Lawsuit Seeks to Derail Florida Passenger Train Project

By: Alex Pickett, Courthouse News Service

(CN) – Opponents of the nation’s only privately-funded passenger rail service sued federal transportation officials this week, seeking to derail an expansion of the project linking West Palm Beach to Orlando.

Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida joined two Florida counties to file the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration in D.C. federal court on Tuesday. The complaint claims federal transportation officials did not follow administrative and environmental laws when approving $1.15 billion in bonds for All Aboard Florida’s Brightline venture, a high-speed train that would connect Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando…