tender to communicate with the marine community utilizing a telephone. The phone number is 305-889-5572 and the FEC dispatch number is 800-342-1131. This contact information has been posted on the bridge. The temporary deviation dictates that the bridge will not be closed to marine traffic more than 60 minutes in any given 2 hour period. The test’s duration is scheduled to be 120 days and will help to determine the real impact that All Aboard Florida will have on marine traffic on the New River albeit in the summer (slow) months. Ultimately the Coast Guard will determine whether to make a permanent change to the bridge operations as a result of this test. Key dates related to this issue going forward are as follows:
- June 16, 2015 - Requests for public meetings must be received by the Coast Guard by this date.
- August 17, 2015 - Comments and related material must be received by the Coast Guard by this date.
- October 16, 2015 - End of deviation test.
Important! There is a number posted on each side of the bridge for the United States Coast Guard. This 305 area code number should be called anytime the bridge tender fails to respond or if the bridge is in the down position for more than 15 minutes with no train passing during that period.
To learn more about the history of this issue, follow this link to the story that BoatU.S. released in the February/March edition of their magazine which is distributed to BoatU.S. members nationwide.
