March 21–28, 2002

mailbag

The Rail Problem

(Re: Slant, "Rail Good Idea," Sam Katz, March 7)

The vision that Sam Katz puts forth in advocating the Schuylkill Valley MetroRail (SVM) is one of thinking "outside the box" that should — in theory — benefit residents along the U.S. Route 422 corridor between Philadelphia and Reading. The reality, however, is not quite as rosy….

Make no mistake about it: I fully support restoration of regional rail service between Norristown and Reading. I do not, however, support the MetroRail as presently proposed.

Former SEPTA general manager Jack Leary had nearly everyone convinced that SEPTA could get 80 percent of the $1.8 billion needed for this project from the federal government. Such an appropriation would have been highly unlikely prior to Sept. 11; even with the federal match limited to 60 percent of the total cost ($1.1 billion), such an expenditure is highly unlikely.

The total cost of the 62-mile project as presently proposed would cost nearly $30 million per mile. I would be hard pressed to find any new regional-rail extension that costs even half of that amount.

Consider that a recent study by Bucks and Montgomery counties for a potential restoration of service between Lansdale and Quakertown — approximately 25-30 miles — put the cost of the service at less than $250 million. That’s only $10 million per mile. How is it that Bucks and Montgomery counties were able to get a more economical proposal compared with SVM?

The answer lies within the internal management at SEPTA, many of whom bought into Leary’s vision, which is really nothing more than a glorified trolley that would stretch over the entire corridor. Leary’s insistence on newer, unproven technologies instead of time-tested traditional railroad practices — such as SEPTA’s present Regional Rail system — would basically drag construction out for eight to12 years before the first passenger trains ever pull into Berks County. By that time, my soon-to-be-born child will probably be in middle school.

Yet, many organizations, led by Katz and Greater Valley Forge TMA Executive Director Peter Quinn, have rallied the troops in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties into believing that the feds will indeed pick up most of the costs. It’s almost as if these people are saying that the cost-effective route would kill the project.

At a recent hearing in Upper Merion for the MetroRail project, several speakers made the exact same points as other previous speakers; in some cases, the comments made were virtually verbatim. It made me wonder if most of these officials really believe that SVM, as presently proposed, is the most cost-effective plan to restore rail service.

Yet, instead of acting like responsible representatives of the people they serve, many of these business leaders and elected officials are pushing a proposal that would effectively stall other future rail-expansion projects. Areas such as West Chester, Painter’s Crossroads and Quakertown may never see restored rail service because SEPTA and its cronies want to spend an inordinate amount of money on SVM.

Katz also misses the boat on a few other key points.

Katz claims that the region has to "go back more than 70 years, to 1928 … to find the last time a significant, new commuter-rail investment was developed in our region." Apparently, Katz needs to brush up on his history a little bit. Two projects from the 1980s come to mind that were major investments in SEPTA’s Regional Rail system: The Center City Commuter Tunnel and the R1 Airport Line.

The Center City Commuter Tunnel, opened in 1984, enabled many people who lived in the northern suburbs served by the former Reading Railroad to reach the City Hall/Suburban Station area for the first time. Likewise, riders on the former Penn Central lines in the western suburbs were able to reach the Market East without transferring. The R1 Airport Line was significant as well, since it became one of the first major rail lines in the United States to directly serve a major airport. Service from Philadelphia International Airport to Center City began 1985.

Katz also proposes a new "Regional Transportation Authority" that would own or lease the SVM system and act as a surrogate to SEPTA. I don’t believe Katz is aware of an entity that already serves such a purpose in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — PennDOT, which funds and helps to manage Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

Katz’s proposed financial mechanism for the local funding portion also has the potential to be a deal-killer. A sales-tax or property-tax increase within such a specialized district has the potential of causing more harm than good. In addition, asking the City of Philadelphia and the three affected counties (Berks, Chester and Montgomery) to make equal contributions (Katz proposes $20 million per county) unfairly puts the burden on taxpayers in Chester County and the City of Philadelphia, since the majority of the new rail service would operate in Berks and Montgomery counties.

In short, both SEPTA and it’s sister agency in Reading, the Berks Area Reading Transportation Authority (BARTA), need to realize that Schuylkill Valley MetroRail as presently proposed has no chance of being completed if SEPTA, BARTA and their supporters insist on such a "gold-plated" project. SEPTA needs to take a step back and formulate a more rational plan if rail service is to be restored to Reading.

Creighton Rabs

West Chester

Not-So-Fantastic Journey

(Re: Cover Story, "Chasing Shadows," Howard Altman, March 14)

Your reluctance to become an auxiliary FBI agent was/is understandable, but these are slightly different times.

"Mr. Fantastic" is not a "source" deserving protection in traditional journalistic terms. He is either a hoaxster or a traitor who approached you to make money for himself.

In light of the fact that we were attacked on Sept. 11 and suffered in excess of 3,000 deaths, and in light of the fact that there may very well be other "sleeper" agents and cells in the U.S., it seems that you should have worked with the FBI in order to try to determine the truth about Mr. Fantastic. It would not have put you in harm’s way, but you probably would have had to "spike" the story for a while. Considering the various sacrifices that were and are still being made as a result of 9/11, this would have been a rather small sacrifice in the name of a potentially very great good.

Richard Saunders

Mount Airy