OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) – Residents are proposing converting a railroad in Ocala into a community space after multiple train derailments.
Two trains have derailed in Ocala since June. Some of the cars involved in the latest derailment last month, involving Florida Northern Railroad Company, are still lying beside the track near the Cypresside Townhomes neighborhood.
“It seems like if this keeps happening, it’d probably be a good idea,” resident Ken Harvey said about removing the tracks. “I don’t know how it’s going to affect whatever companies depend on them.”
Another Ocala resident who has been recommending that the city remove the railway suggested it could become a fitness walking or biking trail. Other cities in Florida have done the same. When we asked, city officials were receptive to the idea…