Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 2, 1995 TAG: 9502020038
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS AND ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A conductor's call may be premature, but preliminary results of a state-sponsored study show that passenger rail service between Bristol and Washington or Richmond could be economically practical.
Such service could break even by the year 2007 and begin paying for itself by 2012, Leo Bevon, director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, told a state Senate subcommittee Wednesday morning.
The state announced the passenger-service study in October. The service has been pushed by state and local officials from communities along its proposed route, including Roanoke Mayor David Bowers.
``It's obviously good news,'' Bowers said. ``The initial findings support our contention there's not only a great interest, but [the service] could be a commercial success.''
The General Assembly requested the study in 1993 and gave Bevon's department $250,000 last year to pay for it. The department contracted with Frederic R. Harris Inc., a Fairfax consulting firm, for the actual work.
Alan Tobias, a senior rail transportation engineer for the state, explained that the consultants looked at eight possible ways to provide passenger service. The scenario that looks most feasible, he said, involves the scheduling of two northbound and two southbound trains per day, operating in the morning and the afternoon. Southbound trips from Washington and Richmond would merge in Lynchburg for the trip to Roanoke and Bristol. Northbound trips from Bristol would split in Lynchburg for either Washington or Richmond.
The cost of buying the rolling stock needed for the service - four trains - was estimated at $41 million, Tobias said. In addition, he said, additional investment would have to be made in passenger stations and train-storage facilities.
Bevon told the Senate Finance Committee's transportation subcommittee that an estimated 532,000 passenger trips could be made in the first year on all four trains, bringing in $18.5 million in revenue. The train service would be cheaper for passengers than operating their own automobiles, Bevon said.
The study proposes ticket costs of 17 cents per mile based on the current average Amtrak ticket price, Tobias said. At that rate a one-way ticket from Roanoke to Washington, 225 miles, would cost $38.25; to Richmond, 180 miles, $30.60; and to Bristol, 150 miles, $25.50.
A new type of tilt rail car would be used for the proposed service, allowing for higher speeds without having to rebuild curves along the route, Tobias said. The tilt cars, he said, would take six hours and 10 minutes to go from Bristol to Washington, compared with a 10-hour trip using conventional Amtrak equipment.
Tobias said the study included extensive surveying of the public's transportation needs. For instance, researchers recorded license tags at five places on Interstate 81 and mailed the owners of the vehicles questionnaires seeking information about their travel preferences.
The preliminary figures reported to the legislators will be reviewed and refined as the study continues, Tobias said. When the study was begun, the state estimated it would take 12 to 15 months to complete.
If the finished study finds the service feasible, a second phase would more accurately determine costs, liability insurance needed and what conflicts the service might pose to freight traffic, Tobias said.
Norfolk Southern Corp., over whose tracks the service would operate, has not been warm to the idea. NS Chairman David Goode has said he doubts there's a need for the passenger service, and NS executives have pointed out the railroad is in the business of hauling freight, not people.
Questioned by the senators about Norfolk Southern's position, Bevon said the railroad views the state as ``unwelcome guests at this point.''
Bill Schafer, NS director of strategic planning, said he had not seen the information presented to the General Assembly and could not comment on it. NS had met with the state and its consultants in Roanoke to provide some information for the study and is waiting for a briefing on the consultants' findings, he said.
NS discontinued passenger service in Roanoke in 1971. Amtrak operated trains through Roanoke from 1975 to 1979.
Proposed passenger service between Washington and Atlanta that would pass through Roanoke and Bristol received high marks in a 1992 Amtrak study, but the government-run passenger rail company lacked the money to start the service, which would have required a government subsidy.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1995
by CNB