Jack Lessenberry: Return of the train

Jack Lessenberry

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Jack Lessenberry Special to the Record-Eagle

August 28, 2011

BY JACK LESSENBERRY, Columnist ---- The Record Eagle Sun Mar 18, 2012, 01:26 PM EDT

LANSING — Are the railroads part of our romantic past -- or an important and growing part of Michigan's transportation future?

The answer, it seems clear, is ... yes.

Former congressman Joe Schwarz, a lifelong railroad buff, is Gov. Rick Snyder's official and "highly unpaid" adviser on rail.

Earlier this year, he worked successfully on a deal to improve a portion of track on the route from Detroit to Chicago, so passenger trains can go faster. "Once we get this done, we can cut the time it takes to get to Chicago by train to about four hours," he said. "That's about the time it takes to get to (the airport) get through security, fly, and get to downtown Chicago, with less hassle and cheaper." That seems likely to appeal to a lot of people who put up with security checks, or long backups on I-94 to get there. Even now, 600,000 people a year travel from Detroit to Chicago by train, and a faster trip seems certain to attract more.

There are plenty of Americans who have romantic ideas about train travel, or who have experienced speedy and quiet bullet trains in Japan or fast and comfortable passenger trains in Europe.

So are we on the eve of a huge renaissance in passenger train travel? Unfortunately for railroad buffs ... probably not.

Amtrak may add a few routes, and a few sections of track may be improved, as in the stretch from Kalamazoo to Dearborn. But the real action is America's freight railroads. They own most of Michigan's 3,590 miles of track. They operate a business that is both profitable and growing, especially as the cost of gasoline soars.

"Railroads can move a ton of freight, on average, 423 miles per gallon of diesel fuel," said Robert Chaprnka, president of the Michigan Railroads Association.

That is extremely cheap, compared to the price of moving it almost any other way. While railroads have always been used to move large, heavy goods, they are increasingly moving things that used to be shipped mainly by truck. "The odds are much greater than they were a few years ago that the clothes on your back were shipped largely by rail," Chaprnka observed.

Michigan is serviced by 26 freight railroad companies, far more than the layman might expect, but they differ dramatically. They include four major intercontinental carriers -- CN, Canadian Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern -- but also a host of regional and "short line railroads," some of which operate only a few miles of track.

Most, however, are making money. So is there any chance that they might re-enter the passenger market anytime soon?

Frankly, no, for one major reason. "They couldn't make any money at it," said Chaprnka. A former state Senate staffer, he has been representing railroad interests to the Legislature since 1990.

While that makes him officially a lobbyist, the railroads in fact don't want very much from government. They wouldn't mind a little financial help in maintaining the grade crossings where roads and highways intersect the tracks, which are now their sole responsibility.

Otherwise, however, they are pretty self-sufficient, down to their own well-funded retirement system. There is something they really want to avoid, however: any attempt to re-regulate them.

The railroads were losing money back when they were required to provide passenger service, until a deal was brokered in 1980.

The government established Amtrak to provide passenger service, and private-sector freight railroads were deregulated and freed to concentrate on moving cargo, not people.

The result has been a financial bonanza for carriers and shippers alike. "When you adjust for inflation, the cost of moving cargo is half what it was in 1981 -- half," Chaprnka said.

It's conceivable that things might change someday if gasoline prices soar and there is increasing demand for rail travel. Logically, Amtrak might begin by offering more service. But there's another problem: People want to travel at as high a speed as possible.

For passenger trains, that means at least 79 miles an hour. Amtrak mostly operates on track owned by the freight railroads. And in some places, the condition is such that trains can travel safely no more than 25 to 40 mph. That has been the case with the Norfolk Southern-owned track between Dearborn and Kalamazoo.

Upgrading the track might seem the easy and logical solution, but that is hugely expensive.

Three years ago, a study co-authored by an analyst for the Federal Railroad Association put the cost of doing that at between $26,000 and $60,000 a mile.

That doesn't mean passenger railroad travel doesn't have a future; it is just that things are more complex than they seem.

These days, the nation's freight railroads are making money; adding employees, most of whom are well-paid; and doing more business. There's little sentiment for requiring them to carry passengers. But it might be reasonable to ask them to contribute more to maintaining the tracks to a higher standard.

Train travel is far cheaper and more environmentally friendly by far than gasoline-powered vehicles. The day could yet come, quicker than we expect, when more passenger travel may make sense.