Rail that would avoid traffic, which is sure to grow with expected residential, commercial and retail growth.
Proposals to link St. Augustine and Jacksonville with a rail line have been discussed for years, including a 2009 study showing three possible routes, all starting in Downtown Jacksonville. One would have gone north on CSX rails to Yulee, one south on CSX tracks to Green Cove Springs and the third southeast on Florida East Coast Railroad tracks to St. Augustine. The estimate then was about $622 million.
A commuter rail line would take traffic off Interstate 95 with a 48-minute trip. | JTA In 2010, JTA did another analysis into a commuter rail, then picked the Jacksonville-to- St. Augustine route as preferred in 2013. Six years later, a JTA study showed a need for the commuter rail system, followed by a preliminary environmental study.
A commuter train development study was funded through a $1 million Federal Transit Administration grant. Then $3.9 million was earmarked from Jacksonville’s local option gas tax for a preliminary engineering and federal environmental study.
What’s next The first phase is to identify any issues the rail line could face, as well as opportunities. The study has to determine goals and objectives for each possible train station and the area around it. Each of 15 potential station sites was evaluated for possible use, zoning
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