(The following column by Nicholaus R. Buthmann appeared on the Tracy Press website on September 10. Mr. buthmann is a native and fifth-generation Tracy resident who also works in Tracy.
TRACY, Calif. — Before everybody opens their mouths, before their brains engage on the matters of passenger rail service and the resurrection of long freight trains running through town, I want people to think. No cussing, whining, moaning or, worse yet, nose-in-the-air snobbery on the matter. I expect people in this town to think logically and sensibly.
With the construction of over/underpasses — at the Corral Hollow Road, 11th Street, Tracy Boulevard, Central Avenue and MacArthur Drive crossings — any and all problems of traffic backups because of trains will be solved.
Overpasses and underpasses would be a boon for expanded Altamont Commuter Express trains and extended regional service. Having the convenience of a passenger service that runs even half as often as the trains that help the citizens of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut make commuting and short-range travel tolerable and feasible, would greatly help at both the pump and in the stress department of the individual commuter.
The future (and not too long off, either) idea of gaining Amtrak’s long- and medium-range service is as important as having ACE service. Many Americans complain about not being able to afford vacation trips because of high gas prices. Take a tip from Japan, where families and individuals ride the rails to vacation destinations, business trips or get-togethers. This is done much of the time with conventional rail service, and not the bullet lines.
If Union Pacific does wish to resurrect the Martinez/Port Costa, or Mococo line, for up to 200 freight and container trains, then so be it.
However, UP needs to have a deal in writing that it will share track rights and construction costs of the five over/underpasses with ACE and Amtrak. The cost of full refurbishment of the Mococo line also needs to be equally shared.
Long story short, there should be no shoving aside of the commuter/regional rail service trains and Amtrak for UP’s long container trains to clear.
Oh yes, in case anybody whines about so-called noise pollution of said rail operations, quit being such a cry baby, yuppy snob who’s offended by everything.
The railroad has been here since the beginning. In fact, we all know it’s what built Tracy from the ground up. It’s sad that the Southern Pacific Railroad decided to quit maintaining the Mococo line and unwisely redirect all traffic by way of Sacramento and Davis to Martinez. If that had not occurred, I don’t believe most Tracy residents would care one way or another about most of this. It would just be an accepted fixture of the community.
I’ll give you a darn good example of a Central Valley town that’s very similar to Tracy. One main difference is that Roseville never lost its rail base, with jobs or with the community. Indeed, the city of Roseville is very reliant on the continued operation of Union Pacific to employ its town residents.
It’s high time for Tracy to get back to its “routes.”