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Company Suggests Building Train To The Beach

Many local drivers still aren't sure if they would ride SunRail or high-speed rail, but what if a train took you to the beach? It's the newest idea from the private company that wants to link SunRail and high-speed rail with a magnetic levitation (mag-lev) train between the convention center and OIA; then that train would run all the way to Cape Canaveral.

The company that wants to do this says it can get from OIA to Cape Canaveral in a little more than 30 minutes. Now, the question is whether the people behind the plan get the land to do it.

The private company says it wants to run mag-lev trains at speeds of 120 miles per hour from OIA to Cape Canaveral, potentially linking Florida’s busiest airport with one of its most popular seaports. The company is the same one that's already made a bid to the state for a shorter line connecting high-speed rail and Central Florida's SunRail commuter trains.


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At about $20 million a mile, American Maglev CEO Tony Morris told WFTV it can all be done with private money.

“As that system gets in place, then we think people will say, ‘Hey, I'd like to see it go all the way to the Cape,” Morris said.

The trick is convincing people to leave their cars behind. So, WFTV timed a drive from OIA heading east on the Beachline. It took 43 minutes to get to Port Canaveral. American Maglev insists its trains could beat that by about ten minutes.

“I don't know how they're going to get that accomplished,” Orange County Commissioner Linda Stewart said.

Stewart says the real problem is right-of-way on the Beachline. American Maglev wants to use the land for free, but Stewart says it's already set aside for high-speed rail.

“They've gotta decide what type of system they're going to give their right-of-way up to,” Stewart said.

“Can you do both?” WFTV reporter Eric Rasmussen asked.

“You can't do both. I don't see how you could do both, or why would you?” Stewart replied.

Others, like Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty, told WFTV they think having two different types of trains could work. Of course, all of it is a long way off, but tickets for that maglev train might cost about $9.
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