Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 2, 1993                   TAG: 9309020218
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ABINGDON                                LENGTH: Medium

PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE A BAD IDEA, NS CHIEF SAYS

Norfolk Southern Corp. Chairman David Goode had a short answer Wednesday for politicians - including Roanoke Mayor David Bowers - hoping to revive passenger rail service in Southwest Virginia:

No.

"I think there's a role for passenger service," he said after speaking to an economic forum sponsored by Emory & Henry College and Roanoke-based Catawba Capital Management Inc. But "I think it's where the people are . . . where the volume of use" is.

"I don't believe that's in this corridor. But if the people are there, then passenger service should be developed. It should not be developed in a way that would restrict or hinder a fine freight transportation system."

Goode continued: "Passenger trains [that] run on the same lines as coal trains and [freight] trains . . . can be a serious disruption on the freight system," causing delays and slowdowns in an increasingly competitive rail environment.

Norfolk Southern owns and operates the primary rail lines stretching in all directions from its principal Virginia hub in Roanoke. Passenger service from Roanoke through the New River Valley and on to Wytheville and Abingdon almost certainly would be on NS lines.

Last month, state Sen. William Wampler, R-Bristol, said rail service from Washington to Richmond and Southwest Virginia using leased equipment could begin with no capital startup costs - and much sooner than any Amtrak service.

A proposal to open an Amtrak route from New York to Atlanta via Bristol is part of a 1992 Amtrak study. Although city officials along the way have endorsed the route, U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, and others have said they are concerned about the federal subsidy that would be required to implement the service. The Amtrak study estimates it will cost about $60 million, but Boucher said the actual cost likely will be greater.

Goode put it more plainly:

"Trust me, it will require . . . billions of dollars of government funding, one way or the other."

This week, Bowers and other mayors from Southwest Virginia and eastern Tennessee cities and towns sought support for their campaign from Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, whose city is preparing to host the summer Olympic Games in 1996.

Jackson was noncommittal. Still, Bowers has vowed to push his campaign to Washington, where he plans to meet this month with Virginia Sen. Charles Robb and Tennessee Sen. James Sasser. Bowers also hopes he can persuade several governors attending an Appalachian Regional Commission conference here next month to endorse his plan.

Bowers could not be reached for comment.

Bowers is persisting in his effort to revive rail service despite clear signals from federal authorities that Roanoke and Southwest Virginia are not likely routes for passenger rail service.

Last April, the Clinton administration announced its plans to earmark $1 billion for high-speed rail corridors across the country - none of which run through the Roanoke Valley or Southwest Virginia.