Opinion: Iowans should all be rallying for return of rail routes we were promised – Iowa City Press-Citizen

Austin Wu| Press-Citizen opinion writer

Picture this scene: a new Democratic administration has just been elected, and has announced a desire to expand the countrys passenger rail infrastructure, which has been in alternating modes of stagnation and decay for the past 50 or so years.

Local rail fans, environmentalistsand transportation advocates are elated to hear that the administration is willing to chip in federal funds to include Iowa in this expansion of sustainable intercity transportation starting with a passenger rail line from Iowa City to Chicago.

The year is 2010.

More than a decade later, a nearly identical scene played out as Amtrak unveiled new plans for a Chicago-Iowa City line as part of its pitch for President Joe Bidens infrastructure plans. Just as in 2010, there was excitement over what might come to Iowa if this plan were to pan out by 2035, which is as far as Amtraks vision extends.

Although the past years (and the current limbo status of the infrastructure bill) have given reason to be cynical about the prospects of any forward movement on the topic, Amtraks plan for expanding passenger rail in Iowa over the next 15 years should be seen as a minimum benchmark, not a visionary look towardthe future. For further context, it is worthwhile looking to the past, when passenger rail coverage in Iowa did not look so sparse, to see how much we have lost.

Construction on the first railroad in Iowa, between Davenport and Walcott, began in 1853, less than a decade after statehood was granted in 1846. In 1855, Iowa Citys first passenger rail depot was completed, and passenger rail service would remain available to residents until 1970. By 1890, all of Iowas county seats and major towns were linked by rail, and the states central location meant a multitude of transcontinental lines passed through, fueling industry and commerce.

In addition to railroad hubs such as Des Moines and my hometown of Cedar Rapids, numerous small towns were served by major railroads and electrified commuter interurbans including one between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, which I have written about at length.

Previously: If reviving a rail line from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City is too costly, it's because we've sold out to cars

Iowas railroad system today, almost entirely dedicated to freight service, is less than 40% of its peak size in 1914, when more than 10,000 miles of track covered the state. The Iowa Department of Transportationcites a variety of reasons for the decline of railroads, particularly from the 1960s onwards, including the bankruptcy of the Chicago, Rock Islandand Pacific Railroad (also known as the Rock Island Line, which once passed through Iowa City), deregulation of the railroad industry, the increased prominence of highways and air travel, and financial issues plaguing the railroads resulting in the decay of infrastructure.

One by one, the interurbans were dismantled as well, to the point where there have been no commuter rail services in Iowa for well over 60 years.

The Iowa DOTs previously mentioned narrative of this decline happening due to the advent of highways and air travel ignores crucial context as to how these shifts took place not by the hands of divine providence or the inevitable forces of markets, but deliberate decisions by governments to subsidize the construction and maintenance of highways and airports while not offering similar support to railroads, until the entire system was on the verge of collapse in the late 1960s.

In itsrail plan, the Iowa DOT nominally envisions a passenger rail networkfar in excess of the two Amtrak lines passing by happenstance through the south of the state addingan expansion of the Iowa City-Chicago line to Des Moines and Omaha, another line to the north connecting Sioux City, Waterlooand Dubuque to Chicago, a central line connecting Minneapolis/St. Paul to Ames, Des Moinesand Kansas City, along with commuter rail services in Des Moines and between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids.

While still in the shadow of the halcyon days of the early 20th century, the full implementation of this vision would be a tremendous upgrade to Iowas intercity transportation infrastructure. Nevertheless, these notions have remained only as conceptual mirages for decades.

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The Federal Rail Administrations Midwest Regional Rail Plan, releasedlast month, reveals the secondary role Iowa has played in efforts to revive the regions once-strong passenger rail network. The only main part of this plan including Iowa the line between Chicago and Omaha is at the lowest tier of service, with speeds only up to 90 mph, no mention of frequent service, and minimum on-time performance of only 85%. Furthermore, the FRA notes that Iowa has withdrawn from regional rail planning groups for political reasons, and has been reluctant to commit funding in order to implement plans, unlike our neighbors Illinois, Wisconsinand Missouri even as Iowa posted a $1.2 billion budget surplus this past fiscal year.

The lore says that the first discussions of railroads in Iowa began as early as 1844, when Iowa City was still the territorial capital. By New Years Day 1856,the first railroad to Iowa City, originating in Davenport, was completed. Today, we areapproaching 12 years since funding was secured for the revived Iowa City-Chicago line, with no new passenger trains in immediate sight. Even with great advances in technology, 3 million more people, and thousands of miles of pre-existing track, the Iowa of the 21st century seems to lack the vision and willpower of Iowans from centuries before in imagining the possibility of building rail infrastructure, rather than simply managing stagnation and decline.

My fixation with trains is not merely nostalgia. What we as a society have replaced trains with primarily cars and Interstate highways have now beenshown to have deleterious impacts on equity, health and safety, and the environment. The highways that have carved up our cities did so at the expense of poor and minority neighborhoods, as was the case with Des Moines Center Street and Cedar Rapids Little Mexico. The comparatively narrow railroad tracks had no such impact.

Transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, with cars contributing the most. Amtrak notes that intercity passenger rail in the United States is 34% more energy-efficient than air travel, 46% more efficient than a car, and 53% more efficient than travel by truck. Furthermore, the fatality rateper distance traveled is nearly 17 times lower by train compared to cars.

Not everyone has the resources, physical abilityor desire to drive everywhere, and the freedom of movement legally allowed to residents of our country does not meanmuch if the tools to move around, like decent intercity transportation, do not exist. While a train from Iowa City to Chicago would be a welcome addition to Iowas transportation infrastructure, it should be the absolute minimum Iowans should be asking for, not a cause for celebrationitself.

Until it is no longer the case that my great-grandfather would have had an easier time moving around Iowa without a car than myself, Iowans should be asking public officials why the state has been so recalcitrant in rebuilding its transportation infrastructure, at the expense of our environment, economyand overall well-being.

Austin Wu grew up in Cedar Rapids and is a recent graduate from the University of Iowa College of Public Health. In his spare time he has taken interest in local history and urban design, and through this column seeks to imagine a better tangible future in eastern Iowa by taking inspiration from principles of the past. It will appear in the Press-Citizen twice monthly. Follow him on Twitter,@theaustinwu.

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Opinion: Iowans should all be rallying for return of rail routes we were promised - Iowa City Press-Citizen