Deerfield-News.com-Deerfield Beach, Fl-As many readers know we have covered the recent extraordinary amount of train incidents in the Tri-County area. Our count is 19 train-related deaths in the Tri-county area. Unfortunately, most of these deaths occurred on the FEC rail tracks used by Brightline/Virgin. Last week governor DeSantis called for the state to investigate this. Not only should Florida be looking into these deaths, but the NTSB as well.
That said Boca Raton has actively worked with Brightlne/Virgin to build a new train station for the high-speed rail in Boca Raton. At last, night’s city commission meeting approval was granted. The vote was unanimous 5-0 in favor of Virgin Trains.
The city will grant an 89-year lease on the property to Brightline/Virgin. Brightline Virgin will construct and manage the facility which will include a 455 space parking garage. Boca Raton will spend $10.5 million dollars of the $12.1 million dollar cost. The city will be sharing in the parking revenue with Brightline/Virgin. The city of Boca says groundbreaking could take place as early as the beginning of next year.
