Summerville to Charleston: Making rail a reality

OK. You've studied it — twice. Now it's time to write checks and try it out. The track exists, with the owner, Norfolk Southern, open to a track-sharing arrangement.

Sure, there are issues. Some track upgrading and better signaling at cross streets are needed, and at the downtown Charleston end, a fix for that last fifth of a mile to the Visitors Center where the track was ripped out and one business must be bought and cleared.

The good news is that a rail corridor with track exists. It runs right along the most congested transportation route in the region — Interstate 26. And matching the Visitors Center at the south, Summerville has a great spot for park-and-ride that offers shared parking for downtown shoppers and commuters.

The latest "feasibility" study, completed in 2006, says commuter rail would attract riders in this corridor. Commuter rail does what its name implies. It runs train cars on freight tracks several trips in the morning and afternoon, serving people commuting to major job centers.

The biggest job centers in the region are in North Charleston and downtown Charleston. Worker travel worries are a growing threat to employers. The president of the Medical University of South Carolina told us commuting and parking issues were the principal reason for high turnover in his nursing staff.

Commuter rail enjoys a major cost advantage: the study showed the costs of track upgrades, signal improvements, cars and engines could be as low as $48 million. Yearly operating costs would be around $3 million, or $1.66 a passenger if riders were charged $3 a trip.

It's amazing — Even when modest numbers like those are published, the critics emerge railing about giveaway subsidies. OK, what do the roads cost?

The truth is that no state has ever combined the courage and acumen to calculate the per-driver per-trip subsidy for its roadways. Our guess is that if road construction, maintenance, and replacement, plus all the road-related services, emergency assistance and environmental impacts were added up, there's be a massive road subsidy figure — even after gas tax receipts are subtracted. And the critics would go home

Trains in the morning could leave from Summerville, making limited stops, headed to North Charleston, then ending up in Charleston. The trip would take 29 minutes at an expected average speed of 40 miles per hour. That would beat most motorists making their way through traffic on I-26.

At other times, the trains could serve tourists, conventioneers, people headed downtown for theater or a great meal or young people enjoying a lark on metal instead of rubber wheels. Remember: Almost every transit trip means one fewer on the crowded roadways.

Some organizations, such as the Coastal Conservation League, say they prefer light rail, which runs on or near roadways, features more modern cars and reaches more locations. It's the choice in such cities as Dallas and Salt Lake City. But light rail costs much more and requires specialized tracks and overhead electric service. Our guess is the Lowcountry will be smarter to start with a commuter rail — to learn to roll on rails before it opens its wallet to lay down new ones.