In the days after the collapse of the state's $649 million deal with CSX Transportation, both supporters and opponents said the same thing: The goal of creating a commuter rail system in Florida is still alive.

"This didn't kill commuter rail. It killed a badly negotiated contract," said state Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, who organized the opposition to the CSX deal in the legislative session that ended May 2. "This gives us an opportunity to craft something better."

State Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, who worked with Dockery to defeat the CSX deal, said there are other ways to bring commuter rail to Florida. One of them is to work with Amtrak.

Federal law gives Amtrak the right to use existing freight tracks. It runs trains on CSX lines to Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando and Miami.

"We've talked to them," Ross said. "They do commuter rail and intercity rail" across the country. The Florida service would need to be more frequent and reliable, but those problems could be solved, Ross said.

The state had planned to spend $649 million to buy 61 miles of CSX railroad tracks in the Orlando area for commuter rail. About half of the money would have been used to help CSX expand its freight operations statewide.