Passenger rail project worth some risk

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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The idea has been bandied about for decades. It's been a local Chamber of Commerce priority for years.

And with $230 million in federal support on the table, a prime opportunity to make an Iowa City-Chicago passenger rail line a reality has finally come.

We appreciate that Gov. Terry Branstad is casting a critical eye on the project, and can understand his reservations about greenlighting a projected operating subsidy given recent economic uncertainties.

But the passenger-rail service is an idea that already has endured years of scrutiny and consideration. We're not sure what's left to study.

And while there's no guarantee that rail proponents' ridership and economic impact projections will prove to be accurate, there never can be ironclad proof in new ventures. But that's not reason to pass on the project.

True to his word, when Gov. Branstad on Thursday unveiled his proposed budget for the next two fiscal years, it did not include funding for passenger rail. He's said he's skeptical about ridership and job-creation projections and recently told a Gazette reporter he thought it would be a “terrible mistake” to lock Iowa into the project, which requires a $20 million initial commitment with a projected $3 million annual subsidy.

“I guess my feeling is that we have a very limited amount of resources available right now, so what we're going to be able to do is pretty limited,” he said.

That's not necessarily a red light - Iowa's portion of the bill won't come due until we approach the project's 2015 target date to begin service. There is probably no harm in temporarily delaying some funding commitments to the project while the new administration works on pressing state budget concerns.

And we're glad that Branstad hasn't explicitly proposed that the state return U.S. Department of Transportation funds earmarked for the project.

Rail advocates are confident that an Iowa City-Chicago route, which also would stop in the Quad Cities, will attract nearly 250,000 riders per year and spur substantial economic growth. The subsidy is not out of line compared to other public transportation support.

The line won't only serve Iowans traveling to Chicago and vice versa, but also in-state travelers from the Quad Cities and Iowa City - with the possibility of later expansion to Des Moines and Omaha. Recent studies show young people especially are interested in public options like passenger rail.

It's not often federal officials offer hundreds of millions of dollars to encourage states to step forward with bold improvements to transportation infrastructure. Will taking the offer involve some risk?

Sure. Stepping boldly into the future always does.

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