Statewide rail near reality?

The Charlottesville area got its wish: A statewide rail plan includes increased passenger service between the city and Washington, D.C.

In fact, the plan acknowledges the potential need for adding not just one but possibly two round trips per day — and as soon as 2010.

The plan was released last week and is open for public comment until Aug. 25.

Getting from a wish to a plan took plenty of effort. Going from a plan to a reality will require even more.

In fact, it will require money — lots of it — and no one quite knows yet where the money will come from.

Just one more thing to blame on our General Assembly’s dithering over transportation funding.

A local group, Piedmont Rail Coalition, has been lobbying for years for better rail service for Charlottesville. Existing service sometimes amounts to no service at all: Seats frequently are sold out, bought by travelers who start their trips farther south.

Improving both passenger and freight service by rail is an increasingly attractive option because of rising gasoline prices. Passengers and freight can be moved more economically by rail.

But infrastructure costs stand in the way. In order to be efficient, Amtrak will need more rolling stock and both Amtrak and freight lines will need, if not more track, then at least improved track that can handle more trains at higher speeds.

In fact, Amtrak and freight rail lines are one and the same.

Amtrak owns no track, and rents track time from the nation’s freight companies.

Improving or expanding track will require cooperation and funding from Amtrak, Virginia’s freight companies, and federal and state government.

Despite the obvious need for better mass transportation, taxpayers and legislators still are uncertain about how much public money should go to rail.

The General Assembly has allocated $9.3 million, but the cost is an estimated $206 million for the project, which also includes expanded service to Richmond, Roanoke and Bristol. The Lynchburg to Washington line alone would cost the state an additional $1.9 million per year.

Is it worth it?

The budget for the Virginia Department of Transportation is nearly $4 billion. Tax money pays for most of our roads (if it didn’t, all roads would be toll roads — and the tolls would be more expensive than currently).

But shifting scarce tax money from roads to rails may be a tough sell. Virginians may say they want better rail service, but they don’t want to have to sacrifice for it if that means pulling money from highways.

Yet if gasoline prices push us off the roads and the rails aren’t ready for increased ridership, we’ll wish we had had been more pro-active. Rushing to catch up with demand may, in the long run, cost us more than the planned, orderly expansion of passenger service.

We have a plan.

Are we ready to make it a reality?