Mat-Su commuter train? We’ve got the rails, just need the will

On April 5, 2017, Anchorage was fortunate to have Madison, Wisconsin's Mayor Paul Soglin speak at Alaska Common Ground's transportation series. In talking about transit-oriented development, Mayor Soglin stated that the automobile is America's most heavily subsidized transportation mode.

Alaska policymakers also need to state this truth. This would be a first step toward implementing passenger rail for commuters between Wasilla and Anchorage: something Alaskans have been asking about — and not getting — for almost 40 years. Meanwhile, the Valley now has almost six times as many people as in 1980, and we keep pouring money into the Glenn Highway: expanding it, maintaining it and paying medics and police for the frequent accidents.

On May 9, 2017, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Marc Luiken spoke at Alaska Common Ground's final transportation event. When an audience member asked why we don't have rail for commuters between Wasilla and Anchorage, he replied that it would require a subsidy. He is right. But when he talked about needed roads, he referred to them as "infrastructure" — never once using the word "subsidy."

[Mat-Su train service still a long way down the track, says Alaska Railroad]

Similarly, at a June 14 public meeting on Anchorage's 2040 Metropolitan Area Transportation Plan, an audience member asked the consultant about commuter rail. The consultant answered that commuter rail would need an operating subsidy. But he never stated that the roads being designed for Anchorage also require subsidies, both for building and maintaining them.

The word "subsidy" can have a negative connotation. Applying it to the rail mode without applying it to the car/highway mode, which is subsidized to a far greater extent, distorts the truth and confuses the public. To make commuter rail a reality, planners first need to give the public an accurate accounting of the costs for both rail and highway. We need this multi-modal planning for the Glenn Highway and the Alaska Railroad corridor that runs alongside. The AMATS-funded Integrated Corridor Management Plan (ICM) study, which is about to get underway, is an opportunity to compare highway and rail capital and maintenance subsidies, public safety and accident costs, and commuting times by car and by train in various weather conditions. This could help determine whether passenger rail for commuters is more economical than bus rapid transit, and at what seasons and times of day. For example, a new dedicated highway lane, which would be necessary for bus rapid transit to operate at peak hours, would cost tens of millions of dollars at a minimum and require very expensive widening of several bridges.

When we do multi-modal corridor planning, it is very important to emphasize that we are talking about passenger rail for commuters on the Alaska Railroad, sharing the track with the existing passenger and freight service. We are NOT talking about "light rail." Light rail requires its own separate track, is way too expensive, and is not even needed, because we already have the Alaska Railroad track! Nor are we talking about "new rail;" $78 million was spent between 1999 and 2007 upgrading the Alaska Railroad track, reducing Wasilla-Anchorage travel time to 54 minutes.

Traveling from the Valley to Anchorage by train would be more energy efficient than people driving alone in their private vehicles. On arrival in Anchorage, vanpools and/or connecting People Mover buses would take people to their final destinations. Traffic on the Glenn Highway would be reduced, and we'd have fewer vehicles on Anchorage's streets. We'd also reduce CO2 emissions.

It is true that in America, it is easier to get public funding for highways than it is for rail. But getting rail funding is not impossible. Washington state, California, Utah and Connecticut all have commuter rail systems, partially publicly funded.  If we can use the word "subsidy" fairly, comparing costs of both highway and rail, and think in terms of adding to our existing rail service rather than reaching for the moon with "light rail" or "new rail," we are more apt to get what Mat-Su residents have been asking for since before 1980.

Cynthia Wentworth is an economist and anthropologist who was born and raised in Anchorage. She is a former employee of the Alaska Railroad Corp., and former chair of the Anchorage Public Transit Advisory Board. The views expressed here are her own.

The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com.