That's the amount the 13-member Metropolitan Orlando, Central Florida's chief transportation planning agency, has voted to spend on finding out whether or not the train venture is workable. The agency hasn't yet disclosed the consultants' names or their fees.

The 52-mile system would run on tracks owned by CTX Transportation Inc. of Jacksonville, FL. The route would be from suburban DeLand, FL, north of Orlando, through Downtown and then south to Kissimmee, FL. The trains would operate during the morning and evening rush hours.

The study aims to determine the hard costs of the system which have been estimated at $355 million or about $6.83 million per mile. When the project was first seriously discussed five years ago, the estimated cost was $70 million or about $1.35 million per mile.