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Seminole Gulf Railway

  • Bonita Springs residents were hoping to get a resolution last week for a 14-mile linear park project that would connect the city to Florida’s statewide network of multi-use trails. But opposition to the project from some residents and pending studies must be resolved first. Residents of The Vines, a community split by railroad tracks to be used as the trail, urged that the trail ends at Estero Parkway, shown here.
    Public Affairs
    Bonita-Estero Bike Trail moves on to funding right-of-way acquisition
    Sheldon Zoldan/Special to WGCU
    Trust for Public Land announced last week that it reached an agreement with Seminole Gulf Railway to purchase 14.9 miles of right-of-way from Alico Road to just south of the Lee-Collier County line for the Bonita-Estero Bike Trail (BERT). The Trust has until March 2026 to raise the money.Using the railroad right-of-way has been talked about for years, said Robert Fay, executive vice-president of the family-run shortline railroad. The railroad stopped using the track after the 2008 recession. Only two businesses were using the line, then one moved to Fort Myers and the second stopped shipping by rail.
  • Seminole Railways engines heading north across the Caloosahatchee River with cars from Fort Myers on February 21.
    Business/Economy
    Seminole Gulf Railway back on track, literally; Ian's damage fixed
    Sheldon Zoldan/Special to WGCU
    You’ll hear the train a running, running down the tracks for the first time since Hurricane Ian washed away the bridges that carry Seminole Gulf Railway’s goods to Southwest Florida.The shortline railroad will begin crossing the Caloosahatchee River bridges sometime in mid to late March, said Robert Fay, executive vice president.Hurricane Ian destroyed six bridges and several miles of track when it smash-mouthed Southwest Florida on September 28, 2022.