(The following editorial appeared on the Memphis Commercial Appeal website on May 19, 2010.)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Yes, it can be a pain waiting for the train, but the inconvenience has an upside: Memphis has become the envy of the railroad industry.
Memphis boosters have long touted the importance of the city’s five Class 1 railroads, its intermodal terminals and shipping in general.
It’s no accident, they say, that major railroads have invested about $1 billion in intermodal facilities here over the last five years, making Memphis one of the country’s top two or three rail-to-truck interchanges.
A we-told-you-so moment arrived this week with news that the Windy City, long considered the center of the railroad world, is investing heavily to stay ahead of the Bluff City’s sprawling rail yards.
Joseph Clary, former director of public and intermodal transportation for the Illinois Department of Transportation, told The Commercial Appeal this week that an estimated $2.6 billion is going into a list of projects known as the Chicago Region Environmental & Transportation Efficiency Program.
CREATE was initiated, he said, to avoid logjams in local rail traffic that are threatening the area with the potential loss of 17,000 jobs and $2 billion in economic activity a year.
The growth in Memphis is attributed to the investments the railroads have made as well as the movement of manufacturing operations from the U.S. to Asia, according to Dexter Muller, vice president for community development at the Memphis Regional Chamber.
Memphis’ position as one of only four places where rails cross the Mississippi River and its location within a day’s drive from many of the country’s major markets also have contributed significantly to the growth of the local rail industry.
Those advantages should temper any concern about investments being made in Chicago by local and state authorities as well as the federal government.
Prospects for the rail industry in general brightened last fall when billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. made a $34 billion investment in Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.
Rail also is widely viewed as a growth industry because of its efficiency and cost in an era of rising energy prices.
And not to be overlooked are plans being developed for new, world-class, high-speed trains to carry passengers from city to city across the U.S. It makes sense for Memphis to be in that mix, as well.