Train plan a good start, now, who will do the heavy lifting to bring it?
May 1st, 2008 at 12:34am Chuck Sweeny
Some quick thoughts on the NICTI commuter rail report that was delivered Wednesday by TransSystems, the group’s pricey consultant.
Ahem. Three million U.S. and state tax dollars to discover what we already knew all along? Yep. That’s how much we are spending to learn the obvious — the route with the most ridership is the one that goes through Belvidere, Marengo, Huntley! Ya think?
Tell me, where do I go to sign up to be a consultant?
Well, duh! Belvidere is where this conversation began way back in 1997. I know, I was there. Dick Durbin was a newly-minted U.S. senator who came to Chrysler City to listen to area leaders discuss their belief that the region needed commuter trains. Chicagolanders had begun moving to Boone, continued to work in the burbs and downtown Chicago, but were chagrinned to learn there was no commuter train close by.
Now, the report that was issued has some good points, but the elephant in the room is the sloooooowwwww speed. People need to get to downtown Clhicago in approximately the same time as it takes them to drive. And that’s faster than 2.5 hours. For most of us, that’s just too long. Second, many people won’t undergo the hassle of transfering to another train in the Elgin area to get to Chicago.
What’s needed is through train service to Union Station, whether that’s by contracting with Metra to run the trains out here, or by securing running rights and operating the trains ourselves.
However, all this is going to require a big local committment, funding-wise, because the U.S. government is in the hands of the road lobby, right up to the secretary of transportation, Mary Peters. And if John McCain is elected president, you can forget about any money for passenger rail. He’s solidly against it! Don’t know what the Hillster and Barack would do about rail money — they’ve not said word one about it.
In states where new commuter train services have been built, voters have enacted statewide sales taxes to pay for the services. The taxes range from a quarter percent to one percent. New trains are rolling in Salt Lake City, Portland, Denver, Houston, Alberquerque and many other cities.
We’ve pretty much maxed out our sales tax in Rockford and Machesney Park, although voters could conceivably favor a quarter percent tax for a decent and fast commuter service to Chicagoland.
What I’m curious about is how committed local leaders are to moving the train down the track. Will they do the heavy lifting needed to advance this idea? I mean, they’ve been promising for years that the train is just five years away. And it’s still true today. It’s always five years away. Waiting for the train around here is like Waiting For Godot.
I’m pretty sure we won’t get much help from the state of Illinois and I’ll be surprised if our legislative delegation in Springfield expends energy on commuter rail. They’ll provide lip service and shout “Choo Choo!” and that’s the extent of their support.
It will be up to city and county leaders, Boone County Chairwoman Cathy Ward, Belvidere Mayor Fred Brereton, Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey and Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen to get this commuter train from its current HO gauge model to the real, lifesize McCoy.
Of course, the federal government’s hostility toward passenger rail could change in January, especially if Democrats increase their majorities in the House and Senate. Durbin, the Senate majority whip, is the second most powerful senator in the land, and he’s a strong advocate for rail service. It was Durbin, remember, who initiated the move to return Amtrak service to northern Illinois. Note: the Quad Cities people are far ahead of Rockford and Belvidere when it comes to making a united case for Amtrak service.
There’s no reason why we can’t do what NICTI members suggest and use the Belvidere route for both Amtrak and commuter trains. That’s what happens in Los Angeles, where you can board one of Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliners, or a MetroLink commuter train, with a common ticket.
Entry Filed under: trains, buses, Uncategorized
12 Comments Add your own
1. redrover | May 1st, 2008 at 10:18 am
It’s time for a reality check on this train boondoggle.
Mr. Sweeny is right about the basic uselessness of the plan as it now stands. It would be just too slow.
The Metra trip to Downtown Chicago currently takes at least 1 hour and 10 minutes from Big Timber and about 35 minutes from Bensenville
http://www.metrarail.com/Sched/md_w/mdw_wki.shtml
According to the article published in todays RRStar,
“It would take just over an hour to get from Rockford to Elgin and 95 minutes to get to Bensenville.”
http://www.rrstar.com/news/x914621510
Add in the time it takes to transfer and you are looking at 2.5 or more hours, just as Mr. Sweeny has said.
But there is another bigger problem with this plan: it does not provide transportation to the most popular Chicago destination, O’Hare Airport.
Take a look at the Van Galder bus company schedule to ORD versus its schedule to downtown Chicago.
Van Galder runs 17 buses every day from Rockford to ORD
http://www.coachusa.com/vangalder/ss.details.asp?action=Lookup&c1=Rockford&s1=IL&c2=Chicago+O%27Hare+Airport&s2=IL&resultId=91236&order=&dayFilter=&scheduleChoice=&sitePageName=%2Fvangalder%2Fss%2Eohareairport%2Easp&cbid=786339555151
and only 5 buses per day to Downtown Chicago
http://www.coachusa.com/vangalder/ss.details.asp?action=Lookup&c1=Rockford&s1=IL&c2=Chicago&s2=IL&resultId=91422&order=&dayFilter=&scheduleChoice=&sitePageName=%2Fvangalder%2Fss%2Edowntown%2Easp&cbid=970986329336
Clearly, most people travelling to Chitown are really headed for ORD, but this train proposal would not serve them.
Nevertheless, the folks at the Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative propose spending about $247 million to get the rail line ready and another $10 million a year to operate this line that serves only a small fraction of the Chicago-bound passenger traffic.
Wouldn’t it be better to shoot for a high speed rail connection directly to ORD, where there are CTA trains to downtown leaving every 10 minutes or so with connections to many intermediate and stations not served by Metra?
As it stands, the only people that stand to profit from this proposal are the contractors and laborers who would build it, and the politicians, of both parties, who would earn campaign contributions from those firms and labor unions, … and, oh yeah, the eggheads who earned $3 million for producing this flawed proposal.
2. Leatherneck | May 2nd, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Redrover is right. It is still 2.5 hours to downtown Chicago as the crow flies. Nothing short of a Star Trek-style teleporter is going to make that trip faster and bring Chicago closer. But don’t worry, they will want to do a study on that next.
A high-speed rail will cost not millions but Billions of dollars. That is real money. There aren’t enough riders to offset the cost of that. You could put the whole city on the train every morning and it wouldn’t pay for itself.
Voters will not go for another “small” tax increase when time after time the revenue has been mis-appropriated and siphoned off. It is an issue of trust. What happened to all this money Mayor Pothole wanted for city roads? If the local governments can’t fix (or cannot AFFORD to fix) the roads in Rockford, how on earth can they give us high-speed rail service?
3. redrover | May 3rd, 2008 at 5:07 pm
In my opinion, the way to build ridership for a mass transit link to Chicago is to build on what already exists — bus transit.
For a small fraction of what it would cost to build this rail boondoggle, one could perhaps create bus-only lanes on I-90 and subsidize bus transport to Dubuque/Galena and other points west of here.
Once folks get used to using a reliable and fast bus service, one can begin to look at rail, or light rail or some other higher density option
4. hokumboy | May 3rd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
How ’bout some regular shuttle busses to and from Harvard or Elgin ?
5. Chuck Sweeny | May 4th, 2008 at 12:31 am
People don’t like to ride buses. Period. We need a fast, reliable rail system and eventually we will have one, because the days of cheap gas are over — and they are not coming back.
6. hokumboy | May 4th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I guess you’re right about the first point. Busses have always gotten a bad rap. Trains, even Metra, are roomier and at least give the impression of being faster. Leaving Rockford at the old IC depot, with another couple of stops at Perryville and Irene and ending up in Chicago would be an ideal commuter route for the line.
I know you’re right on your second point. $5 gas is just around the corner. Manzullo’s outdated ideas on our energy policy are just that, outdated. We’ve got to quit talking about scraping the bottoms of our oil barrels and seriously work on alternatives. It’s not as though no one knew that these energy problems would arise.
The suspension of the gas tax, which is supported by Manzullo, McCain, and Clinton, is one lame excuse for action. It rates right up there with the “tax rebate” con the Bush Administration calls “incentive” or that wonderful idea that a Riverwalk will bring peace and prosperity to Rockford. We’ve got to develop and return to alternatives to our dependence on the automobile as our means of travel. And, we’ve got to do it now.
7. Leatherneck | May 4th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Now we are seeing that ethanol is not the panacea that everyone thought it would be, so what can we do? Hydrogen is still a long way off. Many RPS school busses run on propane; I am curious how many of the Van Galder fleet run on propane. I don’t know.
We could open up a couple new oil refineries. But the problem is “who wants an oil refinery in their backyard?” There are congressmen who pay lip service to a better energy policy, but would be foaming at the mouth if an oil refinery were proposed in the Chicagoland area.
Chuck is right that there is sort of a “stigma” attached to busses. But honestly, if you sit on any mode of transportation for over an hour, your derriere will be sore…and that includes planes and trains. If you have ever flown AirTran, you know what I’m talking about.
8. hokumboy | May 5th, 2008 at 9:44 am
We’re toying with the idea of taking Amtrak from Chicago to New York this summer. It appears the cost would would be a little more than our gas, about $50, but if we drove we’d prob use a motel half way there. So, that would be an extra $200. Adding car rental once we get there it would be a bit more expensive for the trip but it’s a night trip and they do the driving.
We’re tempted.
Has anyone taken a train trip of this type recently?
9. redrover | May 5th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Van Galder has made a pretty good business by supplying bus transit to people. I think that there is a class-mediated fear and loathing of bus transit among some people, but if you provide a good product, people will change their minds.
With any sort of mass transit, getting passengers from the terminals to their final destinations also has to be figured into the equation.
So what if Joe Laptop and Sally Briefcase take a fast train to Big Timber but then have to dilly-dally around to get to their final suburban destination because they don’t have their cars!
10. Wester Wuori | May 5th, 2008 at 11:49 am
These forums are exhausting. Couple of quick hit-and-run statements.
*Metra Rail would change this community overnight and for the better. Dollars would travel both ways. We’d have people living in Rockford, spending money here, but earning Chicago and suburban salaries. That increases our local tax base and gives us more ability as a community to improve our infrastructure, schools, recreation, etc. And, we’d have people who live in Chicago and the suburbs coming out to Rockford to take advantage of golf courses, MetroCentre, Coronado, Anderson Gardens, shopping, etc. Again, all adding to the tax base which we then use to build a better community.
Metra is cheap, clean, efficient and so much less stressful than driving into Chicago, worrying about gas, tolls, parking etc. I’ve taken it dozens of times from Elgin over the years and it’s a great way to travel.
*Buses are more susceptible to traffic issues, weather, etc. and are not nearly as quiet and comfortable as rail. Say what you want, but express buses are not the answer.
*As to the Amtrak question. I’ve taken Amtrak from Chicago to both Washington and Philadelphia over the years and it’s a fairly nice way to travel. Coach seats are roomier than on a plane. But, service is spotty, food is not that great and it’s a lonnnnng ride. Be ready for that.
*One final thought on a theme that always seems to dominate these discussions and that’s how tax dollars are spent. I’m a homeowner in Rockford so I do have skin in the game. Bottom line: We have to spend money to make money. I’m OK having my taxes raised if I know that it’s going to fund something that will make our community better and raise my standard of living. Burying our heads in the sand and refusing to take risks is what brought our community to the precarious state it is in right now. Don’t liike the way government is spending our money. Then, as voters, we have a responsibility to vote ‘em out.
11. Leatherneck | May 5th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Some good points, Wester. But do you really think Chicagoans are going to come to Rockford to shop and enjoy our cultural attractions? You are an optimist; we need more optimists.
12. Wester Wuori | May 6th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Actually, Chicagoans, and I mean suburbanites too, already do spend lots of money here. Talk to the RACVB and they’ll tell you it’s not Rockford residents that are filling up Magic Waters and Anderson Gardens, to name a couple. Aldeen Golf Course is an incredible bargain, by suburban golf standards, and they’d tell you they get lots of out of towners as well. Efficient Metra rail would increase that overnight.
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