TAMPA – The prospect of billions of dollars in federal stimulus money is reviving the long-dormant high-speed rail project connecting Tampa, Orlando and Miami.

Florida is considered by some to be a leading candidate for some of the $8 billion that President Barack Obama wants to spend on 10 inter-city, high-speed corridors. The state has already reserved right of way for a rail corridor along Interstate 4 and spent $30 million on environmental studies connected with the project.

“We’re shovel-ready; we were ahead of everybody else,” said C.C. “Doc” Dockery, who initiated a successful state referendum in 2000 approving a high-speed rail system. Voters reversed that decision four years later at the urging of Gov. Jeb Bush, a rail opponent.

Dockery said support from Gov. Charlie Crist is crucial to Florida getting a share of the stimulus money. He said Crist has “not been out there cheerleading” for the project.

“It’s all in his hands,” Dockery said. “If he gets out in front with this application … it’s a slam dunk.” The governor’s office did not respond to Dockery’s comments.

Florida’s Department of Transportation has to notify the Federal Railroad Administration by Friday that the state is applying for the money, said Kevin Thibault, DOT assistant secretary for engineering and operations. Vice President Joe Biden’s office is overseeing stimulus money projects.

“What we have heard from the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) and Vice President Biden is that Florida, because of the groundwork that has been laid, is in a good position to apply,” Thibault said. “But it will still depend on the merits.”

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, supports the project, saying it will create thousands of construction jobs and develop a high-tech corridor connecting Florida’s major metro areas.

“I know people wonder about the cost, but look at the many millions it takes to add a lane onto an interstate,” Castor said. “Here’s something that would be sustainable over time and not reliant on the wild swings in the price of gas and oil.”

The proposed route would start at the Marion Street Transit Center in downtown Tampa, where the train could connect with 26 bus routes, the in-town trolley and a bus line to Pinellas County.

Possible train station sites being discussed in Orlando include the airport and Disney World, along with a stop in Lakeland.