Key GOP lawmaker cool to high-speed rail grants

From The Associated Press on Nov. 3:

WASHINGTON - The Republican lawmaker in line to head the House Transportation Committee suggested Florida's high-speed rail project could be scaled back to exclude Tampa and Lakeland, in a Wednesday interview with The Associated Press.

U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park suggested the Florida project could run between the Orlando airport and theme parks and tourist destinations in the Orlando area.

Mica complained that most of the U.S. projects the Obama administration has funded, including $2.05 billion for the Tampa-Lakeland-Orlando, line weren't truly high-speed trains like the trains in Europe and Asia.

He said last week said in an interview with The Tampa Tribune he wanted "Tampa and Orlando both to be successful in the high-speed rail project, but to be successful, Tampa needed fixed transit to feed high-speed rail.''

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