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Search Terms: commuter AND freight

Document 173 of 195.

May 17, 1999, Monday

SECTION: NEWS , Pg. 3B

LENGTH: 928 words

HEADLINE: RAILROADS WARY OF MAKING ROOM FOR COMMUTER TRAINS COTA WANTS TO PUT PASSENGER TRAINS IN FREIGHT RAIL CORRIDORS ALONG I-71 ANDRT. 315.

BYLINE: Dispatch Staff Reporter

BODY:

COTA's plan to put passenger trains in existing rail corridors is almost certain to slam into some sidetracking efforts by freight railroads.

In nearly every city where commuter rail has been implemented, freight carriers have raised concerns about congestion between freight and passenger trains, liability in an accident and safety issues.

"Ohio depends on a strong freight-rail system more than people realize,'' said Thomas M. O'Leary, executive director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission. "It's essential for maintaining industrial employment. We need to be careful that as we promote passenger-rail service that the freight system is not compromised.'' "To be blunt, there's not much in commuter rail for us,'' said Gary Wollenhaupt, director of corporate communications for CSX in Indianapolis. "That's why we do not offer passenger service; rail-passenger service cannot be operated for profit.''

CSX had one preliminary meeting with the Central Ohio Transit Authority. Far more discussion is needed to work out the railroad's concerns about compatibility of equipment, liability and track congestion, Wollenhaupt said.

COTA officials said they know major issues are involved.

"In no way do we wish to prevent the freight railroads from making a profit or block them from the timely delivery of their freight,'' said Ronald L. Barnes, general manager of COTA.

Bill Schafer, director of corporate affairs for Norfolk Southern in Philadelphia, plans to meet with COTA for the first time later this month.

He raised another issue. "Most commuter-rail proposals underestimate the amount of new track that is needed,'' Schafer said.

COTA on Friday disclosed for the first time that it plans to lay its own track on the first three of eight freight rights of way it proposes to develop between 2005 and 2020. The track would be adjacent to freight track.

COTA's expansion plans are contingent on gaining additional tax revenue. The transit agency plans to place tax issues on the November ballot.

COTA's track-laying plan affects the busiest freight corridors in Columbus -- the north rail line along I- 71 and northwest track along Rt. 315, both owned almost exclusively by CSX. It also affects an abandoned northeast corridor of mixed ownership, where track no longer exists along Cleveland Avenue.

Kent Carson, a spokesman for COTA, said the cost of new track was included in the authority's $ 320 million estimate to develop the first three passenger lines by 2011. But COTA hopes to share a freight track along Broad Street, he said.

That eastern corridor is far less busy and more open to shared use. It is jointly owned by the state and Ohio Central Railroad

"This could resolve the issue of congestion,'' said Arthur J. Arnold, president of the Ohio Railroad Association, representing the state's freight railroads.

Arnold said questions remain whether the freight corridor along Rt. 315 and small portions of track by the Greater Columbus Convention Center have enough space to accommodate commuter tracks.

"It's great that COTA is looking at ways to make its plans work, but we have a long way to go to make it happen,'' Arnold said.

Safety concerns are shared by federal regulators who acknowledge that bad things can happen if a 12,000-ton freight train crashes into a much lighter passenger train on the same track.

Just last week the Federal Railroad Administration issued the first comprehensive standards for railroad passenger equipment, upgrading the ability of passenger-rail cars ordered after next year to better withstand collisions.

One problem was found in the 1996 fiery collision in Silver Spring, Md., between Amtrak's Capitol Limited and a Maryland Rail Commuter Services train that killed 11 commuters. The commuter train did not have a lead locomotive, which can provide partial protection in an accident. All the dead were in the lead commuter car being pushed by an engine from the rear.

The federal agency also is preparing a new policy on shared use of track by freight and passenger trains.

Federal practice now requires freight and passenger trains to operate at different times of the day if they use the same track with different weight trains, said Pamela Berry, director of public affairs for the Federal Railroad Administration in Washington.

Communities have solved passenger-freight conflicts in different ways.

Congress passed legislation to resolve liability questions for a Virginia rail commuter service.

Baltimore and San Diego operate commuter trains on existing freight tracks, but with time separation.

St. Louis' 17-mile light-rail line was built on an abandoned freight line that is now dedicated entirely to passenger service.

The increasing number of cities that are studying commuter rail on freight tracks face two choices, said Dave Phelps, manager of rail programs for the American Public Transit Association. Either they upgrade passenger trains to heavier standards, increasing operating and maintenance costs, or they find separate or abandoned tracks.

In most cases, the individually self-propelled cars such as one COTA displays in its promotional videos, are built to foreign passenger-rail standards and are not as heavy as those meeting North American design standards, Phelps said.

The COTA board is expected to vote May 26 on how to replace a 10- year 0.25 percent sales tax that expires Jan. 31. COTA officials have discussed seeking two 0.25 percent sales taxes -- one would be permanent and the other would last 10 years.

LOAD-DATE: May 18, 1999

Document 173 of 195.


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