(The following story by Cynthia Sewell appeared on the Idaho Statesman website on May 15, 2009.)
BOISE, Idaho — The experts offered a blunt assessment Thursday of the enormous financial and logistical obstacles that exist for commuter rail between Boise and Nampa.
For decades people have dreamed about bringing commuter train service to the Treasure Valley. The city of Boise bought a section of line. President Barack Obama advocates more high-speed rail service across the nation. And because tracks run from Boise to Nampa, roughly along Franklin Road and through downtown Meridian, many people wrongly assume the Valley could start service immediately.
Three national train and transportation experts spoke Thursday at a forum hosted by the Urban Land Institute. Mark Warner, vice president of Boise-based Motive Power, the nation’s top supplier of commuter locomotives, was most blunt in outlining the obstacles to making frequent, high-speed commuter rail succeed:
Too many crossings: More than 40 crossings exist between Boise and Nampa. Increased train traffic would create safety and congestion issues. The line crosses major roads including Orchard, Curtis, Cole, Meridian, Eagle and Linder roads.
Poor track quality: The line is rated for low-speed use – meaning rail cars can travel no faster than 30 mph. Tracks would have to be upgraded to carry faster passenger trains.
Insufficient right-of-way: Union Pacific owns the line from the Boise Depot west to Nampa. The line would have to be purchased or leased – or adjacent right-of-way bought on which a new commuter line could be built.
Competition from freight traffic: Freight and commuter trains sharing the same tracks leads to conflicts and delays. Successful commuter trains would have to travel throughout the day. If Amtrak returns to the Valley, it would pass through just a few times a week.
High cost, and no money: Albuquerque’s new commuter rail service cost $400 million to build and about $20 million annually to operate. For comparison, the annual budget for the Valley’s bus system is about $18 million.
Nationwide, only about 20 cities can afford to operate commuter rail systems, and about another 20 cities have light-rail systems, said Jeff Jackson from the American Heritage Railways. Commuter rail operates on existing freight rail lines and typically provides service between cities and suburbs. Light rail typically is electric rail cars on shorter, inter-city routes, going slower and making more frequent stops. Both are costly endeavors.
So what’s the best solution for the Valley?
“I’m a big bus rapid transit supporter,” said Robert Dunphy with the Urban Land Institute. Bus rapid transit uses super buses that operate more like surface subways with their own traffic lanes and technologies to adjust traffic signals to allow uninterrupted travel.
Rachel Winer, Idaho Smart Growth executive director, agreed with the experts’ assessment.
The first priority for the Valley’s scarce transit dollars needs to be a bus system that gets people where they need to be when they need to get there, she said. “Give people a taste of something that really works,” she said.