All Aboard Florida, FRA to solicit public input on Orlando-to-Miami passenger-rail service

All Aboard Florida and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will host four meetings next month to solicit public input for the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) that will evaluate the potential effects of construction and operation of an intercity passenger-rail service between Orlando and Miami.

The meetings will be held May 1 in Orlando, May 6 in Miami, May 7 in West Palm Beach and May 9 in Fort Pierce, All Aboard Florida officials said in a prepared statement.

The purpose of the EIS is to provide the FRA, cooperating and participating agencies and the public with information to assess alternatives that would meet the project's propose and need, and to evaluate the potential environmental impacts and ways to avoid them.

Florida East Coast Industries Inc. (FECI) is developing All Aboard Florida, a privately owned, operated and maintained intercity passenger-rail service. The route will involve Florida East Coast Railway's corridor between Miami and the Space Coast, and the construction of new tracks into central Florida. Stations would be built in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando.