As published in the December 1, 2010 Toledo Business Journal
Don Yerks
Dunbar Mechanical Inc.
Passenger rail faced with Kasich opposition
Toledo Business Journal recently interviewed Don Yerks, director of marketing, Dunbar Mechanical Inc. He shared the following thoughts.
Toledo Business Journal: What is the purpose of the Northwest Ohio Passenger Rail Association (NOPRA), and who are its members?
Don Yerks: NOPRA is comprised of a wide variety of businessmen, business organizations, economic developers and their economic development organizations, as well as universities and local governments.
Our mission is to increase public awareness, acceptance, and the use of passenger rail service; ensure inclusion of northwest Ohio in passenger rail systems; and build a passenger rail car manufacturing industry with Ohio’s assets.
TBJ: Can you discuss the investment that the Federal government is placing in passenger rail?
DY: At this time, the Federal government is putting increased emphasis on rebuilding America’s passenger rail system. With increased highway congestion, the higher cost of gasoline, the deterioration of our highway system, as well as with the increased portal to portal times in our air passenger transportation system, it is an appropriate time to look at passenger rail as a viable alternative for the medium distance trips, particularly between large population centers.
For passenger rail to be a competitive alternative, total travel times need to be reduced, more frequent service needs to be offered, and on-time performance needs to be improved. The Federal government has specifically allocated $10.4 billion to improve passenger rail infrastructure to assist in making rail travel a viable alternative for many routes. Specifically, the Federal government has allocated $400 million to Ohio for the startup of rail service in the Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati corridor (3C). In addition, Ohio has obtained nearly $8 million to begin the process of improving rail service on several corridors including Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland.
TBJ: What opportunity does Ohio have for passenger rail service, and how will this impact northwest Ohio?
DY: Ohio is a “keystone” (pardon the pun) for any service between the eastern states and Chicago, Detroit, and all points west. For this service to improve, they must improve the infrastructure and frequency through Ohio. All route scenarios include new and improved passenger trains running through northwest Ohio. This will allow for stops to be made at locations in northwest Ohio.
TBJ: What speed will these passenger trains travel, and how will this change over time?
DY: Initially maximum timetable speed will be 79 miles per hour with plans / phases to increase speed limits to 90 and 110 mph. However, the real issue on reducing total transit time on each route will be driven by other considerations including:
- Ways to reduce times stopped at stations by platform improvements, as well as strategic decisions on location of train stops;
- Ways to improve safety while increasing speeds through smaller communities where the trains will not be stopping. Often times a passenger train must slow down to 50 or 40 mph or even slower when passing through a town. This severely impacts overall travel speed; and
- Ways to increase speeds through terminals and areas with heavy rail freight traffic. NOPRA believes that one of the major benefits of the intended $400 million investment in Ohio will be to increase route capacity thereby improving freight train transit times and providing both freight and passenger trains improved flexibility reducing delays.
As mentioned earlier, although speed is important, frequency of service and reliability are equally important. As frequencies are added, travel time reduced and/or reliability improved, ridership has grown.
Here are four examples:
- Pacific Northwest (initially Seattle-Portland, 184 miles) with two round trips in 1993. Travel time has been cut from four hours to 3-1/2, and further reductions are coming. Today, there are four round trips, and two more are coming in 2014. Ridership has grown from 194,000 annually in 1993 to 765,000 last year. Trains are often sold out on weekends. A $598 million investment will increase capacity for intercity passenger trains and for freight movements to key grain loading ports and for commuter rail in the greater Puget Sound area.
- North Carolina (Raleigh-Charlotte, 173 miles). With two round trips initially, a third round trip was added this June. Ridership jumped 200%. Further investments of Federal stimulus and State funds will reduce running times from the current schedule.
- Illinois-Missouri (Chicago-St. Louis, 284 miles). Illinois and Amtrak have offered two round trips on this corridor up until 2008 when service frequency was doubled. As we heard from Illinois State Representative Elaine Nekritz at NOPRA’s November 15 public forum, ridership has increased dramatically since service frequency increased. (Representative Nekritz is a frequent user of this service.) Investments of stimulus funds, where work is now under way, will reduce travel time from the current five hour and 20 minute schedule to less than four hours. Much of the line will be upgraded to 100 mph.
- Capitol Corridor (San Jose-Oakland-Sacramento-Auburn, 168 miles). This is one of three "Amtrak California" corridors in a partnership between Amtrak and the State of California. Service has grown from three round trips to 16 round trips on the Oakland-Sacramento segment, seven round trips on the San Jose-Oakland segment. Ridership has grown to 1.4 million. This corridor and the other three are supplemented by Amtrak California intercity bus services operating over 23 routes that connect with trains with local transit systems at all cities and towns along the routes.
TBJ: Can you discuss development opportunities that will result around passenger train stations in Ohio?
DY: At our public forum in June, we heard from two businessmen who have had great success in real estate and business development around new / improved passenger stations. It has been proven in other markets that when you have improved passenger rail service, new business and residential development rapidly follows.
Representative Nekritz also talked about the new commercial development beginning around Illinois stations on existing routes as well as around planned new stations on the new Chicago-Quad Cities service. Ohio’s economic analysis of the proposed Ohio Hub modern passenger rail network predicts strong potential for growth around stations.
For the Toledo station, downtown development potential of over $100 million is forecast.
TBJ: Can you discuss the opportunity for new manufacturing business in Ohio to support this new industry?
DY: Ohio’s current industrial base has all of the skills to supply parts and final assembly of rail cars. In fact, a new passenger rail car builder has already announced their intentions to open a passenger rail car assembly facility in the Columbus area. This company, and others like it, will need a complete supply chain to support them.
Additionally, there are already approximately 147 existing Ohio based freight rail industry suppliers that could possibly expand into the passenger rail market. However, it is also been proven over the years that if the passenger rail car builder does not have direct access to the passenger route system, it puts that rail car builder at a competitive disadvantage. If these car builders cannot locate on the passenger route system, they will almost assuredly move to another location where they can have direct access.
Therefore, without a healthy rail passenger system in Ohio, the final assemblers of rail cars will not locate here. Without the assemblers being here, the parts suppliers are also at a market access and logistically competitive disadvantage.
TBJ: What impact will investments in passenger rail in Ohio have on the rail freight industry?
DY: If done in collaboration with the rail freight industry, investments in rail infrastructure to create improved passenger rail service greatly benefit the rail freight industry. As stated above, infrastructure investment will also improve safety, track speeds, signaling, and overall route capacity. These will all be of benefit to the freight industry. Additionally, many of the short lines and regional lines have expressed a great deal of interest in having passenger trains on their routes because they realize the huge improvement it will bring to their route infrastructure.
A good example of how these infrastructure improvements can help both passenger and freight rail is an interesting project in the Chicago area at Englewood where two major rail lines intersect at a level crossing. Over 46 freight trains, 14 Amtrak trains, and 78 commuter trains use these tracks daily. Approximately $140 million is being spent to construct a grade separation where the north-south Metra Rock Island line will be elevated to cross over the Norfolk Southern main line that is also used by Amtrak. (This Norfolk Southern line is also a federally designated High Speed Rail Corridor.)
TBJ: Are there any other issues that you would like to discuss?
DY: The State of Ohio had made a strategic decision to give the Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati corridor its first priority. This is the most populated corridor without passenger service in the nation. Although that would not have been NOPRA’s first choice, we understand that, without the success of passenger service in this corridor, the opportunities for improved and expanded service on corridors in northwest Ohio – including Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland, Detroit-Toledo (including Detroit Metropolitan Airport), and Toledo-Columbus – will be delayed for a long, long time. Therefore NOPRA and other interested parties have to advocate for improved passenger service all over the State of Ohio. NOPRA understands that the 3C corridor is only that first step in an already articulated plan to increase passenger transportation options throughout Ohio.
Governor-elect Kasich has been very vocal regarding his opposition to the Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati corridor service. However, it is not clear whether Mr. Kasich understands how much of this investment will be made in rail infrastructure that will improve both freight and passenger service. Approximately two-thirds of this money was already planned for infrastructure improvements that would help both freight and passenger rail service, improving route capacity, increasing track speeds, and improving safety. Also, if the governor and his new administration are uncomfortable using the funds to start new service, perhaps the funds could be used to improve the infrastructure and upgrade service on the Ohio portion of the Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland corridor that already has a ridership base but has the opportunity for greatly expanded ridership.
Toledo already has the highest ridership of any station in Ohio. Ridership at the Toledo station increased by 21% between 2009 and 2010 year to date, so an improvement in frequency and service would undoubtedly create even more significant increases in ridership in northwest Ohio.
Governor-elect Kasich has also mentioned his desire to use the $400 million allocated to Ohio for the Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati corridor for freight rail infrastructure improvements or for highway improvements. As already stated, approximately two-thirds of this money was already planned for infrastructure improvements that would help both freight and passenger rail service, improving route capacity, increasing track speeds, and improving safety. As the grant is currently structured, it cannot be used for highway improvements other than perhaps for highway / rail crossing safety improvements. Also, if Ohio does not desire to use the money allocated to us, other states have already said they would be glad to take our allocation.
It is imperative that we understand that this move to improve passenger rail service is a move to improve transportation infrastructure. This is something that Federal, State, and local governments in the United States have advocated and supported since the early 1800s. Improved transportation infrastructure for the movement of both goods and passengers leads to improved economic growth. The expressed concern that passenger service will be operationally subsidized is accurate. However, all forms of transportation and transportation infrastructure are subsidized in the United States; sometimes those subsidies are more apparent than at other times. For example, highway user fees, including the gas tax, currently only cover 58% of all highway expenditures. Additionally it should be noted that 15 states currently partner financially with Amtrak to provide passenger train service. This includes the neighboring states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Other Midwestern States are moving rapidly to improve their passenger service – both with and without Federal assistance. Those states include Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. If we do not keep pace, those states will develop service and route patterns that may not coincide with the best interests of Ohio and may make it difficult for us to participate in multi-state service patterns in the future. For example, Michigan just announced plans to spend over $100 million to increase speeds from 79 mph to 110 mph on the 118 miles between Dearborn and Kalamazoo. This investment includes infrastructure improvements in track, bridges, and signal systems.
I have been associated with railroading in Ohio since 1981. For the first time since the Ohio tax initiative to support improved passenger rail service was defeated in 1982, the Federal government is genuinely supportive of improved passenger rail service. We must support these efforts to improve passenger service now, or risk waiting another generation (or more) before we can see a viable transportation alternative for moving people.
It must be understood that, while it is our long-term goal to have high speed passenger trains in Ohio that rival the speed and service of the European and Japanese trains, this will not happen overnight. Unless we wish to take a similar initiative to the construction of the Interstate Highway System, which created totally new rights of way and totally new infrastructure, we will not have those types of trains in the foreseeable future. (Even then, it took almost two generations to come close to completing the interstate system.) However, we can provide a competitive alternative to highway and air transportation for shorter and middle-distance routes with well planned and correctly executed infrastructure and service improvements.
As we learned in our November public forum with State Representative Nekritz, the best way for us to gain a priority for expanded and improved passenger rail service in Ohio is through a grass roots effort targeted at the State legislature. These local coalitions must include mayors, city councils, county commissioners, economic development officials, regional planners, transportation officials, college and university presidents, as well as private businessmen.