Bonni McKeown: Rail plan, investment would help W.Va.
Sen. John Unger's bill, SB527, in the West Virginia Legislature would match a federal grant for railroad planning with $1 million in state funds. All aboard!
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Sen. John Unger's bill, SB527, in the West Virginia Legislature would match a federal grant for railroad planning with $1 million in state funds. All aboard!
The West Virginia Department of Transportation's 1994 state rail plan has updated inventories of track and available service, but no visions for improved passenger service. The reason: Amtrak contracts with freight railroad companies to run on their tracks without involving state government.
Amtrak was created in 1971. Most local commuter trains have lacked capital funding since the 1950s. In that time, state and federal governments have spent billions to subsidize highways and airports, but very little on rail -- less than a billion to operate the entire national Amtrak system. While other countries run frequent high-speed trains on government-owned tracks, Amtrak trains don't run often, don't cover a lot of towns and often are late. Therefore, many Americans haven't considered riding.
Now things are changing. The world's oil supply is not infinite, and gas prices are sure to climb again. To move America's economy without destroying the environment, we need more rail capacity for rail freight and passengers. Freight railroads recognize the advantage of a flexible system with better connections.
We need all modes of transport. Cars and trucks are the most flexible and convenient, but use up gas and land. Airplanes go far and fast, but guzzle fuel. Barges are efficient, but require navigable rivers. Buses are flexible and energy efficient. Railroads are less flexible, but pull heavy loads and many people on relatively little fuel and narrow strips of land.
Engines, railcars, signals and tracks are heavy and costly. We can't waste taxpayers' money on projects that don't work or serve only a few. To create good jobs building tomorrow's infrastructure, we have to plan, involving transportation engineers, freight railroads, local governments and citizens who ride. Roads and railroads cross state lines; so must planning.
In the 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, Congress aimed for a system that integrates the transport modes, and is sustainable and workable for freight and passengers. Before states can draw federal money to build rail and intermodal projects, the law requires them to have a rail plan.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Sen. John Unger's bill, SB527, in the West Virginia Legislature would match a federal grant for railroad planning with $1 million in state funds. All aboard!
The West Virginia Department of Transportation's 1994 state rail plan has updated inventories of track and available service, but no visions for improved passenger service. The reason: Amtrak contracts with freight railroad companies to run on their tracks without involving state government.
Amtrak was created in 1971. Most local commuter trains have lacked capital funding since the 1950s. In that time, state and federal governments have spent billions to subsidize highways and airports, but very little on rail -- less than a billion to operate the entire national Amtrak system. While other countries run frequent high-speed trains on government-owned tracks, Amtrak trains don't run often, don't cover a lot of towns and often are late. Therefore, many Americans haven't considered riding.
Now things are changing. The world's oil supply is not infinite, and gas prices are sure to climb again. To move America's economy without destroying the environment, we need more rail capacity for rail freight and passengers. Freight railroads recognize the advantage of a flexible system with better connections.
We need all modes of transport. Cars and trucks are the most flexible and convenient, but use up gas and land. Airplanes go far and fast, but guzzle fuel. Barges are efficient, but require navigable rivers. Buses are flexible and energy efficient. Railroads are less flexible, but pull heavy loads and many people on relatively little fuel and narrow strips of land.
Engines, railcars, signals and tracks are heavy and costly. We can't waste taxpayers' money on projects that don't work or serve only a few. To create good jobs building tomorrow's infrastructure, we have to plan, involving transportation engineers, freight railroads, local governments and citizens who ride. Roads and railroads cross state lines; so must planning.
In the 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, Congress aimed for a system that integrates the transport modes, and is sustainable and workable for freight and passengers. Before states can draw federal money to build rail and intermodal projects, the law requires them to have a rail plan.
Passenger rail advocates want to begin by improving what we have. For example, Charleston's Wayfinding Commission and WVDOT installed signs pointing the way to the Amtrak station on MacCorkle Avenue. Every improvement will lead to more people riding trains, and fewer cars cluttering the highways.
Our first goals for West Virginia:
1. A daily Amtrak Cardinal. This train now runs Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays from Chicago to Washington, D.C., and New York. In West Virginia, it stops at Huntington, Charleston, Montgomery, Beckley (at Prince), Thurmond, Hinton and White Sulphur Springs. The Cardinal is crowded during summer and holidays. It needs more coaches, a full diner and a baggage car. Track improvements could speed up the train and also benefit freight shipping.
2. Support and extend MARC commuter trains. People in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle commute to D.C. on Maryland's MARC trains. Tourists ride from D.C. into West Virginia. Maryland supports these trains and wants West Virginia to help. To benefit our northeastern economy even more, the trains could extend west to Hancock, Md., five miles from Berkeley Springs.
3. Safe, efficient intermodal connections. Many West Virginians live within 50 miles of Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md., served by the Capitol Limited. There's not always a safe place to park cars or connect with local transit, though. Federal money can help build intermodal transit centers where West Virginians can park cars and bicycles and catch cabs, trains, shuttles and intercity buses.
Some remember when local "doodlebug" trains served even the tiniest hollows. We might not be able to get back all the good things, but we can get transportation that works!
Learn more at National Association of Railroad Passengers at www.narprail.org.
McKeown, of Charleston, is a legislative coordinator with the volunteer citizens rail advocacy group Friends of the Cardinal.
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