Scripps

WEST PALM BEACH - Any number of obstacles, such as increased noise and congestion at 200 railroad crossings, will have to be overcome before any passenger service can return to the Florida East Coast Railway.

"Any future traffic on the FEC tracks would mean we would have 150 trains a day going through our neighborhoods," said Rick Rose, head of Citizens for Quiet Zones, a West Palm Beach group trying to quiet train horns.

Other concerns raised at two meetings Monday on the Florida East Coast Railway Corridor Study were the impact to boaters of running trains over navigable waterways and the need to educate the public about the benefits of mass transit.

Others worried that commuter service would suffer if freight trains were given priority on the tracks, repeating the delays that Tri-Rail experiences on the CSX Transportation-controlled line.

The one thing that people shouldn't worry about is having their home or business seized, said Scott Seeburger, project manager for the Florida Department of Transportation.

There is ample room on the corridor to expand transit, and stations will be built on public land or incorporated in large-scale, mixed-use developments.

"The more land we take, the more expensive it gets," Seeburger said. "The more expensive it gets, the more likely this system can't happen."

The state is considering leasing or buying the FEC corridor. Speculation is the price is close to $1 billion.

"What we're tasked with doing is not to look at today, but to look at the future and to come up with a system that will address our needs," Seeburger said.

The study will determine the best use for an 85-mile stretch of the FEC corridor in South Florida - the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the country.

The state wanted to use the FEC tracks, which run through the middle of 28 cities in the tri-county area, when it was planning Tri-Rail 20 years ago, but the FEC said no. So the state bought a 71-mile section of the CSX Transportation corridor west of Interstate 95.

Since then, the FEC has expressed interest in the proposal, as long as it does not interfere with its freight operations. Transportation officials said commuter service on the FEC would spark redevelopment along the corridor and alleviate growing traffic on Interstate 95 and other highways.

The study includes the 16-mile north-county extension between West Palm Beach and Jupiter. Service to north county, which would include stops at The Scripps Research Institute if it's built at Abacoa's Florida Atlantic University campus, is not expected to begin before 2012.

It's possible to begin running trains to Jupiter earlier if the state, county and local cities want to pay the extension's cost, which was estimated at $160 million three years ago. Otherwise, the study will not be completed until 2010, when it is submitted to the Federal Transit Administration for financial assistance.

The study is looking at a 2-mile-wide swath of land centered on the FEC corridor. Planners are considering other alternatives, including a monorail, streetcars and express buses, besides the urban commuter rail.