FOX falters, will close doors.(Florida Overland Express)

ORLANDO - The FOX is off the drawing board.

Stunned by Gov. Jeb Bush's decision to withhold state funding for high-speed rail, the Florida Overland Express (FOX) is shuttering its Orlando headquarters, prompting reassignments and layoffs of roughly 250 engineers across the state.

"We're obviously disappointed, but we respect the governor's decision," says Eugene Skoropowski, deputy project director for FOX. "We are in the process of concluding our contracts with the state through Jan. 31. Then it will be shut down."

It marks the end of the state's 14-year pursuit of a bullet train linking Miami, Orlando and Tampa, a project many believed could …