Guest Column                                                         

Reinvestment in railroads critical to rural Illinois Basic infrastructure in competition for funds By JOE SCHWIETERMAN

A rural transportation crisis looms over Illinois. Many of the same communities that had trouble getting railroad service a century ago now are having difficulty keeping their railroad service. Hundreds of communities, such as Cambridge, Fulton and Sycamore, have already lost the battle. Hundreds more, including Flora, Mount Carmel and Paris, are dangerously close to losing their last rail lines.

Railroads once crisscrossed virtually every segment of Illinois en route to the important rail centers of Chicago, Peoria and East St. Louis. However, as railroads retrench, huge gaps in the system have emerged. Enough track has been pulled up in Illinois since 1950 to build a railroad extending from Galena to Cairo — Cairo, Egypt. Three counties — Brown, Hardin and Mercer — have lost all their track.

Local and county officials have everything to gain from learning about rail issues. They should understand that:

• The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has a "rail plan" that includes programs to keep local freight trains running.

• State grants and loans worth more than $49 million have been awarded to local rail operators to build or rebuild 600 miles of Illinois track since 1980.

• Many Illinois projects qualify for federal funds through the Local Rail Service Assistance Program, a program boosted as part of President Clinton's infrastructure program.

State, county and local collaboration is vital in preserving rural railroad service. Such collaboration has kept trains running between Danville and Kankakee, Alton and Roodhouse, Bureau and Peoria, and other cities. It also boosts local economies. Government projects have enticed major warehousing companies to relocate to Joliet and Rochelle and were a decisive factor for manufacturing companies that moved to Paris and Marengo. In Champaign and Mokena, these efforts allowed existing companies to expand. The state's 79 rail projects have saved or supported 17,000 jobs at 433 companies.

Yet the outlook for local rail service is clouded with uncertainty. At least 1,000 miles of the state's 7,000 miles of track could soon disappear. In addition, flooding along the Mississippi River has washed away several lines, including the Quad Cities to Albany segment. Only about 10 percent of these flood-related costs will be covered by federal aid. To make matters worse, state appropriations for rail freight projects were recently cut to $3.1 million annually and remain woefully inadequate.

These cuts are unwise. For every dollar the state spends on rail projects, it leverages more than $6 in private capital. When the state spent $1,260,000 to repair 51 miles of track between West Chicago and Belvidere, for example, the Chicago & North Western Railroad and local shippers spent $9 million more on related improvements. In addition, track often can be rebuilt for $40,000 per mile — one-tenth the cost of repairing one mile of Interstate 57.

Some oppose the use of tax dollars to keep private companies solvent. However, in the case of Illinois' railroads, the benefits outweigh the costs. It may be less costly to keep our railroads running than to allow them to close. When shippers switch to trucks, damage to highway pavement and bridges increases. The highway department is overburdened because the state does not collect enough tax revenues from heavy vehicles to cover the associated highway costs. Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska have completed studies showing that rail closures would devastate rural bridges and roads in agricultural areas. These roads are not built to handle heavy rigs. If our state's beleaguered rail lines close, my analysis suggests that Illinois residents will need to spend $10 million more on rural highway repairs by 2000.

If our state's beleaguered rail lines close, my analysis suggests that Illinois residents will need to spend $10 million more on rural highway repairs by 2000

Not all Illinois rail lines should be saved. Traffic on some lines has virtually dried up. However, according to a 1980 University of Illinois study, when track is kept in good shape, railroads operating only short stretches of track — "short lines" — can turn a profit with a few trainloads of freight per week. That's good news for the scores of Illinois towns whose track is in such disrepair that the federal government has imposed speed limits of 10 miles

10/October 1993/Illinois Issues

per hour. Such slow speeds drive up costs and drive away customers. Affected communities will need to work with state officials and short lines to restore quality service.

Once rehabilitated, rail lines not only sustain themselves but can generate substantial state and local tax revenue. Communities that receive nothing from tax-exempt highways often receive $50,000 or more annually in property tax from railroad companies. While this some towns, railroads receive little in return for these tax payments. They finance all necessary day-to-day upkeep without government help.

Legislators must take action in Springfield by:

• Creating incentives for private investment in rail facilities, including additional grants and low-interest loans. Rail freight projects should become a high priority for IDOT, as they are in other Midwestern states.

• Keeping key stretches of abandoned track intact for several years, giving local communities time to search for new railroad operators. This tactic of "banking" track has proven successful in Ohio and South Dakota.

• Developing new highway user fees to assure that all vehicles, especially heavy trucks, pay their appropriate share of highway damage costs. Oregon has taken the lead in this effort.

• Providing property tax relief for distressed local railroad companies that handle bulky commodities, such as coal and grain, that would damage Illinois roads if shipped by truck. Iowa and Michigan do this by buying track and leasing it back to railroad companies — tax-free.

Illinois would be remiss to ignore these private infrastructure providers at a time when small communities are facing unprecedented economic hardship. Rail freight projects aren't as glamorous as high-speed passenger trains or new highways. However, the hopes of many rural communities rest on the preservation of these overlooked resources. *

Joseph P. Schwieterman, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at DePaul University in Chicago and studies transportation infrastructure

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