Commuter train debate picks up steam

WASILLA -- "There is just no good reason why we can't do this."

That was long-time government mover-and-shaker Katie Hurley, after the first leg of the Wasilla-Anchorage Diesel Multiple Unit railroad demonstration Thursday.

"I am so excited about this," said Hurley, who joined the Citizen Commuter Railroad Advocacy group that morning after reading a pamphlet about the benefits of commuter travel. Hurley read that the advocacy group needed members to serve on different boards. One of those boards deals with inner-governmental relations, which Hurley joined. "I'm ready," she said.

Hurley wasn't the only recognizable Alaskan rooting for a commuter line. Dozens of Wasilla and Anchorage residents in government, private business and the public eye voiced words of enthusiasm in bringing the two cities together, with the Alaska Railroad, to figure out how a commuter train would work.

The DMU railcar, which is being shown throughout Southcentral Alaska, is built by Colorado Railcar, the company that has provided most of the railcars already owned and used by the Alaska Railroad. A self-propelling railcar, the DMU unit is thought to be a possible solution to the ever-growing traffic problem during many Matanuska-Susitna Valley resident's daily commute into Anchorage. The railroad invited around 100 people to ride on the railcar Thursday morning, giving people a chance to see just how enjoyable and easy a commuter train ride to Anchorage and back would be.

"This is just so relaxing," said Sierra Club employee Maryellen Oman. "Time is no longer a factor because the tracks are straighter."

Oman is also a member of the railroad advocacy group. She referred to not only the efficiency aspect of a commuter ride -- that hour and a half to go into Anchorage can be used to work or relax, neither of which can be done while driving in a car -- but also to the environmental benefits of a commuter train route.

"I just look out at those wetlands [along the Glenn Highway] and think 'we can save this,'" Oman said. "We don't need to build an eight-lane highway, we need to bring in commuter trains."

Colorado Railcar employee Tom Rader also spoke of the environmental benefits of the first commuter car in North America built to all federal safety regulations to run on the same track as freight trains.

"It may be red, but it's green," said Rader about the brick red rail unit. He also joked about the track realignment happening throughout the railroad system.

"It will go 100 mph, so keep improving that track," Rader said. "Just think, Wasilla in 20 minutes."

Other passengers also had comments about the train.

"I've waited for this for 30 years," said Walter Parker, who said he first worked toward a commuter rail in Alaska during the World War II era.

"I think this is absolutely a possibility," said Mat-Su Borough Assembly member Jody Simpson.

Borough planning commissioner Chris Rose has similar sentiments. "This is too important not to do," he said.

"For the first time, we have the capability to … move forward with an environmentally clean, sound and safe way to move people around in their communities," Alaska Railroad president and CEO Pat Gamble said about the possibility.

Cost, the logistics of moving people once in Anchorage and financial discussions among the railroad and the different local governments are all issues that must be addressed if Colorado Railcar were to bring the DMU unit to Alaska for permanent usage as a commuter train.