(The following report appeared on the Roanoke Times website on November 18.)
ROANOKE, Va. — Eighteen local governments want Virginia to pay more attention to improving railroad tracks along Interstate 81.
Counties, cities and towns in the highway corridor indicated that proposals by two road-building consortiums should depend more on rail to carry some of the freight now being hauled by trucks on I-81.
The consortiums, Fluor Virginia and Star Solutions, focus their multibillion-dollar proposals on widening I-81. Both Fluor and Star suggest improving Norfolk Southern tracks between Manassas and Front Royal, with the $100 million-plus cost to be covered by a surcharge on rail freight using that route.
Norfolk Southern executives have said the Manassas-to-Front Royal track forms a bottleneck that slows its container shipments, and indicated they’re open to suggestions as long as Norfolk Southern remains in full control of the tracks.
Opening up that bottleneck could divert 500,000 trucks a year from I-81, the consortiums say in their proposals. Even the most ardent rail advocates concede that’s only a small part of the truck traffic using the highway.
NS hasn’t shown much interest in upgrading the rest of its Virginia tracks in the I-81 corridor, mostly because the cost has been estimated at more than $2 billion. The Fluor and Star consortiums took their cue from the NS position when they submitted their proposals last January to add lanes to I-81.
VDOT asked the consortiums to include rail in their proposals. That concept has a built-in conflict, however: If more freight were diverted to rail, the consortiums would collect fewer tolls to repay the bonds needed to finance construction.
The rail picture could be altered in December when a study is due out on freight in the I-81 corridor.
Headed up by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the study looked at all types of freight moving by either truck or rail in the areas along I-81 and U.S. 29 through the Danville-Charlottesville-Manassas corridor. Both routes handle shipments moving north and south among New York, Atlanta and other major Southern cities.
The study figures to add new information about the kinds of freight, its routes, destinations and delivery deadlines. Included will be information about the types of trucks – tanker, dry van, flatbed and others.
Thus far, the freight data that shaped I-81 plans was gathered in a 1998 study that looked only at dry-van cargo and didn’t gather complete information about its origin and destination.
This study could provide new details about how much I-81 freight potentially could be carried by rail.
One thing the study cannot foretell is how many shippers would actually switch from truck to train if rail lines were improved. A major factor in truck shipping is its relatively fast, on-time delivery when compared to rail shipments.
Localities that responded to VDOT’s request for their comments seemed mostly to be hoping that rail could take some trucks off I-81.
Some 28 localities responded to VDOT, and 65 percent of them suggested a rail-line upgrade. It was, by far, the most popular idea shared by the local governments.
Opposition to tolls came in a distant second.
Seven localities asked VDOT not to permit tolls. Most of those seven communities said they feared tolls would harm their region or place a hardship on industries.
Four localities opposed tolling local traffic for short trips on I-81, variously defining the length of local trips. One locality suggested allowing up to 50 toll-free miles.