Port Canaveral officials never said the word SpaceX on Tuesday, but they hinted that the “commercial space industry” is “supportive” of a new railroad linking the port with Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center.
The port wants the new rail route for many reasons, mostly for a cargo link to the Florida East Coast Railway. But SpaceX could benefit, because it has started bringing rockets into the port regularly this year, and moving those rockets on trucks via the highway is a slow process requiring escort vehicles.
Other space companies that have a growing presence in the region include Blue Origin, which is building a rocket plant near Kennedy Space Center; and OneWeb, which plans to start building satellites there too. Both of those companies will need plenty of supplies and raw materials for manufacturing, which could also come into Port Canaveral.
“I’m not going to highlight anyone but, as the commercial space industry is growing at the Cape Canaveral AFS, it appears there are other benefits to this rail line that would assist the commercial space industry going forward,” port CEO John Murray said. “There are some other folks out there that are supportive of this route.”
The port’s railroad was controversial last year, when local Brevard County officials and fishermen opposed a route that would require a bridge over the nearby Banana River.
In September, Port commissioners voted 4-1 to accept former CEO John Walsh’s resignation agreement, citing his “corrosive rhetoric” in dealing with the protests.
Walsh had said the Air Force Station route had too many hurdles.
The port is now identifying the Cape route as its favored route in ongoing studies by the federal Surface Transportation Board.
Commission Chairman Tom Weinberg said the port hasn’t put together a budget for the rail route, but he believes there could be many funding partners for the Cape Canaveral plan.
“We are a long way from building a rail,” Weinberg said.
