SIEMENS

Earlier this year President Obama announced that your city would be the “jumping off point” for America's nation-wide high-speed rail network. When did you become a convert to high-speed rail?

Dyer: I've had the opportunity to ride high-speed rail and I've always been a huge supporter. And now we're ready to catch up with cities in Europe and other parts of the world. We're going to have the first true high-speed rail in America here on the Orlando-Tampa corridor, with trains traveling upwards of 170 miles per hour. And this will be the first step toward a nation-wide network. A big part of the reason we're now making such progress is regional cooperation and partnerships. That's what the U.S. Department of Transportation was looking for when awarding high-speed rail grants.

Orlando is a city without a long history of rail travel, and lacks some of the rail infrastructure of a city like, say, Chicago. Is this a handicap?

Dyer: Actually, more than a century ago much of Florida was developed based on Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway, which ran down the coast to the Keys. But much of it was destroyed by a hurricane. So in some ways Florida does have a long history in rail—but it was interrupted for a century or so! But I don't think this lack of history is a handicap. Central Florida will double in population by 2050, so today it's a necessity as well as a boost to the economy.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has said that high-speed rail could increase tourism and convention spending in Orlando by up to $250 million...

Dyer: Yes, high-speed rail will definitely help tourism. And the technology itself is going to attract people. It wouldn't surprise me if people going to Tampa choose to fly into Orlando instead just so they can experience the high-speed rail connection. But it also plays a key role for the clusters that we're developing along the high-speed rail route—digital media, biomedical life sciences, simulation and training, and others.

Could high-speed rail be as transformative as the Interstate Highway network that fundamentally changed the way Americans lived and worked?

Dyer: I believe it will. High-speed rail impacts on so many different things: economic development, jobs, the environment, congestion relief. Florida has historically been extremely reliant on the car. High-speed rail, together with commuter rail, has the potential to dramatically change that.

Why has it taken so long for America to embrace this technology?

Dyer: Part of the American Dream has always been two cars in every driveway, and for a long time gasoline was cheap and it was easy to own and operate a car in the U.S. As a result, most of our communities weren't really designed for people without cars, except perhaps cities like New York. But rising fuel prices and congestion, together with rising environmental awareness, have now made it easier for Americans to embrace new technologies like high-speed rail.

Is the efficiency argument the best way to convince Americans to switch to rail?

Dyer: Some people will make their decisions based on environmental concerns. But for a lot of people their reasons are personal and practical, for example it's cheaper or quicker. One big advantage of high-speed rail is that there's some certainty. When you get in your car you never know if there's been an accident that's shut down the Interstate. With high-speed rail, you know when you're going to arrive at your destination.

Some of the most memorable attractions in Orlando are the images of the future you can see at the EPCOT Center and at Disney ‘s Tomorrowland. Is high-speed rail an example of the City of Orlando making tomorrow a reality today?

Dyer: I like to say that Orlando is a young city where we dream big dreams. So many cities around the world have a much longer history than we do, but we're making our history right now. Valladolid, Spain, is one of our sister cities, and I was there a couple of years ago talking to their mayor about redevelopment in our downtowns. I told him about a fire that had destroyed some buildings in our downtown core. He then told me about a similar event that had happened in Valladolid. I was talking about an event that had happed six months ago; he was talking about something that took place 400 years ago!