(The following editorial appeared on the Tucson Citizen website on April 16.)
TUCSON, Ariz. — Union Pacific’s plans to add a second rail line through southern Arizona – and through Tucson – will mean greater noise, greater potential for danger and great disruption for motorists.
It also will mean greater revenue for Union Pacific. And the railroad should be compelled to use some of that increased revenue to mitigate the impact on those of us who live in southern Arizona.
Officials of Union Pacific say they want to add a second track to the main line that crosses southern Arizona as part of the Sunset Route between Los Angeles and El Paso, Texas.
In conjunction with the work, the railroad said it will ask the Arizona Corporation Commission for permission to modify 50 existing road crossings across the state. The commission doesn’t have jurisdiction over the track project, but it does have oversight of railroad safety, including places where tracks cross roads.
Union Pacific said the double- tracking is needed for trains hauling containers and trailers full of goods taken off ships in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The current tracks can accommodate up to 50 trains a day. With two tracks, Union Pacific said it can add up to 70 trains a day.
For Tucsonans whose daily commute includes crossing tracks, the thought of more than twice as many trains is horrifying. Waiting for trains snarls traffic at many points on Tucson’s West and Northwest sides.
Union Pacific says it plans to spend $18.4 million rebuilding at-grade road crossings. That certainly is needed, but it does not take into account the far greater congestion and danger caused by many more trains – some of which will undoubtedly carry hazardous materials.
The Pima County Regional Transportation Plan, approved by voters last May, includes millions of dollars to build underpasses or overpasses at several spots where trains now cross the road. If those facilities now must handle two tracks instead of one, the cost will clearly be greater.
A Union Pacific official said the company should not have to pay for overpasses or underpasses because “the public receives the vast majority of the benefit. The railroad receives a marginal benefit.”
But the railroad will receive the vast majority of the additional revenue from running twice as many trains through Tucson. And the public will receive the vast majority of the inconvenience and potential danger.
Union Pacific has an obligation to mitigate the negative impacts of its plan to greatly increase rail traffic through southern Arizona. That is an obligation the Corporation Commission, to the extent permitted, should impose on the company.