FLORIDA: Port Canaveral has planned to extend an 11 mile new rail line for the growth of its cargo operations, while there are also fears about its long-term effects on wildlife refuge and a golf course community.
The line would be from their north cargo terminal, over the Banana River, to north Merritt Island. Residents of The Savannahs, a development surrounded by rural north Merritt Island, say they bought homes here to enjoy the quiet life. But the proposed $75 million railroad line, that would be located just one mile away from the community, could change that. If approved, the trains would carry more than 200 rail cars a week, within the next few years.
The rail line would connect the port to Kennedy Space Center’s rarely used existing railroad line. It’s tied in to Florida East Coast Railway’s main artery, north of Titusville. Port Canaveral wants that connectivity to accelerate cargo operations, which its CEO predicts will generate 5,000 new jobs within seven years.
