Transportation Attorneys Meet With Scott Over High Speed Rail
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) - Despite comments from Governor Rick Scott that he couldn't see any workable plan for a high-speed rail line from Tampa to Orlando, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Transportation are meeting with his administration to see if something can't be worked out.
Earlier this month Scott rejected $2.4 billion in federal money for the high-speed rail line, the amount accounted for about 90 percent of the project's estimated cost. In making his decision Scott said the state's share was too much and he doubted the train service would pay for itself once completed.
On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson said the Dept. Of Transportation attorneys were sent to Tallahassee to try to convince the governor's staff that the rail line can be built without putting the state in financial risk. Nelson said he chatted with Scott Sunday at the Daytona 500 and was encouraged that the governor "was just as open to it as anything."
However on Monday, the Republican said Monday he was "not convinced there is any plan that is going to allow the taxpayers off the hook."
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