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Rail
transportation -- both freight and passenger -- is a
critical component of any comprehensive 21st century
transportation system for Virginia. Yet, except for funding of selected commuter
programs, the Commonwealth has heretofore ignored
both planning and funding of our rail freight and
passenger transportation system. In the past, at
both the state and federal levels, planning and
funding for transportation has focused almost
exclusively upon highway, aviation, and maritime
systems, and policy makers have largely neglected
the rail transportation system.
Today,
a paradigm shift in transportation policy is needed,
one which recognizes for the first time the critical
role the Commonwealth must play in planning and
funding the rail transportation system in Virginia.
The
I-81 corridor is but one example of the reason rail
transportation is important. When it opened in the
late 1960's, I-81 was designed for 15 percent truck
traffic. Now, with 40 percent to 50 percent truck
traffic, it is sometimes called the "NAFTA
Trail". The auto count has also increased
dramatically, and speeding and aggressive driving
have become chronic. Diverting long-haul interstate
truck traffic to trains would significantly relieve
congestion and promote safety on I-81.
Furthermore,
a rail component could be achieved years sooner and
would be less costly than widening the highway and
would be more environmentally sound. For these
reasons, the Commissioner of the Virginia Department
of Transportation directed the competing plans for
widening I-81 to include a rail component as part of
any proposal.
Over
a dozen other rail projects in Virginia
are currently being promoted. Among them are
TransDominion Express to transport passengers from
Bristol to Richmond and Washington via Roanoke and
Lynchburg, High-Speed Rail from Washington to
Richmond and Hampton Roads, Virginia Railway Express
from Fredericksburg to Washington and other parts of
Northern Virginia, and light rail for commuters in
Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads areas.
None
of these projects can achieve much success, however,
unless substantial capital is invested in upgrading
and improving the rail lines. The capital cost of
upgrading existing lines or constructing new lines
is prohibitive for the railroads acting on their
own.
The
decline in the rail transportation system relative
to other forms of transportation in the last 40
years explains the reason Commonwealth leadership is
critical. In the 1960s when the interstate highway
system opened, the railroads began losing freight
traffic to trucks and passengers deserted trains for
automobiles. A number of mostly northeastern rail
lines went bankrupt. In 1971 Amtrak, subsidized by
federal funds, took over a declining rail passenger
system.
In
the subsequent restructuring, the railroads
abandoned 50 percent of their lines nationwide. In
the last 40 years, over 170,000 miles of rail lines
have been abandoned, and many other miles of rail
have been downsized. The rail line parallel to I-81
in its current state is not suited for transporting
time-sensitive freight for "just in time"
delivery of inventory. Today, none of the private
railroads provide rail passenger transportation, and
they are unlikely to be persuaded to re-enter this
field or improve and extend their lines to haul
additional freight or to become "high
speed" on their own any time soon because of
the high cost of capital.
The
Commonwealth, even without the current budget
crisis, is not in a position to provide the
financial capital needed to improve or extend the
rail lines. And, the federal government has provided
no more than negligible funding for rail capital
improvements. Thus, for rails to become an important
component of a 21st century transportation system, a
new approach to financing rail infrastructure
improvements is needed.
This
session of the General Assembly I sponsored
legislation to create and study a Virginia Rail
Transportation Development Authority (Senate Bill
1279 and Senate Joint Resolution 354) to finance
needed improvements to the rail infrastructure. A
seven-member authority, appointed by the governor,
could issue bonds paid for by a surcharge on freight
and passenger transportation rates, to upgrade the
rail lines. It is anticipated the new authority
could arrange the funding with a minimum of taxpayer
subsidy.
A
Rail Transportation Development Authority would make
possible the various rail projects, including the
plan to shift long-haul interstate truck traffic on
I-81 to trains.
A
study I sponsored in 2000 (SJR-55) concluded that
some 10 percent to 20 percent of truck freight on
I-81 could be diverted to trains. Trucks carrying
freight in containers originating in the south and
southeast could be delivered to intermodal transfer
stations in, for example, Chattanooga, Tenn., for
trans-shipment on trains to Harrisburg, Pa., where
trucks could again pick up the containers at an
intermodal station for delivery to northeastern
states. Since trains are more efficient and cost
effective in hauling freight over 500 miles,
shippers would have an incentive to utilize the
intermodal approach to transporting long-haul,
interstate, containerized cargo. In fact, the use of
containerized cargo which can be hauled on both
trucks and trains has been in common practice for a
number of decades, where adequate rail
infrastructure exists.
A
Rail Transportation Development Authority could
finance upgrading the rail line along the I-81
corridor in Virginia
in three to four years at a cost of $1.6 billion
dollars. This is faster and less expensive than
widening I-81, which may take 20 years, and could
cost over $8 billion dollars. Moreover, by the time
I-81 is widened, traffic will have grown to fill the
extra lanes and I-81 may need widening again. Thus,
improvements to I-81 must include a rail component
if a timely, cost-effective, safe and
environmentally sound approach is to be successful.
Similarly,
TransDominion Express, High Speed Rail, Virginia
Railway Express, light rail, and over a dozen other
rail projects in Virginia
would benefit from creation of a Rail Transportation
Development Authority. In each case, improving the
rail infrastructure is a critical first step for the
projects to succeed.
The
time has come for a new approach to Virginia's
system of transportation. An intermodal approach
using rail freight and passenger transportation,
with improvements being financed by an Authority
operated by the Commonwealth, is the foundation for
this new paradigm. It is essential to include rail
freight and passenger transportation in the
Commonwealth's planning and financing of a
comprehensive 21st century transportation system.
--
September 8, 2003
This
column was originally published in the Roanoke
Times.
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