City Bypassed Bidding Rule for Internet Site

Didn't the City of Lakeland beg for help in the beginning? Click title for story link. LAKELAND The Lakeland Downtown Development Authority ignored city purchasing policy when it awarded a $42,500 contract to a Tampa woman to produce a Web site opposing a state rail plan. Anne Furr, executive director of Lakeland Downtown Development Authority Click to enlarge Jim Verplanck "It should have been bid," city Purchasing Manager Mark Raiford recently told The Ledger about the contract, awarded late last year. The city's purchasing rules call for competitive bidding on goods or services costing more than $1,500. That didn't happen in the case of the deal made with Rosemary Goudreau. And the LDDA board paid Goudreau $40,000 even though the Web site was never completed. The site was to oppose a state plan to buy railway from CSX for use as a commuter rail line. The LDDA is concerned that would send more trains through downtown Lakeland.

SunRail Lobbying Continues

Click title for story link. Backers of the planned SunRail commuter train that would run through Central Florida sent a letter to state Senate President Jeff Atwater Monday extolling the virtues of the $1.2 billion project. Signed by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty -- among others -- the two-page letter touts the anticipated economic benefits of the train, which would run along 61.5 miles of track from DeLand in Volusia County through downtown Orlando to Poinciana in Osceola County.

Breaking Through The CSX No-fault Impasse

By James McGovern and Timothy Murray The Herald News Posted Mar 27, 2009 @ 05:35 PM Fall River — A historic agreement that would improve and extend the commonwealth’s rail system for both passenger and freight service, and boost the economy of the region, has been stalled for months because of an unreasonable demand for no-fault liability from CSX, the national railroad serving Massachusetts. A new federal report examining the issue, however, exposes the weakness of CSX’s position and should help break through this impasse.The deal at stake holds the future for commuter rail service west of Boston and to the SouthCoast region around. The agreement involves the rail line from Allston to the MassPort terminals in South Boston, and the Grand Junction, the line that crosses the Charles River near Boston University which is the only north-to-south freight rail connection through the city. This agreement, announced in principle last fall, also calls for raising the bridge clearance at railroad crossings west of Boston so freight trains can roll through the state with two containers stacked on each flatbed. Double-stacking will significantly expand the capacity of the system and make it more cost-effective. That’s good for CSX and for companies that ship goods by rail. It’s good for motorists and the environment because fewer trucks on the road eases congestion and improves air quality. And it helps the regional economy because Massachusetts is the rail gateway for New England. About 40-precent of all rail traffic in the six-state region flows through Massachusetts.We have come to agreement on all major elements of this plan, except the question of liability after the state buys the rail lines in question from CSX. The issue is who should be responsible for damages if there is an accident involving freight and passenger trains. CSX demands that it have no liability for an accident, even if it is the sole cause of that accident. Throughout our negotiations with CSX, the company has asserted that this no-fault provision is the industry standard, but that turns out to be incorrect.Because other states are also grappling with this same no-fault issue, Congress asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to examine the question. The GAO report, released March 26, dispels the notion that no-fault liability, even in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, is the industry standard. In fact, there is no industry standard.The GAO report describes a hodgepodge of agreements across the country, with varying combinations of liability provisions. Furthermore, the GAO report cites a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals that found “it was against public policy to indemnify for gross negligence and willful misconduct because this could undermine rail safety.” That’s just commonsense, and our efforts in Massachusetts should be guided by the simple notion that people and companies are responsible for their own actions.Think of it this way: a tractor trailer truck speeding out of control on Route 128, its driver drunk and barely conscious after logging 36 straight hours on the road, slams into a school bus. Who is at fault? Who pays for the damages? Under CSX’s view of the world, the truck driver (assuming he lives) and the trucking company would walk away scot-free, with all the damages paid by the state highway department.Clearly this is an absurd scenario, but it is what CSX is asking for with no-fault liability, even in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct. No-fault is bad public policy. It undermines the basis of our justice system and it creates an environment where the freight railroads would have no incentive to maintain safe equipment and operating procedures.Today, the passenger-freight liability arrangement between the state and CSX is mixed. On the lines CSX still owns, they demand no-fault. But every day CSX runs its trains over tracks already owned by the state (MBTA) and on those tracks there is a fault-based liability arrangement, with each party taking on the responsibility to pay for damages if it is at fault.That policy should stay in place if and when the state takes ownership of the tracks. At the end of the day, we all want the same things. We want to see our freight and passenger rail systems thrive and grow. To do so, however, will require the parties to come together and work in a spirit of true partnership. It will require the federal government to act and set a true national standard for these liability arrangements. And it will take the state’s resolve to use all the legal tools at its disposal to break this impasse and complete the rail plan which holds so much promise for the economic and community development of our state and New England.Timothy Murray is Massachusetts’ lieutenant governor. James McGovern is a U.S. Congressman representing the Third Congressional District.

Will state's deal with CSX be a train wreck?

Click title for story link. By Bill ThompsonStaff writer Published: Monday, March 30, 2009 at 6:30 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 10:32 p.m. Seven years ago, a speeding northbound Amtrak passenger train derailed in Putnam County, killing four people and injuring more than 140 of the nearly 500 riders on board.AC = --> .art_main_pic { width:250px; float:left; clear:left; } Investigators determined the April 2002 accident was caused by shoddy maintenance and improper stabilization of a section of the tracks, owned by CSX Transportation. As a result, Amtrak paid $12 million in damages related to that crash near Crescent City, according to an October 2004 article by The New York Times. The article noted that some claims were still outstanding two and a half years later. The Times also reported that CSX did not pay one dime, even though the multibillion-dollar company was responsible.

Commuter Rail Proposal Stagnates

Click title for story link. By LINDSAY PETERSON lpeterson@tampatrib.com Published: March 31, 2009 TALLAHASSEE - With only a month left in the state legislative session, the going has gotten slow for Central Florida's commuter rail project. A bill with a key liability agreement won't come up for at least two weeks in the next Senate committee scheduled to hear it. At the same time, the head of the U.S. House Transportation Committee has called signing such agreements an "unacceptable practice." The comments from U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., came in response to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report about the arrangements that governments make when they buy freight railroads for public use. In Florida's case, the state plans to give CSX Transportation $432 million for 61 miles of the track that runs through downtown Orlando. The track would be used for a commuter system, called SunRail.

Train Activity Will Increase

Click title for story link. By LAURA KINSLER lkinsler@tampatrib.com Published: March 26, 2009 DADE CITY - Dade City will see a 50 percent increase in freight train traffic even if the state's commuter rail deal with CSX falls apart, a rail executive told city commissioners. Commissioners called a special workshop this week with officials from the Florida Department of Transportation and rail giant CSX to discuss how the proposed SunRail project would affect Dade City. The Florida Legislature is considering a proposal to buy 61 miles of CSX tracks for the state's first commuter rail line in Orlando. The project would require CSX to reroute more than a dozen freight trains from the A-line to the S-line, which travels through town, on their way to a massive new rail hub in Winter Haven.

Winter Haven

Click title for story link. Winter Haven touts itself as the distinctively different community to live, work and play in, and now that city officials have secured a deal with CSX, the goals that have been set for the future landscape will be attainable, those officials said.AC = --> Construction of the proposed Evansville Western Intermodal Terminal Facility in southeastern Winter Haven is closer to becoming a reality. Construction is expected to begin this year and will take 18 months to complete. City officials have said the project will stimulate economic development and provide an alternative of transporting goods and services.

Bills in Legislature Would Give CSX Free Ride on Liability

Click title for story link. Published: Sunday, March 8, 2009 at 12:01 a.m. Last Modified: Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 11:05 p.m. Joe Follick, in a Ledger article Feb. 19, was a bit misleading about the transfer of liability for accidents in the proposed Central Florida Commuter Rail Corridor to state taxpayers.AC = --> Mr. Follick wrote that "The only thing lawmakers need to approve to complete the deal is a proposal that would make the company and the state responsible for their own equipment, employees and passengers in a crash, regardless of who might be at fault." Actually the Proposed Committee Bill 901 before the House and Senate Bill 1212 require to "forever protect, defend and indemnify and hold harmless" CSX, even for CSX's negligent, willful and wanton conduct. The no-fault principal really means that Florida taxpayers will be responsible for paying the bill in several scenarios even if CSX "or any other person or persons whomsoever" is completely at fault and even if CSX's conduct is so reckless that it results in punitive damages.

Outrage.. Florida's economy crashes, state holds $795 million in cool cash for CSX.

Click title for story link. Posted by madfloridian in General Discussion Thu Jan 22nd 2009, 03:29 PM The CSX deal is one of Jeb Bush's legacies to this state. It was rammed through in 2004 and 2005 so secretly that some moderate Republicans never knew about it. This is an outrageous situation. It really is. It is going to hurt most of Central Florida by cutting cities in half with long freight trains and destroying rural subdivisions and environment. CSX appears to be completely in charge, able to make all the rules.This editorial is an angry one. It goes so far as to ask the question about Florida:

Why Isn't Winter Haven Worried?

Click title for story link. By Laura Kinsler Tampa Bay Online DADE CITY - City Commissioners are keeping an eye on Tallahassee as state legislators debate the $1.2 billion commuter rail deal with railroad giant CSX. The 61-mile commuter rail line around Orlando would have a direct effect on Dade City because dozens of additional freight trains could be rerouted directly through the town on their way to a massive new rail hub in Winter Haven. City Commissioner Curtis Beebe worries that Dade City has been too slow to anticipate the problems additional rail traffic on the "S-line" could bring. The plan includes about $300 million for CSX to make improvements on the S-line to accommodate as many as 54 trains a day.

Stop Winter Haven Rail Yard

Click title for story link. It is not too late to stop the proposed CSX rail yard in Winter Haven. None of the construction has started. This bad idea was first proposed quietly three years ago while Jeb Bush was governor. He favored the proposal.AC = --> This rail yard will cause pollution in Winter Haven to adjacent residential areas. The rail yard will bring endless freight trains through downtown Lakeland, which recently spent millions of dollars renovating the downtown, including the area next to the Amtrak station. We should not give up. We can contact our county commissioners and other elected officials and tell them that we do not want the city of Lakelanddestroyed by endless freight trains, long freight trains, going through Lakeland. DANIEL BARKER Lakeland