ARRC commuter rail study complete

MAT-SU -- If commuter rail is coming to the Valley, it will take widespread support of Valley residents, as well as financial support from local municipalities, according to a report released Monday by the Alaska Railroad Corp (ARRC).

"[A commuter rail project] is not something that we demand happen," said ARRC public affairs officer Patrick Flynn last week. "We committed to do this study and now, we want people to say 'We want this' or 'We don't.'"

ARRC signed a contract with Wilbur Smith Associates, a San Francisco-based consulting firm, to perform a commuter study and operation plan for two commuter rail lines that have been discussed -- from Anchorage to Girdwood and Mat-Su to Anchorage.

Flynn said ARRC is not interested in subsidizing the operation of a commuter rail service. The study recommends looking to "new or expanded state and local sources of funds" to fund both capital grants and subsidies for operating and maintenance expenses.

The study, performed at an estimated cost of $250,000, is composed of five elements which, Flynn said, make it more than a feasibility study. It essentially is a road map of how to build, operate and fund a commuter rail service for the Southcentral area. Giving the study a broader scope, Flynn said, will allow it to have a longer shelf life, if the community decides a commuter rail service is not in the cards at this time.

"This study is interesting in that it's more comprehensive than any plan that's ever been done," Flynn said. "It's a blueprint. If it gets put on the shelf for a couple of years, you can take it back off and it's essentially relevant."

The study, in its operating and financial plan, looks at four different scenarios for operation of the railroad. Two of those scenarios focus strictly on Wasilla-only service, while the other two factor in service to Girdwood.

The scenarios are not flattering. The initial capital outlay for a Mat-Su to Anchorage project is estimated at $28.2 million. The yearly operating costs for just that leg are estimated at nearly $3.3 million for ARRC train operators and maintenance crews and $2.8 million for independent contractors.

The estimated revenue is $603,000, leaving approximately $2.6 to $2.2 million of yearly operating expenses to be subsidized.

Revenue figures are based on a minimum of 1,387 commuters who are interested in taking the train every day or most days, according to a survey of 1,502 Mat-Su residents contacted in January by Craciun Research Group in Anchorage, which subcontracted work for the study.

"It's a frank assessment," Flynn said of the study. "We didn't want somebody to paint us a picture of what we wanted to see."

Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin expressed surprise when she learned the railroad was placing the burden of coming up with operating expenses on state and local sources of funds, not on ARRC money.

"We certainly haven't programmed that into Wasilla's future plans," Palin said.

Palin wondered if the project would compete with funding for other projects that would improve the commute to Anchorage.

"Would this project compete with the proposed Knik Arm crossing or the multi-million dollar upgrade of the Parks Highway?" Palin asked.

Mat-Su Borough Mayor Tim Anderson said recent meetings with railroad officials have led him to the understanding that operating money for the commuter rail project would have to come, at least in part, from local municipalities. In fact, he said, that would make sense, Anderson said.

"It's kind of a local issue in some respects," Anderson said. "It's a local transit issue."

And, pulling from his experience with M.A.S.C.O.T., Anderson said he's not surprised that the rider fares will not be enough to cover operating expenses.

"There isn't a public transit system that doesn't work without public subsidy," Anderson said.

That seems to bear out in the study. According to information from other commuter rail projects studied, revenues vary between 5 percent and 55 percent.

But Anderson said a key component of the project has yet to be developed.

"Until we solve the problem of what we're going to do with the commuters once we get them to Anchorage, it's not going to succeed," Anderson said.

The issue, he said, will likely be discussed at the next joint meeting of the Mat-Su Borough and Anchorage assemblies.

Flynn said the study is now available from ARRC and can be obtained by contacting him at 265-2695, or it can be downloaded from ARRC's Web site at http://www.arrc.com.

ARRC will also hold a public meeting in the Wilda Marston Auditorium at the Loussac Library in Anchorage from 10 a.m. to noon, Oct. 3, where public comment will be taken. Find out more about the date and time of that meeting on ARRC's Web site or in an upcoming edition of the Frontiersman.