Fast track for commuter rail

Commuter rail would be cheaper than adding new lanes to the interstate highway between Summerville and Charleston, and would do more to relieve the overall congestion created by commuters between the two locations. State support for the rail project makes economic and transportation sense.

The importance of putting the project on the fast track was recognized recently by a committee of the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments. The COG panel voted to seek the backing of the State Infrastructure Bank for the project, even as a detailed study of the financial aspects of the project is still under way. Consultants estimate that study will take at least a year to complete.

The clear need for commuter relief between Charleston and Summerville says that parallel review of the rail project is in order at the state level.

A preliminary study last year concluded that the idea was feasible. Cost comparisons between rail and road projects cited at the COG committee also are persuasive.

Widening the interstate from Summerville to Charleston by two lanes could cost $45 million a mile, or nearly $1 billion for the length of the 21-mile segment. In contrast, preliminary estimates put the cost of a commuter rail at $75 million.

Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., a strong advocate for commuter rail, also makes the point that "you can only widen the interstate so much."

The mayor cites the convenience of rail for commuters, and its benefit to the environment. Rail service would effectively take "thousands of CO2-producing vehicles" off the road, he says.

"The riders will come," Summerville Town Administrator Dennis Pieper told the COG panel. "The folks I'm talking to in Summerville are very interested in this."

Mayor Riley was more emphatic: "I think the reasonable human expectation should be that people will use it like crazy."

The slow-moving lines of vehicles during rush hour between Charleston and Summerville support that expectation. The growing level of congestion suggests that DOT can't pave its way out of the problem.

The comparative value of commuter rail should appeal to a cash-strapped DOT and to the State Infrastructure Bank, which would provide funding support. The sooner their assistance is enlisted, the sooner this needed project can move ahead.