State Rep. Yvonne Hayes-Hinson, D-Gainesville, filed a bill that may make it easier to travel throughout Florida without owning a personal vehicle.
Hinson said this bill was inspired by her experiences with trains, as well as a recent trip to Minneapolis. She saw the rail system there helped people in disadvantaged communities have access to transportation.
“ I just remember as a 5-year-old catching the railroad train to go visit my aunt in Boston and traveling to New York on the rail and other areas,” Hinson said. “And now all of a sudden, you’ve got to drive everywhere.”
This bill, which was filed in February, calls for Florida to join a coalition of Southern states advocating for passenger rail.
Under the proposed legislation, Florida would join the Southern Rail Commission, a group of representatives from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi who lobby for passenger and cargo rail services in their states. The commission, formed in 1982 by an act of Congress, includes commissioners appointed by their respective governors.
One of their proposed routes is the Amtrak Gulf Coast line, a passenger train route that would run from New Orleans through Mobile, Alabama, and make stops in Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Orlando.
Since Hurricane Katrina devastated rail infrastructure along the Gulf Coast in 2005, the commission has been working to restore passenger rail services across the Southeast.
Hinson was the Democratic ranking member of the Florida Transportation & Modals Subcommittee last session. She said the issue of passenger rail gained bipartisan support from legislators.
“ We all want mass transit. We all want to get out of our cars and have other means of transportation,” she said. “ We should have been doing it for years because everyone doesn't have a car, and even if they do, they don't want to get on the road and spend an hour trying to get to a job.”
Southern Rail Commission Chair Knox Ross agrees. He said his home state of Mississippi, which has a Republican governor and majority in the Legislature, has been the strongest advocate for passenger rail on the commission.
“ The perception is that passenger rail is a Democratic issue. I have found in my personal experience that that is not the case at all.” Ross said. “You have a significant number of Republican senators and representatives, especially people from the rural areas, who see these trains as a connection to the rest of the country.”
The Florida Association of Counties voted unanimously to make joining the Southern Rail Commission a legislative priority in December. Earlier this year, a group of 73 local elected officials signed a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking for the same thing.
Leon County Commissioner Rick Minor helped lead these efforts. He said passenger rail has a number of benefits.
“It really helps boost our local economies as well as offering additional evacuation routes and also enhanced disaster response when we have natural disasters,” Minor said. “If we can connect our cities, our military bases, our universities all together through passenger rail, that increases the quality of life for all of us.”
Minor said despite a national focus on trimming the federal government, the federal infrastructure law passed in 2021 dedicated $66 billion to improving passenger rail across the country. He said the Southern Rail Commission can help Florida advocate for that funding to benefit the state.
If the Florida bill passes, the other states in the commission would have to pass legislation accepting Florida’s application. Ross said he anticipates the other states welcoming Florida into the fold.
“It brings a very substantial and powerful congressional delegation to the table in Florida. I mean, you have people from both sides of the aisle in Florida who serve on committees of record, who are chairmen or leaders of committees,” Ross said. “That can make a huge difference for us to move forward.”
Every state in the commission pays dues. If the bill passes, Florida would owe $70,000 annually, something Ross said would help pay for expanding train services across the Southern states.
He also said, however, that Florida’s large population and economic power might dominate the commission’s agenda, as it is currently made up of smaller states. Other large Southern states like Georgia and Texas have also expressed interest in joining the commission to Ross.
Hinson said while the proposed Gulf Coast line is a start, she eventually wants to see passenger rail brought to her district in the north central Florida area, including Gainesville, Ocala, Hawthorne and Williston. She said she hopes to see this happen before her term is up in 2026.
“ When people come in, they come in with their own perspective, their own vision,” Hinson said. “This has been a vision of mine for a long time, and I hope to see it come to pass.”
If passed, the legislation would go into effect on July 1.
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