ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul Weiss, a Cumberland resident, is a founding member of the Maine Rail Transit Coalition.
CUMBERLAND — Though not surprising, it is disturbing to hear skeptics of the Downeaster.
The automobile and bus lobby have been trying to kill rail service for years. The process of eliminating railroads was conceived by National City Lines Bus Company, General Motors, Firestone and Standard Oil over 65 years ago when they purchased most U.S. urban trolley systems, and quickly dismantled them, removed the rail and replaced the system with urban buses.
They effectively removed the most efficient, cleanest, least polluting method of urban travel in the world at the time, replacing it with inefficient, polluting and high cost buses.
The federal government sued these companies in the early 1950s for collusion and conspiracy to monopolize the transportation field. The government won, and the companies paid a whopping $1,000 fine.
Here we are today with an inefficient, costly and polluting system based on autos and highways and more pavement.
A Maine Voices column by Jonathan Harris on Feb. 10 ("Rail service improvements' will turn out to be waste of money") continues this assault, using the same old logic. He writes: "My guests roam the state. ... They see Pemaquid Point one day and climb Mount Battie the next." Rail will not serve them, he says. Funny, I have not seen any bus travel to those places either.
He questions the value of a train to Brunswick, yet the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority has studied the issue for years and concluded it will open up year-round service, from midcoast to Rockland and even leverage other projects like the Mountain Division line in western Maine.
The Maine Rail Transit Coalition is currently launching a campaign to promote commuter rail service from Portland to Auburn/Lewiston on the former St. Lawrence and Atlantic line. This could eliminate thousands of car miles.
The Downeaster has been the most successful part of Amtrak in the U.S., so why does Mr. Harris continue to doubt? Rail is long-term investment; buses are a short-term fix. They must be compared in that realm.
• Cost: Buses appear to be cost-effective, yet do the equivalent roadway damage of hundreds of cars. Buses pay very little each year (a few thousand dollars) in highway costs, much less than their damage. This is why fares are low – taxpayers are subsidizing them. Railroads pay 100 percent of their rail bed maintenance and ownership, an inherently unfair equation and makes buses only seem cheaper.
• Rolling stock costs: Buses are cheaper to initially purchase than railcars or engines, however when we calculate their actual life cost we find otherwise. Bus service life is 12-15 years compared to 30-plus years for rail. The former Sunday River ski train and the Maine Eastern Railroad use amazingly clean cars that are over 50 years old.
• Fuel Savings: Railroads typically beat the efficiency of buses when total passenger and speed numbers can be compared. Fully electric or diesel/electric hybrid engines are up to 95 percent more efficient than straight gasoline engines. Friction further reduces efficiency and each tire takes 22 gallons of fuel to produce.
• Pollution: Diesel buses cause more pollution. Natural gas buses are more efficient and pollute less, but do not even match an electrified train and there are no natural gas stations in the midcoast.
• Speed and weather: Maine's buses have inherent delays with snow and ice. For 100 years, rail lines have been operating in icing and snow, with fewer issues. Buses get snarled in traffic and have to get off the highway to pick up and drop off, rail terminals are the destination.
• Economics: Rail stations are potential areas of economic development. Bus stations are seen as temporary, with few examples of private investment. Public investment in railway services is leveraging tens of millions of dollars in private investment at the Brunswick and Saco rail stations.
• Ride and comfort: Trains win hands down. Stations are at loading level (no handicap access issues with kneeling buses). The ride itself is inherently smoother and quieter. Surveys put rail travel as the most comfortable form of transportation, including airlines.
• Benefits to freight: Upgraded track is highly beneficial to freight service, allowing heavier and larger cars at higher speeds. This takes thousands of tractor trailers off Maine's already fragile and damaged roadways.
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