(The following editorial appeared on the Post Bulletin website on August 31, 2009.)
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Regardless of where you stand concerning coal trains, the Southern Rail Corridor and rail traffic in general, last week was an eventful one.
When DM&E announced that it was abandoning its attempt to acquire land through condemnation proceedings in Wyoming, many foes of the of the railroad’s $6 billion upgrade probably cheered. After all, some local residents have spent more than a decade fighting DM&E’s plan to daily bring coal trains through the heart of Rochester.
Now, even with Canadian Pacific calling the shots, it appears that it will be years before the coal train debate rears its head again. For those whose goal was to prevent a dramatic increase in train traffic through Rochester, this is a victory.
But for some, there might be a “glass-is-half-empty” aspect to this development. Without the imminent prospect of fully loaded trains carrying coal to eastern power plants, it might be a bit more difficult to argue that a rail bypass south of Rochester is worthy of federal stimulus dollars.
Supporters of the Southern Rail Corridor will doubtless argue that shipments of ethanol, anhydrous ammonia and other hazardous materials still pose a threat to Mayo Clinic and the thousands of people who work downtown, and that point remains valid. However, given that CP just spent millions of dollars upgrading the DM&E line, making it safer and capable of handling heavier loads at higher speeds, it will be a difficult argument to make.
Perhaps this is for the best. The argument about coal trains has always had a somewhat hypothetical quality, and the expenditure of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be based on the mere possibility that someday, coal trains might come through Rochester.
That possibility is off the table for the immediate future, which means that the fate of the Southern Rail Corridor — including a passenger line and a freight line — will be determined by ridership projections, the amount of hazardous materials that DM&E brings through Rochester, accident rates, the cost of building the bypass and the rights of those whose land it would cross.