Subject: Re: CAF - HNTB Meeting 10/21
From: "Michael Muldoon" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>, "Eric Schwerin" <[email-masked]>, "Lorenzo Roccia" <[email-masked]>, "Abel Navarro Homet" <[email-masked]>, "Pio Mortera Nales" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:19:39 -0400

Note that FL (Tampa-Orlando) received $800 million in the latest round of
federal funding.

*Feds give Fla. $800 million more for high-speed*

The Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. -- The federal government has given Florida another $800 million
for a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando.

The grant announced Monday brings total federal funding to $2 billion.

President Barack Obama came to Tampa in January to announce $8 billion in
stimulus awards for rail projects nationally including $1.25 billion for
Florida.

The new money is not stimulus but comes from $2.5 billion Congress put in
the transportation budget for high-speed rail.

Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, said he expects the state to get the
remaining $300 million in federal money it needs next year. The project will
total $2.6 billion including about the state's contribution.

Florida also is getting $8 million to plan an Orlando-Miami leg.

Read more:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/25/1890349/feds-give-fla-800-million-more.html#ixzz13TDFT0Vv

On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 10:49 AM, Michael Muldoon <
[email-masked]> wrote:

>  Good Morning Guys,
>
>
>
> Our meeting with CAF and HNTB went well yesterday. CAF outlined their
> company/HSR expertise and were able to openly question the HNTB project
> management team on aspects of their plan for the Tampa-Orlando corridor. A
> couple of key points that came out of the discourse are below:
>
>
>
> 1)      Speed: When asked about the specs. that will be included in the
> RFQ, Adrian Share (Program Director for Florida Rail Enterprise – THE guy)
> responded that it would be “performance based” and would more than likely
> *require a proven-speed of 186 mph*. As you know, CAF doesn’t currently
> have a train in operation that goes that speed (developing a prototype that
> can go 220 mph and will begin testing soon). We need to determine who
> (HNTB/FL Rail Enterprise or FRA) is pushing for the speed threshold and
> ensure that it doesn’t prevent CAF from submitting a bid. Adrian repeatedly
> said that it was the FRA that was pushing for this requirement, but
> Virginia/Tomar disagreed.
>
>
>
> 2)      Timeline: Adrian and his team largely reinforced the timeline as
> we knew it. Below are key dates:
>
> -Week of 10/25: FL Rail Enterprise hears about additional $1.12bn in
> federal funding (in addition to the $1.25 awarded through ARRA, will
> largely complete funding for the Tampa-Orlando
>
> Route)
>
> -November 8-9: HSR Conference. Critical for CAF. Is essentially a
> matchmaking opportunity.
>
> -Late November: RFQ released with a one month turnaround time (teams will
> need to be formed by then)
>
> -March 2011: RFP issued to *shortlist* (3-4 consortia)
>
> -Late 2011: Selection of winning team
>
> -2012: Begin construction
>
>
>
> 3)      Consortia: Adrian largely reinforced the list of consortia that he
> gave Eric last time they spoke. It was evident that we should focus on the
> SNCF/Bechtel and Fluor Daniel/Balfour Beatty teams as they are still looking
> for a rolling stock manufacturer. I'd suggest we reach out to Fluor Daniel
> ASAP. Their Board of Directors are here:
> http://www.fluor.com/about_fluor/leadership/board_of_directors/Pages/default.aspx if
> you guys want to see if we have any connections at that level.
>
>
>
> There were some additional points made that we can discuss on our call next
> Tuesday. Let me know if you have any questions and Lorenzo please add
> anything I missed!
>
>
>
> Best,
>
>
>
> Mike
>
>
>
>
>
> Mike Muldoon
>
> Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC
>
> 1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW
>
> Suite 705
>
> Washington, DC 20007
>
> (202) 333-1880
>
> [email-masked] <http://[email-masked]>
>
> *P** **Consider the environment before printing this email.***
>
>
>

-- 
Mike Muldoon
Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC
1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Suite 705
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-1880
[email-masked]