(The Idaho Statesman posted the following story by Joe Kolman on its website on April 17.)
NAMPA, Idaho — A passenger rail system between Nampa and Boise will likely include a multimillion-dollar stop in Omaha, Neb., according to a summary report issued Wednesday to the ValleyRide board.
Omaha is home to Union Pacific Railroad, which owns about 25 miles of track that would need to be purchased in order to carry commuters from one end of the Treasure Valley to the other.
Exactly how much that might cost is anyone´s guess, said Lonnie Blaydes, a consultant who worked on the Rail Corridor Evaluation Study for ValleyRide. Rail corridor purchases are unusual, Blaydes said, and government agencies are in a sense captive buyers.
The railroads, of course, realize the importance and uniqueness of their corridor assets to any publicly funded passenger rail project and are well equipped to bargain effectively for the maximum value, the report said.
But there is a wide frame of reference for what the corridor could cost, Blaydes said.
In 2000, the city of Boise purchased 3.5 miles of track from Union Pacific for $2 million. The railroad donated another 14.7 miles of track that runs southeast of Boise. On the low end, Blaydes said, public officials could argue that $2 million should buy about 18 miles of track.
However, that particular stretch of track runs away from from the bulk of the valley´s population. The railroad company, Blaydes said, would likely counter that 3 miles of track is worth at least $2 million.
The full study done by URS Corp., a Portland consulting firm, will be available soon. It provides a basic outline of what is needed to implement a Treasure Valley rail system, said Kelli Fairless of ValleyRide, the organization that oversees public transportation issues for local governments.
Next up will be a feasibility study that will look at potential ridership and the economics of a rail system, Fairless said. The search also continues for a permanent source of major funding for public transportation.
As local officials ponder the future of Treasure Valley rail service, Blaydes offered this advice: It is cheaper to buy the corridor before traffic becomes so congested that public transit is desperately needed.
Other findings of the report include:
” Start-up costs would be $108 million for trains on a weekday schedule at 45 minute intervals. That would increase to $128 million for trains to run at 30-minute intervals. Buying the rail cars and setting up the dispatch system would be the most expensive components.
” Depending on the schedule, annual operating costs could range between $4.8 million and $5.1 million. That estimate does not include insurance costs, which could be significant.