Idaho Senator, Mayor Are Working On The Railroad

By Jill Kuraitis, 8-11-09

Under the boiling sun on the sizzling cement platform at the historic Boise Train Depot, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo and Boise Mayor Dave Bieter announced the probable return of Amtrak to Boise.

Speaking to a crowd which included lots of guys in railroad hats, the announcement from Crapo that “we’re working to reestablish the old Pioneer Route” brought sincere cheers, and they weren’t the staged kind often heard at these kind of events.

A preliminary analysis from J. L. Patterson Associates, a transportation engineering firm in California, should be ready this week, and “we expect a positive evaluation from the report,” said Crapo.

That the promised report wasn’t ready for the long-planned press conference prevented Crapo and Bieter from providing specific answers to questions about routes, ticket prices, overall costs, and the possible use of stimulus money, which was disappointing to reporters and some in the crowd. But it didn’t seem to affect the overall mood of optimism.

The project study map shows several options being considered for the precise route.

Amtrak trains from the east would go through either Ogden or Salt Lake City on their way to Boise, then continue to Portland, according to Crapo. Another option includes Denver, then north through Wyoming and west to Ogden.

Crapo said there would be just two weeks for citizens to comment on the report. Five-year-old train fan Ben, wearing a New York City subway map t-shirt, came with his neighbor Sue Reents. Ben was told that kids should comment, too. “I’m listening,” said Crapo, “there’s no age limit for commenting.”

Boise Mayor Dave Bieter said the return of the train to Boise was “back to the future.”

“When the Pioneer Line (which ran from 1977 to 1997) was discontinued, there has been an era of no regularly scheduled passenger rail service. We’re looking to expand all kinds of rail service including to the inner city,” Bieter said, referring to the Boise Transit Center and Trolley project he has proposed.

Federal stimulus money granted directly to Idaho to help with passenger rail isn’t likely, but stimulus dollars, which would be used to help get the trains to Boise, will go to Amtrak, said Crapo.

He also said “we may have to make some decisions about our part as a state.” Local and state money will probably be needed to convince Amtrak to return.

“The Pioneer Line would have to be self-sustaining by itself,” said Crapo, which was later interpreted to mean that the Pioneer Route’s portion of Amtrak’s national service would have to at least break even. The density of passengers in the west and the ability to make a profit with less than full trains “is not justification for us to be left out,” he said.

Several citizens told NewWest.Net/Boise that they were “disappointed that the West has been forgotten.” Morty Prisament, owner of Green Planning Collaborative, said he’s taken his children on trains all over Europe and loves them. “I hope we’ll be able to travel on Amtrak with our bikes,” he said. “It’s too difficult to take a bike on an airplane.”

Boise City Council members Vern Bisterfeldt and Jim Tibbs came to the Depot for the event. Tibbs especially is lukewarm to the Amtrak idea.  “Don’t get me wrong – I love trains.  I worked for Union Pacific when I was young. But I want to see a feasibility study and how it pencils out.”

Tibbs said “Boise doesn’t have a comprehensive transportation plan” [note: there are projects and goals for public transit outlined in the Blueprint for Boise.] He’s not sold on the downtown trolley system being championed by Bieter, and wants more specific budget proposals before he makes a final decision. He isn’t convinced there are enough people to support a local light rail system, and doesn’t like the tax burden he says would be placed on businesses. There are too many entities such as Boise State University which don’t pay taxes and wouldn’t contribute to costs, he said.

Bisterfeldt said, “A hundred years ago we had regular rail transportation between Canyon and Ada counties.  If the streetcar is a catalyst for that, then I’m for it.”

Local skeptics about the proposed downtown trolley and the restoration of the Pioneer Route include blogger David Frasier of the Boise Guardian. Frasier, who often opposes projects he believes will raise taxes, wrote that he has concerns about costs, number of riders, the frequency of trains, the costs of track repair and who will foot the bill, and others.

“If the model of other states is any indication, the route will be highly subsidized and Boise and/or Idaho taxpayers will be expected to kick in with some cash. In essence we will have to PAY riders to come to our City just like we pay businesses to come here with their high paying jobs,” he wrote Monday.

Thursday: more on trains in the Rocky Mountain West, the Pioneer Line, opposition to rail, and how citizens and politicians are reacting.