The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
Business and community leaders need to start lobbying now for higher-speed trains to South Hampton Roads, a rail advocate told a gathering of the Downtown Norfolk Council on Wednesday.
Although a state study on passenger service will not be released for several weeks, businessman Brad Face, a founder and co-chairman of Virginians for High Speed Rail, said, "I'd immediately start making noise."
The political momentum for expanding fast trains out of Washington is focused south through Richmond and Petersburg then on to North Carolina.
It's not on bringing it to Hampton Roads "because we haven't gotten our act together in Virginia," Face said.
"We have to redirect the political momentum," he said.
The federally designated Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor includes both North Carolina and Hampton Roads links.
The Obama administration has set aside more than $8 billion in federal stimulus money to start building a national high-speed train network and has proposed another $5 billion over five years.
Virginia has applied for stimulus money for the Washington-to-Petersburg link. The state is also requesting money in a second round of federal funding for a Hampton Roads connection.
"It's doable," said Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, a leader in the region for advocating for higher-speed rail. "It isn't a fantasy."
Face said: "Rail is going to happen. The question is: Is it going to happen here?"
Faced with shrinking revenue and growing maintenance needs, the state highway department has no money programmed to improve highways to Hampton Roads.
"This is all we're going to get in terms of transportation in the next 15 years," Face said. "If we're going to keep our commerce alive, it's going to be with this rail."
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is finishing a study on options for connecting the service to Hampton Roads.
A draft will be released this fall and public hearings will
be scheduled, said Jennifer Pickett, an agency spokeswoman.
The state's preliminary estimates range from $330 million to $844 million, depending on the route.
It has not been determined where a Hampton Roads line would go: along the freight railroad tracks that parallel U.S. 460 into Norfolk, on the current Amtrak line along Interstate 64 on the Peninsula, or both.
Speeds of up to 110 mph are proposed, up from a maximum of 79 mph on the Peninsula Amtrak service.
A split between South Hampton Roads and Peninsula leaders over high-speed rail has widened since the heads of seven Southside cities and counties agreed to push for a route south of the James River.
Virginians for High Speed Rail, the state's leading rail advocacy group, is urging decision makers to support expanding higher-speed service to both sides of Hampton Roads. Face suggested that the region also send a unified message or else it could jeopardize the chances of getting funding.
Face said he personally supports improved rail service to both sides of the James, with higher-speed rail on the Southside and improved frequency and reliability of the current Peninsula train service.
Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com
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DO WE HAVE A MANAGEMENT PROBLEM?
The Virginia Department of Transportation and their DRPT division have already spent several hundred million in public funds on track improvements for both Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads to carry freight containers from the Port. They claimed the spending was justified by public benefits to be gained. Now the same State DOT management tells us we need to spend hundreds of millions more to be able to carry passengers on short quick trains using the same publicly improved tracks. It sounds like we have a management problem here, more than it does a financial or philosophical problem. Idiots, make the private railroads repay the public for any public investment in their private freight rail improvements and then use those payments to pay for the passenger trains that truly do give the public a benefit. Governor Deeds or McDonnell, I trust you have a better plan than the current heads of Commonwealth transportation planning have had.
not quite the same
When someone can hijack a train, and slam it into a building, then we will need the same level of security. I have experienced HS rail, and it is wonderful. No waiting rooms, no weather delays, comfortable seating (along with all your luggage with no fees!), and all at a reasonable price. You don't know what you are missing.
Why not now.
We already have tracks from Newport News to Washington DC. Why not run a train to Washington DC and back every day now? The train could leave Newport News at 4AM and arive in Washington at 8AM. Then leave Washington at 7PM and return to Newport News at 11PM. You could have breakfast or dinner on the train. Driving from Norfolk or Virginia Beach to Newport News should be no proublem. There is no trafic at 4AM, and very little trafic at 11PM.
A history lesson
Airlines have been subsidized by the government for decades with government building airports and setting up and running the air traffic control system. The trucking industry has received the same deal with the government paying for the interstate system and all our local highways. What has the railroad industry gotten? Private industry pays for the construction and maintenance of all the miles of rails and they have built their own traffic control systems. All those highway railroad crossings? Those are built and maintained by private industry, not tax dollars. Amtrak pays a pittance for the use of private rails. On top of everything else, the railroads are highly regulated by the government, regulations that have hamstrung the industry when it comes to competing with both the trucking and air cargo industries. And yet, when it comes to fuel economy and efficiency when it comes to moving freight, railroads are the best way to go. If the railroad industry would have received the same assistance as the trucking and airline industries, America would already have a high speed rail system in place.
wrong
501(c)(3) prevents or limits organizations from some types of political activities.....it does not prevent them from lobbying or getting other to engage in political activities or engaging in lobbying on their behalf.
It is amazing how liberals only believe or except knowledge on a half scale basis.
you want it you write a check
Frankly it will never happen here because we are not on the direct route to sucking up to Washington and all the lobbiest.
As for how much more reliable trains are than other modes.... 2 fatal disaster recently don't inspire confidence in the traveling public.
I personally was trapped on an Amtrack for 18 hours traveling from Charleston, WV to Petersburg, VA. That train hit a cow, stopped for two hours waiting for the state police, got rolling again and hit a tow truck stuck on the tracks and were stranded another 4 hours. Had multiple stops to take on or let off additional passengers. Not exactly what I would call expedient.
Please bring high speed rail to HR!
This is exciting and I very much hope this happens! How nice will it be to jump on a train and go to DC without sitting in the horrible 64 and 95 traffic! Just think ... we will be able to hop a train and go to NYC too.
I hope our leaders will make this happen!! Stop spending money on highways and focus on the future.
Lets stick with the Eric Cantor idea
1) slam highspeed rail in the Nobama stimulus bill
2) later, praise the development of highspeed rail in VA resulting from Nobama's stimulus bill as a job engine generator and as a forward-thinking transportation plan for the area
3) still later, slam the Nobama stimulus bill demanding that uncommitted stim monies be cancelled
Whiplash perfected.
Just watch out ------
If that train isn't doing what Norfolk thinks it should be doing they'll padlock it and throw everyone off!
ya'll are missing the point
The point the guy in the article is trying to make isn't that the US SHOULD spend money on rail (as some of the posters seem to be arguing) but rather that the feds are already GOING to spend the money, and Hampton Roads is competing with NC for the Southeast's share. It really doesn't matter. The NC route has significant advantages over the Hampton Roads route. Among other things, passenger rail travel in NC has increased dramatically over the past few years (around 33%), has strong political, public and business support in the Triangle and Charlotte, is more cost-effective, and can take advantage of light rail's surprise success in Charlotte. Ya'll don't have a chance.