BLUEPRINT FOR JAXPORT IS FOUND IN COMMUTER RAIL

Unlike other Florida cities, Jacksonville alone is a sea of railroad tracks. One time home to the Worlds Busiest Passenger Terminal (during the Great Florida Boom of the Roaring Twenty's), and certainly one of the largest Terminal Stations in the nation. 32 tracks, split roughly 60/40 stub and through, the great station served every passenger train entering or exiting the state (with few exceptions) until 1974.

Today freight trains of Norfolk Southern, CSX and Florida East Coast still rumble past the silent platforms and pedestrian tunnels. The Jacksonville Transportation Authority has an eye on Commuter Rail, and has completed the first two studies which have laid out a 90 mile starter system on three distinct rail lines, North, Southeast, Southwest.


Meanwhile over at JaxPort, the talk is all about building a new rail yard that they suppose will whisk away 2 Million Containers a year. Currently ranked number 19 in North America in container volume and number 2 in automotive imports, the new terminals built around trade with the Orient promise to rocket us into the number 3 or 4 position in the Nation. Dredge the river channel for Post Panamax ships, build the new rail yard, and everything will be rosy... Well not quite.

So here is a recent headline article in the Jacksonville Business Journal, taken from the recent seminars, breakfasts and meetings on JaxPort. They elude to the unknown that dredging and another railroad yard will be the fix we need. Their going to be sorely disappointed.

Game on for Jacksonville
Jacksonville Business Journal

Jacksonville’s economic development marching orders came across loud and clear at the Global Trade and Transportation breakfast this week: Find $500 million from federal, state and local government to dredge the St. Johns River to handle larger ships, make sure the Hanjin shipping company joins Mitsui to cement the city’s Asian trade ties, and finish the road and rail improvements needed to maximize the port’s ability to move cargo.

Succeed at these tasks and cement Jacksonville’s future as a premier port on the East Coast, while broadening the city’s economic base considerably. Or fail, and watch the ports of Savannah, Charleston and Norfolk eat our lunch. Yes, the choice is that clear-cut.

The river dredging is the linchpin. Here’s why:

The reason the shippers Mitsui and Hanjin want terminals here is to develop a hub for direct trade from Asia to the East Coast. The Panama Canal is being improved to allow larger cargo ships through, which are more cost-efficient for the shippers. The canal improvements should be done by 2014.

So what is the fix?

Blue Lines = Florida East Coast

Green Lines = CSXT

Black Lines = Norfolk Southern

Red Lines = Shortlines

Pink and Purple Lines = Abandoned rail subject to rebuilding

YELLOW LINES = Subject of this article and JTA/JPA Future North Line Commuter Rail District

The fix for JAXPORT is Commuter Rail North, plain and simple, the City buying the entire former CSX Kingsland Subdivision, and perhaps the Norfolk Southern's St. Johns River Terminal rail lines. From the Export Yard near the Stadium, Grand Crossing in the Westside through the Springfield Yard, Talleyrand Terminals, over the Trout River, to Blount Island, TriPac and all the way to Yulee. Getting JTA and JPA to create The Jacksonville RAIL Authority, and getting said Authority to quickly rebuild the former "S Line" between Union Terminal, and Springfield Yard, establishing Commuter Rail, at least as far North as the International Airport.

So what does JaxPort have to do with Commuter Trains and railroads? Glad you asked. At this point over 1/2 of our port is locked into CSX. For all the railroad diversity we have downtown, the Florida East Coast and Norfolk Southern are effectively cut out of the game. Saying our port is served by 3 major railroads is misleading when more then half of the terminals are captive. What good is it to try and sell shippers on the 3 railroad package when CSX says it will take them 5 full days to move a box car from Blount Island on the City's Northside, the the FEC / NS interchanges near Jacksonville Terminal.

If the City of Jacksonville and FDOT bought the former Seaboard Air Line Mainline, replaced the missing link from Jacksonville Terminal to Springfield Yard (already in City hands), it would effectively open the door to ease traffic congestion. Moreover it could all be operated as the JaxPort Railroad, a terminal road with neutral switching access by all carriers. Who needs a new rail yard when we already have the largely empty Springfield Yard which could easily be rehabilitated into a first class container facility. Who needs a one railroad port, when we already have plans for Commuter Rail on those same tracks? Why not bust the port wide open and create a quick, responsive, shortline/terminal road.

Not only would CSX retain every carload that any customer currently requests via a CSX routing, The Florida East Coast and Norfolk Southern wouldn't have to bypass the Port and hustle everything to the new Titusville Intermodal facility in order the expedite shipments. Moreover by linking Port/ACE + Freight Railroad/FRA + Transit/FTA + Commuter Rail/FRA + Station Security/DHS, and beautification/FDOT, we open hundreds of more avenues by which to obtain those vital federal grants.

Then, and only then, will we be able to honestly claim we have 3 railroad service choices for our port shippers. Only then will we be able to control the destiny of our Commuter Rail and Passenger Terminal. The day that the first RDC car rumbles over the Trout River and the big diesels of FEC or NS freely mix with CSX out at Tri-Pac, JaxPort and JTA will have come of age.

On The Grow In The Port of Jacksonville

Culled from the Jacksonville and the Charlotte NC Business Journal the following articles which give our readers an idea of things to come. With the second new Oriental Terminal moving into construction, it seems the sky is the limit. Even in these bad economic times, Jacksonville seems to have at least one guiding light. JaxPort.

Monday, April 6, 2009, 1:48pm EDT
Fascination embarks record number of passengers from Jacksonville
Jacksonville Business Journal

The Jacksonville Port Authority’s cruise terminal set a record last week when 2,623 passengers embarked on Carnival Cruise Lines’ Fascination cruise to Half Moon Cay and Nassau, Bahamas.

The previous record for a single cruise was 2,539 passengers, set earlier this year. The record-breaking cruise comes after the authority pulled back on its plans to build a $60 million terminal in Mayport Village to focus on its cargo business and see how the cruise industry weathers the recession.


Port of Jacksonville traffic edges up
Jacksonville Business Journal

The amount of traffic through the Port of Jacksonville in fiscal year 2008 increased by 1 percent to nearly 8.4 million tons, compared to 2007, according to its recently released annual report.

The port remains the nation’s second busiest vehicle handling port and 12th busiest container port.

The authority’s operating revenue increased by 6.2 percent to $42.4 million.

Its operating expenses increased by $5 million to $30 million, while its operating income fell from $14.5 million to $12 million.

Roll-on-roll-off traffic — mainly cars, trucks and heavy equipment — increased by 7 percent to its record level of about 567,000 units.

Bulk cargo, which includes crushed limestone and other aggregates, increased by nearly 10 percent to about $2.5 million tons.

Breakbulk cargo, which includes lumber, paper and steel, fell about 18 percent to 950,000 tons.

Container traffic remained steady at about 3.6 million tons.

'luftschiff hoch!' Should be Magic Words to a Hungry Port.

'luftschiff hoch!' - UP SHIP!

What if ships could fly? What if passengers had roomettes? What if aircraft offered an observation lounge? What if cruise passengers could cross the Atlantic in 48 hours? What if the highest priority shipments could make the passage in 48 hours without breaking the bank on a charter 767? What if our flying ship could carry 250,000 pounds? Cargo? Passengers? Express? What if?

Would not the stateside ports that captured these magnificent ships rule the air and sea's for all of the foreseeable future? Certainly they would, but it would likewise take some very advanced, out of the box and visionary leadership to innate the first contact. The risk involved is limited to the old adage that "someone might laugh."

But this is no Westinghouse-Tenneco "Offshore Power Systems" fiasco. For Jacksonville in particular it offers the chance to lead the entire Atlantic and in the event that the new technology takes flight, lead the world.



SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Californians float a plan: Return of the zeppelin
By TERENCE CHEA, Associated Press Writer

Saturday, October
(10-25) 19:10 PDT SAN FRANCISCO, (AP) --

Zeppelins, the giant floating airships used to carry passengers and drop bombs until the 1930s, haven't been seen in American skies for more than 70 years.

Now a California company is bringing the iconic aircraft back to the United States, with plans to offer aerial tours of the San Francisco Bay area in a newly built zeppelin. It's one of just three in the world — the others are in Germany and Japan.

Airship Ventures Inc.'s zeppelin arrived in the Bay Area on Saturday, passing over the Golden Gate Bridge en route to its new home at Moffett Field, a former naval air station in Mountain View, about 40 miles south of San Francisco.

Fifteen feet longer than a Boeing 747, the 246-foot Zeppelin NT (New Technology) was built in Hamburg, Germany, and transported by container ship to Beaumont, Texas, before a cross-country flight to California.

While they may look like blimps, zeppelins have rigid internal frames that are covered with a canvas hull.

Starting Friday, Airship Ventures will begin offering rides that provide a bird's-eye view of Napa and Sonoma wine country, the Big Sur coastline, San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area. The cabin holds 12 passengers and two crew members, and tickets start at $495 per person for an one-hour ride.

"It's a way to see the world in a way that you haven't experienced it before," said Brian Hall, a software entrepreneur who started the company last year with his wife, Alexandra. "In a zeppelin, you're flying low and slow. You're going at a leisurely pace. You're seeing things that you wouldn't see from the road."

Invented by Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany in the late 19th century, zeppelins were used for commercial passenger transport and military operations until the start of World War II.

The zeppelin's golden age ended in 1937 when the LZ-129 Hindenburg — the largest airship ever built — caught fire and burst into flames in front of thousands of spectators in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 35 of 97 people on board.

A German company, Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik, began building a new zeppelin about decade ago and has been offering passenger rides since 2001.

While the Hindenburg was fueled by flammable hydrogen, the modern version is kept aloft by nonflammable helium. More than 80,000 passengers have ridden without a safety problem, Hall said.

The Halls came up with the business plan for Airship Ventures about two years ago after Brian, 43, took his first zeppelin ride in Cologne, Germany.

The German company agreed to build another zeppelin so that Airship Ventures could start offering rides from its base at Moffett Field, which has three of the country's 13 remaining airship hangars.

Airship Ventures has ordered two more zeppelins, which take about 18 months to build, and plan to offer tours on the East Coast, most likely from New York and Florida, starting in 2010.

Despite the slumping economy, the company hopes to sell about 15,000 tickets a year in the Bay Area, aiming to attract passengers for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and even marriage proposals.

"In a time when you might feel troubled, it's something you can do that's quite uplifting," Hall said.


Dames Point-Broward Bridge Anyone?

MEANWHILE BACK IN JACKSONVILLE

By now you should know that it is no dream. The new class of Zeppelin is here, having already crossed the Atlantic and the United States to alight in San Francisco.

Airship Ventures, has one of the new test Zeppelins flying tourists over California for tickets that range as high as $500 dollars each. People are so thrilled that they line up to take photos which are then posted in any number of websites. The old Lighter Then Air LTA base a Moffet Field, makes for a ready made Zeppelin port.

In Jacksonville, we are likewise blessed. NS Mayport, NAS Jacksonville, the abandoned LTA base at Francis Field (World Golf Village), Craig Airport JAA,Cecil and Imeson Industrial Parks, all have either: active airship pads, open space to construct facilities or ruins of old airship landing facilities.

So what if JAA or JAXPORT/JPA, were to jump on this "cute" and "touristy" little band wagon? New York to Jacksonville? Amtrak and Cruise Ship tie in? First Coast?
Open your eye's to tomorrows news.

We would certainly have a one-of-a-kind attraction to compliment our new cruise port. Just the thought of seeing an active zeppelin cruising over the city would be enough to draw every aviation buff in the east to our doorsteps. Where else could they Sail the Zeppelin one day, Sail the St. Johns River the next, Sail a kite-board in the Atlantic surf the third, and Sail for Nassau on the fourth?

Then one has to wonder about the future FLORIDA plans. Zeppelin is not standing still on it's research. In fact about one dozen aircraft companies are all actively working on plans to bring back the great airships for both cargo and passenger purposes.

The military is shopping for an enormous radar loop in the sky, while another branch is playing with the Zeppelin as a short-take-off-and-landing (STOL) troop transport.

Okay, says the Port Director... Not a chance says the Aviation Director... We'd like to have Zeppelins, Someday, says the Transportation director... We'll be a zeppelin hub after we build more roads says the Mayor...

Ladies and gentlemen, in the here and now, this is simplistic rocket science such as the days before Wernher von Braun joined the club in the 1930's. Shall we wait until Port Canaveral grabs the gold ring? Or should we take the small gamble, pick up the phone and reach for the skies?



How about a little JACKSONVILLE TRANSIT kick start?

ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH & Co KG
Allmannsweilerstr. 132
88046 Friedrichshafen
Germany

Tel.:+49 7541 5900-extension number

Department Contact person Extension

number Fax E-mail

Administration/management office Ms Regina Schäfer 539 22539

r.schaefer@zeppelin-nt.de

Ms Manuela Zwisler 552 22552 m.zwisler@zeppelin-nt.de

Press Ms Kathrin Runge 547 22547 presse@zeppelin-nt.de

OR AIRSHIP VENTURES:
You can write to us at our postal address:Airship Ventures, Inc.NASA Research Park P O Box 345, Moffett Field, CA. 94035-0345 You can leave us a message at +1 650 969 8100 or send us a fax to +1 650 969 8101.

All photos credit Airship Ventures, Up Ship, and Zeppelin Aircraft Corp.

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THE JAXPORT FIX WITH MAPS

Current Rail Access to JAXPORT's Port Of Gold.

Investors paradise? Considering that some 2 Million Containers a year will start pouring from the Tri-Pac/Hanjin/MOL Line's new ship terminals within two years, JAXPORT might be one of the only bright spots in the economy. It does however, offer a huge opportunity for railroad investment or betterment to increase access to the port for all carriers. Rail, THIS is where the opportunity for a mega project lay just beneath the surface of the current maps of the Port.


On this map we see some of the lines have changed hands - some of this is coming with Commuter Rail anyway. Possible Neutral access for all rail carriers with State and Local purchase of all Terminal Trackage and the start of Jacksonville Commuter Rails North Line. With reconstruction of the old "S" line (Former Mainline of the Seaboard Railroad now owned by the City) Florida East Coast and Norfolk Southern would enjoin CSX with total access.

In this scene, we see what happens if Commuter Rail North becomes Light-Rail and CSX maintains a stranglehold on the booming North side Port Terminals. Call this scene OPPORTUNITY knocking. The immense warehouse districts on the West Side and Northwest side of Jacksonville being connected to the Booming northeast area Port via a ready made right-of-way, under Jacksonville Electric Authority Power lines. This northern "BELT RAILROAD" touching as it does (or could) the Southern boundary's of the International Airport would thus Perice the Free Trade Zone. With FEC as a partner, it gives Norfolk Southern access to the fastest growth area in Florida.

It could go either way, one thing is certain, change for the better is right around the bend and World Ports already know, Jacksonville is on stage. Someone grab a shovel.

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JAXPORT RAIL ACCESS AND A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO FIX IT

Several times people from around the world have tapped into this blog looking for information on the port location and railroad access here in Jacksonville. I thought we'd look at this from both the positives of rapid growth which has earned us the nickname "The Port Of Gold", to the negatives of piecemeal rail services.


First the location of JAXPORT. Consider if you will a major seaport that is located exactly 1/2 way between Miami, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia. This location puts 2/3 Rds of the population of the United States within 24 hours from our docks to your containers destination. One also has to surrender the old thinking of the East Coast as a rather straight line - similar to the west coast of the United States, it's simply not true. In fact the East Coast of the USA reaches so far east that in Maine it is only across a river from the "Atlantic Time Zone". Boston is South of that locale, and New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington are not only South but quite west of Maines Location. There is a slight buldge just sough of Norfolk, Virginia, in the storm prone Carolina Outter Banks, but then as the coast continues South it also continues West. The Western Most Port on the Atlantic Ocean is Jacksonville, Florida's, JAXPORT.


JAXPORT is so far west that if you drew a line on a globe you might be amazed to find the lat.-long. GPS cordinates for Jacksonville to be N 30.33and W 81.65 compaire this with Boston, Massachucetts 42°. 20' N and 71° .06' W, Jacksonville is a full 10 degrees West. The real shock to most citizens is when they note that Jacksonville is almost directly below, CLEVELAND, OHIO at: 41.46' N and 81.65' W. This means as an East coast port and beach city, we're 128 miles west of Pittsburgh, Pensylvannia - and far enough south that cold winters or large mountain ranges need not play a part in your shipping or travel worries. Just how far west is west? Well you could ship and travel from the West Florida Ports of Key West or Naples, but Jacksonville is just as far west as they are. In fact the whole pensulia of Florida is angled back toward the South and EAST so as one travels south, the East coast of Florida moves farther and farther East of the Panama Canal.


Why not just build in Miami, West Palm Beach, Naples or Tampa? Frankly these are all nice cities blessed with beautiful weather, but their port and transportation space is used up on the east coast, and the prices are in the stratosphere. Tampa and Naples on the other hand have room and decent development prices, but they are locked into a single rail carrier and shallow water with a Interstate Highway bridge restricting the height of all traffic in and out of Tampa Bay.


The fact that Jacksonville is the sole railroad gateway to Florida is quite important to shipping lines, industrial concerns, warehousing complexes and travelers. Being located near the Georgia border at the base of Florida's Crown, Jacksonville is 500 miles from Key West. So unless you are shipping all of your cargo within Florida, that's 500 extra miles more or less, of transportation on every container or every passenger. Going West with that shipment or trip? Pensacola is another 400 miles West from Jacksonville. So locating elsewhere in this state could add as much as 900 miles to your transportation costs just to get out of Florida. Most people are amazed that it's much less distance from New York City to Chicago, then from Key West to Pensacola, Florida. In fact Pensacola is closer to St. Louis, Missouri, then the lower coasts of Florida.


So what is the hangup with JAXPORT and rail transportation? Nothing that couldn't be fixed with some creative investments, either private or public.

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JAXPORT GETS A 6 BILLION DOLLAR BOOST!

Holy Tug Boats Batman, at this rate 10 years down the road, we will be LOS ANGELES EAST!

Let's hope we can get the City moving with the Mass Transit plans before the crowds start to hit town. $6 Billion dollars to spend is a bunch of bucks to scatter over our explosive growth city.

For those at a distance, perhaps you think I am stressing this too much. I CAN'T! The Northside of the City is looking more and more like old Tombstone - the wild west silver mining camp in Arizona... It should be remembered by historians though, that along with the wild growth came rail passenger service.

Sorry for the crass-commercial advertisment, but here is a video of the announcements. Enjoy.

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Take A Tour Of The Port Of Gold - JAXPORT

So just where on earth is this "Port of Gold?"

Q. What if God created an East Coast - Atlantic port so far west that it was under Cincinnati?

A. He did, and it's called JAXPORT.

Hope you enjoy this photo tour of our booming waterfront.

JAXPORT Photo's Credit: The Jacksonville Port Authority Album




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