remember the rail? continued.
Posted by Thanh on January 14th, 2008
In September, finnegan reported that a “rail solution” to alleviate the congestion on I-81 was “wiped off the drawing board.” It appears now that there are some individuals and groups fighting to get it back on the board. I received this e-mail from a friend today:
Subject: [railsolution] Your town help overturn I-81 EIS
How much do you want to stop an 8-lane I-81???
Are you willing to go to your Bd. of Supervisors or city or town council members and ask them to join a suit to re-open the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which promises an 8-lane I-81?
RAIL Solution and numerous other groups are suing the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to reopen the Virginia I-81 Tier 1 EIS. As you may recall, the EIS violated the National Environmental Policy Act process when the FHWA arbitrarily ordered VDOT to exclude analysis for a multi-state rail alternative. The multi-state rail alternative is now being studied by Norfolk Southern and VA Department of Rail and Public Transportation because of the work of RAIL Solution members, who initiated legislation and got the General Assembly to pass the law requiring the freight rail study in 2006.
Now, we need local governments to join as co-plaintiffs. The best news is that being a co-plaintiff will cost you city nothing. The Shenandoah Valley Network and Coalition for Smarter Growth will cover all the legal expenses. You can view the legal “complaint” in pdf at the website of our sister organization, Shenandoah Valley Network: http://www.shenandoahvalleynetwork.org/PDF/I81Complaint–121707.pdf
You may call me or Stewart Schwartz at Coalition for Smarter Growth (just below) for more information. Stewart is our conduit to the attorneys for the case. We are also seeking localities and citizen organizations in Tennessee to join with us.
The deadline for easily joining the case as a co-plaintiff is February 14. That gives you just one or two meetings of your Bd. of Supervisors or Council.
If you will lead the effort in your community–just as individuals did to get us 47 local government resolutions supporting rail–I will supply you with RAIL Solution supporter names in your community…don’t expect someone else to do this for you.
Rees Shearer
Chair, RAIL Solution
276-944-5355
I’m not sure why the e-mail says “Tennessee” as I think they mean Virginia. Both RAIL Solution and the Shenandoah Valley Network are Virginia-based organizations.
The Shenandoah Valley Network’s website says that “A Shenandoah County resident and a coalition of conservation groups working in the northern Shenandoah Valley filed suit December 17 in federal district court to prevent the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration from implementing a plan to widen I-81 to eight or more lanes, an expansion to be funded by federal funds and tolls on cars and trucks.”
The website also had a letter from the Shenandoah County Administrator to Governor Kaine, the Secretary of Transportation, and VDOT asking that the State not move forward with the next phase of planning for widening I-81, but reopen the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement to better incorporate a rail study by Norfolk Southern. Norfolk Southern has proposed The Crescent Corridor, a $2 billion rail connector from Louisiana to New Jersey to move freight that is currently trucked.
I’ve heard a bit about how the Shenandoah Valley used to have a good rail system that took people up and down the I-81 corridor. I don’t know much about this history myself, but would be interested to learn more. There is a passenger rail service along part of the I-95 and I-66 corridors, its called Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and it goes between the Fredricksburg area, DC, and Manasas. The VRE is partially supported by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
Interestingly, I haven’t seen any mention from the aforementioned citizen groups about the TransDominion Express (TDX), which is a proposed passenger rail service crossing the Commonwealth based on the European model. However, there are currently no proposed stops, routes, or steering committee members from the Valley.
And I heard this on Insight today. There was some discussion on “highway gridlock” and trains.
And lastly, I leave you with this video that I found on the I’m Spatial blog; It compares the efficiency of cars versus buses on the highway. The principal can similarly be applied to trains. Please click to see video (I couldn’t figure out how to embed the video here).
The intermodal freight concept is designed to pull truck freight off the interstate and get it onto special rail cars. It will serve the entire length of I-81, which includes east Tennessee, as well as Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. We need a multi-state effort.
Norfolk Southern wants to do it with just their large customers, while the Rail Solution people say that they should open the intermodal to all trucking in an effort to get more trucks off of our interstate…and reduce/remove the need for taking property and paving 8 lanes through the valley.
I don’t travel on 81 nearly as often as I used to, but I will never forget seeing a tire fly off a tractor-trailer and into the windshield of the car in front of me.
I slammed on my breaks, as did all the cars behind me, narrowly avoiding a pile-up. I pulled off onto the shoulder to collect my wits, and looked over to see a hysterical mother screaming, and her son, unconscious the passenger seat, covered in blood, with a tire lodged in the windshield in front of him.
The truck kept driving down the road as if nothing had happened.
I challenge anyone reading this to find me one mile of 81 without shreds of cheap tires littering the shoulder and median.
Oh, and speaking of trucks, did you see these stories from this morning?
There is significant public funding to support intermodal rail – in an effort to get more trucks off of the interstate. There are also economic benefits, like these from a recent Roanoke Times story:
There was a time, not long ago, when a trip down the Valley on Interstate 81 was a pleasant, and scenic thing. When I-77 opened from Wytheville down into North Carolina, I-81 became the quick link between Miami and New York – and truck traffic multiplied.
I would love to be able to hop on a train and travel, drive my car right up on the train and let the conductor do the rest. I’d also love to be able to go to Staunton and Charlottesville on a train. Today when Interstate 81 was closed the traffic downtown was hilarious (only from the standpoint that those poor bastards had to check out all the cool stuff that they would normally miss).
Or drive you car onto a train. I work with a fellow who does this every May. He takes a train to the Florida Keys and drives back. It’s kinda peaceful for those two weeks. ;-)
I dug through the Rockingham County’s Comprehensive Plan (http://www.rockinghamcountyva.gov/showpage.aspx?pageID=237) and in Section II: Strategies, Policies and Actions, Strategy 10.4 Promote alternative modes to reduce load on local roadways it says:
- Encourage the use of rail by industry, and deference to new industries, that use rail instead of solely trucks.
- Encourage the continued and further use of local rail facilities for business, industrial and passenger service, including tourism functions. Encourage the coordination of adjacent land uses to best facilitate the maximum use of the
railroads.
- Encourage initiatives for public transportation and transit alternatives put forth by private sector or community groups, including public/private partnerships.
Harrisonburg’s Comprehensive Plan (http://www.ci.harrisonburg.va.us/index.php?id=896) says:
- To promote the extension of passenger rail service to Harrisonburg and various destinations.
I guess what I am seeing is that there is recognition that intermodal and passenger rail service would be a beneficial to the community. However, what I presume happens each time this and similar issues are brought up is that adequate funding becomes a huge barrier…
I wonder if there has been any estimates made on how much it would cost to run tracks along I-81 versus the cost of widening the road…
The old estimate to widen I-81 (star solutions) was $13 billion. The railway (Rail Solution) is estimated at $3.6 billion – it would put two high speed rail lines up the valley and take 50% of the truck traffic off of I-81. More here
News, current status and archive on rail:
http://www.railsolution.org/
I worked at a truck stop wehn I was in high school. On sundays several large freight companies out of North Carolina came through carrying freight to new york. Usually around 8 to 12 trucks for each company. On Monday, we got another couple of freight companies. Tuesday, some more. On Wednesday they were reversing order headed back. They were mostly headed up I-81 to New york State. We were almost continuously pumping fuel from 3 to 11 when we handed off to the late nigh shift who were a little slower. They then passed of to a day shift that pumped pretty much continuously. This was only one truck stop of several in the Valley and it was almost 20 years ago. Truck traffic has dramatically increased since then. Imagine if all those trucks going to the same place were loaded onto one train. The biggest loss would be jobs for long haul truckers, and fuel companies. The truckers would have to switch to short haul routes loading and offloading the trains, and the oil comapnies could just get lost. I hope that our law makers at least take the time to look into the rail option.
The biggest loss would be jobs for long haul truckers, and fuel companies.
My dad has been a “long haul trucker” for 25 years. How can you think that it’s not a lost to someones family when someones pay will be cut in half. I am just glad my dad doesn’t drive through this area very often. I really feel for the drivers that come up through the south. The people that work at the truck stops will lose jobs also. I can’t understand how you and anyone could think that would be a good thing.
The DNR ran this story today.
KBR was the Halliburton-connected company that wanted to turn 81 into an 8-lane superhighway with their “STAR solution.”
Open Intermodal rail freight wouldn’t eliminate trucking jobs. It would allow for better rested drivers getting off at the rail stops to deliver their freight. Check out the links I have provided and get educated.
Open intermodal would gather the “mom and pop” and independents at the stations, load their entire rig, and provide accommodations for them. In fact, if a trucker did it right, s/he could do longer hauls because they could log out and rest while the train does the long haul.
You could load in Harrisburg, go to sleep and unload in Knoxville to continue your haul. Something has got to happen. America can’t afford to burn fuel like we do to move freight, especially when better ways are available. It is time for everyone to stop protecting turf and start pulling for America. Otherwise we’ll be owned by the Chinese, on the payment plan to the Saudis, and shipping our kids off to fight oil wars to the highest bidder.
Bubby wrote something that I can agree with. Now only if he would name who the “highest bidder” is.
I didn’t say it would eliminate trucking jobs I said it would cut the amount of money they would be paid for a run.
I also went onto SHA for Maryland and didn’t see anything about the rail system going through Hagerstown. How does this work if the other states don’t agree.
Come on Baltimore Girl, there aren’t enough truckers to go around right now. The only way they get paid less is because they aren’t organized to defend their pay. That “independent” thing cuts two ways you know.
There is a $35 billion federal fund called the Railroad Rehabilitation
and Improvement Financing that is available to make loans to public rail partnerships to make this thing happen. In 2005 legislation was passed directing VDOT to get on the stick and start coordinating with other state transportation agencies to make intermodal work – I’ll be damned if I can find any sign of them doing what they have been directed to do.
For Marylanders the issue isn’t as noticeable because I-81 is such small portion of their interstate system. The other states should facilitate intermodal and bring Maryland along.
Again, here is a link to a 3 page document on the situation. And here is the Shenandoah Valley Network where you can see what our local people are doing.
Baltimore girl – Although I respect your concern for loss of job’s and the impacts on long haul truckers and their families, I don’t agree. I wish to suggest this for you to consider: If a railway is to be newly constructed or old railways upgraded the changes will not happen overnight. Once a proposed rail solution recieves support and funding, it would take years for planning (it would take years to plan an I-81 expansion as well). Once planned and designed it would take many more years still for the rail to be constructed/upgraded. Although it’d be hard to estimate how many years for the system to get off the ground and/or be completed, lets just make up a number and say that it could be 10-20 years (we’re looking for a solution to handle projected future traffic). By 10-20 years from now, or when the proposal is supported and funded, I presume that many current long haul truckers would be “in the know” and would have plenty of time to find other jobs whether related or unrelated to trucking or rail. And for young individuals who might have considered long haul trucking in the area being changed to rail, these individuals probably wouldn’t consider getting certified and trained to be a long haul trucker if they knew it wasn’t going to be lucrative anymore. For people like your dad, he might be retired by the time this proposal becomes a reality. This isn’t going to happen overnight.
In regards to truckers making less money, I don’t think that will happen either. Whoever current or to be truckers are, many of them will search for and find other job opportunities if they aren’t being paid enough. And I have to agree with Bubby – “That “independent” thing cuts two ways.”
And again in agreement with Bubby – “Something has got to happen. America can’t afford to burn fuel like we do to move freight, especially when better ways are available. It is time for everyone to stop protecting turf and start pulling for America.”