By Jim Sack
Rally for Rail was big success today. Somewhere around 400 people jammed the Baker Street Train Station to hear speaker after speaker sound upbeat notes about the possibility of Fort Wayne being a midway stop between Chicago and Cleveland for trains cruising at 100 MPH and then some.
The speakers all told a few jokes, encouraged action on the part of the crowd and discussed the coming steps in the process.
Tom Hayhurst, candidate for Congress, stood next to the honorable Congressman Mark Souder, Souder spoke in glowing terms about the project and sincerely complimented Hayhurst for his leading role in organizing this event and many before and quite a few yet to come. It was a remarkable show of unity and the appreciation was returned by everyone in the audience. Geoff Paddock, a Democrat and director of Headwaters Park Alliance, also spoke in very appreciative terms of the role Congressman Souder has played and must still play in bringing this important economic development project to Fort Wayne.
High speed rail is more than just a convenient way to get to Michigan Avenue shopping or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Should the project be approved in the coming year it will mean quite an economic shot in the arm for Fort Wayne. Suffice it to say that we all know stories of towns fading to nothing when the railroad by passed them.
High speed rail in Indiana will create many hundreds of construction jobs to redo the lines between Fort Wayne and Chicago or Cleveland. It will create on-going jobs to service the trains, passengers and equipment. It will allow quicker access to the center of Chicago than airport connections now afford. It will be much safer, less taxing and much more comfortable than fighting US30 traffic. You can text while riding… It will be a boon for the area, and for the nation it will mean greater travel efficiencies and must less dependence on foreign oil. Oh, to take that ace out of Iran’s hand.
So, Congressman Souder led the cheer today and was cheered in return. Bill Brown, county commissioner was there. Tom Smith of city council was there, as was Tom Didier. Economic development leaders were in abundance. Indiana State Senator Tom Wyss added his voice. State Representative Win Moses was prominent. Many other community leaders were there. Unfortunately, the mayor was not in attendance. His absence was noted by more than a few people.
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I will be the wet blanket. All of these supporters most likely do not ride the rails now. IF the rail system comes to existence, many of these supporters will make one ride and that will be it. Then the taxpayers will again be stuck trying to maintain an inefficient government program – a la Amtrak – and a system of rusting rails. Do we really think this will be a transportational transformation?
I’m leaning with Steve on this one as well. I’ve seen the decline of rail service back in Philly…from the (at least profitable) PRR to the Penn-Central fiasco, and finally to the AMTRAK clusterf$ck.
That area did away with MOST of the inter-urban “short” lines for the mega mover…and it’s been bleeding money since the 70s.
If one does a quick history of THIS region, you’ll find that passenger rail service dated back to pre-civil war days (Ft. Wayne was a stop on the expanding PRR back then).
Now, it’s time to reinvent the wheel…yet again.
This area should have NEVER let passenger rail leave…but I suppose it wasn’t up to the PEOPLE in the first place, but the politicians and the robber barons of the day.
Be nice to see service again (here), but it should have NEVER left in the first place.
This is a great idea. While we’re throwing stimulus money around like drunken sailors, THIS project deserves the funding.
As for Mayor Tom, he may have had a little trouble getting to the meeting……navigating the one-way streets in the area. Last time King Henry encountered a one-way street, he spent 1.8 million dollars of our money to get it “fixed”.
I am looking forward, in my dotage, to ride the rails to Chicago with my grandchildren to show them the aquarium and a few other noteworthy attractions, one at a time. I also have a few thoughts about Toledo: the glass museum is striking. But, as the founder of Germanfest, I know and did bring a couple thousand people here by excursion rail a decade or so ago. Germanfest will benefit by group excursions, as might Three Rivers, if they are still around. Same with Appleseed, etc. So, it can be two way, not just a bunch of nostalgics soothing their egos. I look forward to many rides. The question is whether the various city marketeers (CVB, DID, the Alliance, the festivals, etc.) can figure out how to bring people to FW. Shouldn’t be that hard. I did it without a budget. And, Doug is right. Now that we have spent a couple million on Calhoun to open it southward one would think the mayor would not have an excuse for missing this meeting.
And, Tom Smith has a very good idea: linking Fort Wayne to Indy via Muncie. Hell, you lunatics in blue could ride down as a group, revel in the beer car and not have to worry about a ticket.
While I’m in favor of high-speed rail I’m on the side of ambivalence since I’ve yet to take the time to properly research the subject.
From a few bits and pieces I have read, it is mostly about running Amtrak trains a little faster on existing freight lines. That’s not high-speed rail.
If this is going to be yet another guberment ran enterprise, in spite of any benefits, I would be completely opposed. We the people spent about $32 subsidizing the cost of the typical Amtrak passenger in 2008. It’s an on-going failure.
The government cannot run anything successfully, there’s no arguing that point.
Dan is correct. This is not the French bullet train (200km/h) or the German maglev (whoosh!). They are so far ahead with their systems. This is about passenger service at 70 mph on average to Chicago for most of us. The line through FW is proposed as the “highest” speed rail, top cruising speed of 110. Still, that is better than the 45mph average by car to Chicago, much safer and easier. I look forward to it, just as I enjoy trains in Germany, Romania, Russia, Italy and Ukraine. It is a start. At 70mph I can get to downtown Chicago in about two hours. Takes me almost three by car given the proliferation of lights on 30. It would also be nice to take the train to New York or other points farther east from Cleveland.
Riddle me this… Is this a government ran operation?
I believe so, construction paid for by the taxpayer, subsidized by the taxpayer.
Aren’t trains are more vulnerable to terrorism than planes? You can’t hijack a train, but you can certainly sabotage the track. We’d have to figure out a way to secure thousands of miles of track before we increase our dependence on rail.
Robert, well, actually, our ports are the most vulnerable given that less than 10 percent of what comes into the country is examined. So, since those containers go on trucks, as well as rail, I would guess that truck and rail are more susceptible than air where a higher level of examination occurs.
Anyone wondering if this is a boondoggle or no should take the time to read very well researched analysis at Indiana Policy Review. First, the job creation number is at best a hunch, at most simple lie. In addition, even with rail infrastructure improvement the actual average speeds will be between 55 and 73 miles per hour. No one at the rail association has even attempted to answer such questions as where the main station will be (not at Baker Street as it no longer can serve such a purpose). For people that would ride the rail (using current data available) the average is 3-4 times per year. There is no existing critical analysis of ridership, the tickets will be what is called “premium”, costing more that current fares and again, no projections for maintenance. The rail would almost surely be run by Amtrak which has never made a profit and is already the recipient of large government funding. The $8 billion the Obama administration has pledged is for all such projects nationwide. As is our local government’s usual schemes, it is quite probable that the funds allocated by the Federal government will be small, the local officials will use it to propagandize the project while beginning work that will most certainly require taxpayer infusions to finish. It is very easy for local politicians to get a small group of supporters to show up for a rally that issues a press release usually printed or broadcast word for word with no serious investigative reportage to ensure the facts are as represented. Personally, I think it is just another project to keep Geoff Paddock busy with a possible appointment to another tax payer funded association. Ask yourself why Fort Wayne, with a Parks and Recreation department allows Paddock’s Head Waters group to run that one park, even kicking in some of their funding. If they are doing such a great job, why not privatize the entire department. I think Jim Sack has already entered his dotage. It is either a reduced capacity to think clearly about taxpayer burdens, or he is simply a shill for the association. Either way I could care less about his supposed leisurely and safe travel to Chicago. This will cost more than it’s supposed convenience will provide.
This proposition is designed to spend "stimulus' money that we, as a nation, do not have. There is no demand for public rail transportation between fixed stations in cities in Indiana and the surrounding states. Without a ridership demand, the trains will look like our city buses that also run without sufficient passenger demand. Of all places, the intelligent folks in Fort Wayne out to see through this fiasco.
Read an enlightening white paper on "Why Indiana should not build high speed rail" here.
First of all, "high speed" is a misnomer. The train will get you from point a to point b quickly, but it doesn't address the underlying problem of getting to the train, and then getting where you need to go after arriving at point b.
It's going to cost you to drive to the station, it's going to cost you to park at the station, it's going to cost you to ride the train, it's going to cost you to take a cab in Chicago unless your destination is with in walking distance of the station. Add up the time and money out of pocket, and I can drive my suburban to Chicago cheaper and I can go anywhere I need to while in Chicago. Add to that the enormous cost to taxpayers and you've got yourself another world class clusterfark courtesy of the US Government.
It's impractical, it's abhorrently expensive, and terribly innefficient, a Democrats dream come true.
Yep, they'll probably charge full speed ahead on this one, we can call it "The Boondoggle Bullet Express".
Spend, Spend, Spend. This is a joke as much as the Ethanol Scam. Billions of dollars spent and little to show for it.
Dear Devil Dog. Nope. Not a shill.