“I’ve been workin’ on the railroad, All the live long day. I’ve been workin’ on the railroad, Just to pass the time away. Don’t you hear the whistle blowing? Rise up so early in the morn. Don’t you hear the captain shouting ‘Dinah, blow your horn?’”
Quaint words from a bygone era, no doubt. Unfortunately, not everybody leaves the choo-choos back in the memories of childhood long ago. Oh no, there are those, especially politicians, that can’t keep trains a fond remembrance. They feel the need to play with trains, and therefore, they end up with the ultimate set, all funded with OUR money. That’s right- we really ARE workin’ for the railroad, only, you probably didn’t know it, and Dinah isn’t in your kitchen cooking up some grub, and, sadly, there’s no one strummin’ on that ole banjo…
But seriously, there they go again—the railroad promoters, that is. As sure as the seasons change, they’re coming at us for our support—and money—for their long-held dreams of restoring rail service here in New England, looking to return it to its once-mighty seat at the top of our transportation system. To me, this is all well and good, except it doesn’t work out here in the country. I’ve long maintained that public transportation—especially rail-based— works in urban areas, and works well. Here in the sticks, not so. There’s a reason why rail fell out of favor with the advent of the modern automobile and truck, along with America’s awesome Interstate Highway System: FREEDOM.
The ability to go where we want, whenever we want, and with who we want is something that people have long recognized and appreciated. Until now, that is. With gas prices where they are, there are undoubtedly those thinking about trading their individual ride for so-called “public” transportation. Not me. They’ll have to pry the steering wheel from my cold, dead fingers. Count me as one American who is still mired in the midst of a love affair with my automobile.
The July 14th Laconia Daily Sun carried a story (page 3) that stated,
“Given the high gas prices and the public’s desire for more transportation choices, New Hampshire’s rail enthusiasts are displaying ‘I think I can’ optimism when it comes to expanding passenger train service.”
The piece went on to announce a gathering of “rail advocates” that took place last week
“to discuss how increased passenger rail service could accelerate the state’s economy.”
Ooooh, doesn’t that sound exciting? And you just know it’s a good idea because, guess who’s pushing it? None other than that great and all-knowing leader that makes one immediately think of innovation and success: Michael Dukakis. I know what you’re thinking, “But Doug, Michael DUKAKIS? You mean the same guy that was the Governor of Massachusetts?” Yes, indeed. THAT Michael Dukakis.
Again from the Sun article:
“Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, the keynote speaker, will be joined by state Sen. Peter Burling, chairman of the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority, and Peter Griffin, president of the New Hampshire Railroad Revitalization Association.
‘This is a no-brainer,’ Dukakis said last week. ‘The highways don’t work anymore. We’re spending thousands of hours just sitting around.’”
Well there you go. What more proof do you need? The brain trust has spoken. Never mind that the answer to traffic congestion is highway expansion. No, for Dukakis and his fellow would-be conductors, instead, we’ll take transportation dollars and, rather than performing much-needed infrastructure work, we’ll fork it over to railroads. And of course, unlike roads, which get fixed by those who use them with the monies paid via fuel taxes and tolls, the railroads will forever need infusions of subsidies in order to stay afloat.
Their plan is to construct a rail route from Concord, NH down to Boston as described by The Nashua Telegraph in an article published this past Monday:
“The rail authority is working on a plan to spend an estimated $200 million to upgrade about 35 miles of existing railroad tracks between Concord and Lowell, Mass., build three train stations and fund a passenger rail service that would run between the capital and Boston. The trains would stop in Manchester, Bedford, Nashua and Lowell along the way and would be an invaluable kick-start to local economies in those towns and all along the route, according to proponents.”
It quotes Peter Burling and Governor Lynch, among others, on the cost:
“Burling wouldn’t hazard a guess what the budgetary needs might be, but said he would like to at least hire an executive director and a secretary as a start. Lynch said it remains unclear how capital and operating costs will be found to pay for the rail line. ‘We first need to do a rigorous economic analysis of all the costs and the potential sources of revenue for it,’ Lynch said. ‘With the capital costs alone, we’re talking in the hundreds of millions of dollars.’”
Ya think? This shouldn’t be a problem though, because New Hampshire’s got plenty of money, right?
In a December article in the Christian Science Monitor, reporter Colin Woodard wrote of Amtrack’s “Downeaster” that travels from Portland to Boston:
“By almost every measure, the service is a resounding success. Ridership and revenue have each grown by 20 percent this fiscal year, some of the highest rates in the nation. Customer-satisfaction rates are regularly the highest in the Amtrak system, where the Downeaster is seen as a model for expanding rail service elsewhere in the country. Proposed extensions of service farther up the Maine coast have the backing of state lawmakers and Maine Gov. John Baldacci.”
Except, the bad part:
“Yet the popular train still loses money – and may stop running altogether within two years, when a federal grant expires. ‘Pretty soon it’s going to be 2009 and the money isn’t going to be there to keep the train running,’ says Wayne Davis, of TrainRiders/Northeast in Portland, which advocates rail service. ‘It needs permanent funding.’”
In other words, if it was a private business, it would most likely go out of business.
The Sun article quotes Griffin:
“Expanded rail service could help boost declining attendance at events such as Motorcycle Week in Laconia or the NASCAR races in Loudon.”
Declining attendance at the NASCAR races? That’s news to me. Something tells me whether the Concord to Boston run becomes reality or not, I just don’t see “bikers” riding the train into town. Are we ready to toss millions and millions of dollars at a project based on such flimsy premises? I hope not.
One interesting thing I learned in my research for this post that I did not know: Michael Dukakis was the vice chairman of the board of directors of Amtrak under the Clinton administration. That explains a lot…
[Charlie Arlinghaus of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy wrote an excellent column on this topic published in Wednesday’s Union Leader. Click here.]
