What a shame. Florida Not All Aboard strongly opposed the use of taxpayer's money to fund the private company. All Aboard Florida, now calling itself Brightline, and briefly, Virgin Trains, before they defaulted on their agreement with Richard Branson, is now being sued by Branson for breach of contract.

One of the most significant contentions with the train was boaters living west of the bridge having access to the ocean. Bridge closures are certain to increase a great deal. The New River Bridge in Fort Lauderdale can be closed 50% of the time or 60 minutes out of every 120 minutes. The St. Lucie River bridge is the only point in the system that will remain single-tracked, and therefore, the St. Lucie River bridge can expect greater closure times.

Following are just some of the train construction costs funding by taxpayers.

• US Dept. of Transportation grant for a Boca Raton Station $16,350,000
• Boca Raton City match $9,900,000
• Miami-Dade commissioners $76,000,000 to build a station in Aventura.
• Total Miami-Dade contributions $162,250,000
• Martin County agreed to pay for 50% of a station. There was no discussion of how much 50% will be; however, Brightline is building five stations in Miami Dade County at an average cost of $70,000,000 each.

This is just a small sampling of your tax dollars being doled out to a private company by elected officials. Pres. Biden's recently released infrastructure plan calls for 80 billion dollars to be used for passenger and freight train networks. It is just a matter of time before Brightline takes advantage of that government giveaway of your hard-earned money.

TC PALM
STUART — Nine years after announcing a higher-speed passenger railroad would be built through Treasure Coast communities, Brightline finally is laying its second track and closing road crossings to install new gates and signals.
A station on the Treasure Coast likely still is years away — a legal settlement with Martin County guarantees a station in the region within five years of completion of the system — but the actual, very visible work along the Florida East Coast Railway corridor here is underway.
Completion of the long-debated railroad, that is to travel between Miami and Orlando in 3 hours and 15 minutes, is expected in less than two years.
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