A railroad spur cuts right through downtown Miami, across Biscayne Boulevard. There are crossing signals at the ready, the gates are ready to drop and they in fact work even though a train has not crossed Biscayne Boulevard in four years.
Miami is a railroad town, the Magic City's ties to the Iron Horse go back a good century, and history could come alive as an old way of transportation becomes the new as early as 2013 with freight trains could be gliding across the heart of Miami
Dr. Paul George, Miami's most recognized historian, painted a picture of downtown Miami as a vital hub of railroad activity during the early formation of the city and discussed how freight trains played a vital role in the economic development of the region.
"What we have discovered is what worked long ago can work again," he said.
Port of Miami officials hope is the Feds approve their $28 million grant application to refurbish the railroad spur track that services The Port of Miami.
"The spur and the freight trains that would travel along those rails could take as many as 700 trucks a day off of the highways," said Kevin Lynskey, Port Assistant Director. A portion of the grant would go to repair the hurricane damaged bascule bridge that currently sits in a upright position.
The question is always asked, "why spend $28 million on rehabbing the rail spur when a billion dollars is dedicated to construction of the underground tunnel from Watson Island, under Government Cut, emerging on the Port of Miami?"
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It is a matter of growth Lynskey explains. He said that with the port increasing capacity due to larger vessels arriving from the Far East, through the widened Panama Canal, it will demand as much transportation as possible. Trucks, ships, and trains are the key components of a port operation and the trend towards trains is increasing.
"On the west coast (Pacific Coast) half the containers that come in and out of ports are moved by rail and that's a trend is coming to the East Coast," Lynskey said.
When the Port was built, trains pulled plenty of cargo on to Dodge Island and the spur was busy. Dr. George remembers seeing freight trains in the middle of the day working their way across Biscayne Boulevard. Over the years the number of trains diminished and every week or so a freight train would be dispatched to the port in the early morning hours.
The downtown Miami train traffic will never approach that of the first half of the 20th century, but there is one nugget that Lynskey adds to the story.
"The project includes upgrading the tracks so they could be used for passenger service right into the heart of downtown," he said.
Think of those possibilities. The grant approval announcement will come in October. Fingers are crossed at the Port of Miami. New rails would be a good thing, they say.
