VERO BEACH – It’s worth spending up to $400,000 to keep up Indian River County’s federal court battle against the Virgin Trains USA project, county commissioners decided Tuesday.
The commission voted 4-1 to appeal the dismissal of the county’s challenge to U.S. Department of Transportation financing and environmental approvals for the extension of the passenger train line from West Palm Beach to Orlando.
The commission also agreed to a $400,000 cap on the legal fees that will be paid to the law firm of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner to pursue the case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
“To me, the weakest spot of the Virgin Trains game plan is financing,” said Commission Chairman Bob Solari. “If they are not going to get financing from the private sector, they are going to depend upon financing … from taxpayers. I think that’s been the worst part of the program from the start.”
But Commission Vice-Chairwoman Susan Adams, who dissented, said she doesn’t believe the federal appeal will be successful and would rather spend the money to fight the train expansion at the state level.
Project opponents fear the addition of 32 high-speed passenger trains per day to the Florida East Coast Railway tracks running through Indian River and St. Lucie counties will create public safety and financial hazards for residents.
Virgin Trains USA already runs passenger trains between Miami and West Palm Beach. The company is considering developing train stations in Fort Pierce and Stuart as part of its plans to extend service to Orlando International Airport.
Indian River County is appealing a federal judge’s Dec. 24 decision to dismiss its lawsuit claiming U.S. DOT bungled the environmental review for the train line extension and illegally allocated $1.15 billion in bonds for the project.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled the environmental review complied with federal rules and the bond allocation complied with federal tax code requirements.
Indian River County has spent nearly $4 million fighting the passenger train project since 2013, records show. The county has budgeted another $1 million for the cause.
Martin County had joined Indian River County in the federal case, but settled with Virgin Trains on Nov. 20.
Virgin Trains USA was previously known as BrightLine and All Aboard Florida. The company plans to extend passenger service to Orlando in 2021.
