By Lisa Broadt
August 21, 2016
TCPalm
Brightline passenger 
rail between West Palm Beach and Orlando is less certain today than it was a year ago, according to a Washington, D.C., court ruling issued Aug. 16.
The court’s shift in thinking could be a watershed moment in Martin and Indian River counties’ battle to stop All Aboard Florida’s $3.1 billion railroad service.
Most directly, the ruling means the counties have the legal standing to continue their fight in U.S. District Court, and will have the opportunity to try to convince Judge Christopher Cooper that the U.S. Department of Transportation broke several federal regulations when it approved $1.75 billion of tax-exempt bonds for the railroad without first completing an environmental review.
Cooper’s ruling can be introduced to other courts for their reference and may bolster the counties’ cases in the several Florida state courts, where they also are fighting All Aboard Florida, Martin County Attorney Michael Durham said last Tuesday.
With counties now developing their budgets for the coming year, the victory could reinvigorate public support for the fight, which already has cost taxpayers in both counties nearly $5 million.
Most importantly, though:, the ruling is the first step to blocking All Aboard Florida’s access to $1.75 billion of private-activity bonds, financing which could determine whether Brightline passenger trains run only from Miami to West Palm Beach, or eventually continue through the Treasure Coast and on to Orlando International Airport.
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