Filling in the void

An informal working group has spent the last year and a half investigating the possibility of expanding passenger rail services throughout the Greater Northwest and claims to have gained backing in Congress along the way. At last week’s meeting, the Sundance City Council agreed to lend its support as the group moves to make its work official.

Dan Bilka explained how the Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Working Group functions on Tuesday, telling the council that, “The idea is to advocate to form a full central railroad administration working group to look at restored and new passenger rail services throughout the greater region.”

Not a national project, this would cover, “Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest”, said Bilka, calling this region “a great void on the national map” because it is not covered by Amtrak.

“If we don’t speak up, we’re going to continue to be a great void on the national map,” he said.

At this time, said Bilka, the group has been successful in having wording added to the bipartisan infrastructure bill that can be used as a “stepping stone” or “leveraging point” to create an official government working group.

To support the formation of this formal working group, Bilka said he is reaching out to communities who might benefit from the rail network – including Sundance.

The group’s “vision map” includes a connection that would be coming through Sundance parallel to I-90. It would travel across the northern Black Hills towards Gillette and Sheridan, according to Bilka.

“We wanted to reach out to you about the project and also kind of start the dialogue from the get-go,” he said.

How would such a big project be possible when no network at all exists in the area right now? Bilka said that development of rail in this region is “pennies on the dollar” in terms of how much “bang for your buck” you get compared to other parts of the nation.

The city’s support at this stage, said Bilka, would be towards investigating the possibilities – it would not mean “blindly supporting” construction of a railroad.

A letter of support will be taken to the congressional delegation to prove there is interest to “take an honest look at this for the first time in decades.” He told the council that the Federal Railroad Administration has said interest from communities is critical and gives them leeway and support to look at the possibilities.

The current system is skeletal at best, Bilka said, and is based on what predated Amtrak, which inherited the system in 1971. It does not necessarily represent the “unique travel patterns” of American citizens today.

The focus at this time is passenger cars, as opposed to freight, but Bilka said the group is not ruling anything out.

Mayor Paul Brooks commented that he certainly sees the potential benefits to Sundance.

“I think it would be fantastic to be able to step on a train and go to Gillette, then dart down to Denver without starting a car,” he said.

Brooks also noted the fiscal possibilities, commenting that a large proportion of WYDOT’s budget goes to keeping the airports running in this area, which is otherwise very underserved. Bilka agreed, stating that one of the goals is to create links from smaller communities to larger hubs.

An interconnected network with service to and between larger hubs offers the benefit of economy of scale, he said. Passenger rail can provide those intermediate connections between the airports that represent main connection points more efficiently than airline services, he said.

Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz commented on the potential impact a railroad could have on economic development, stating that numerous businesses have bypassed Sundance due to the lack of a rail connection here.

Brooks also pointed out the environmental benefits at a time when green energy is on the minds of world governments. He referred to the G20 conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

The environmental impact is one of the focuses for the group, Bilka agreed, saying that the working group’s “friends in Washington” came up with what they call the “three Es”: economy, environment and equity.

“It seems like, no matter where we go, people can resonate with at least two of the three, if not all three of them, and that environment is one of the key considerations,” he said.

Bilka said he himself comes from the plains, where it is much more fiscally sensible to ship by railroad compared to road transit.

“You get environmental benefits on top of that,” he said.

The final advantage pointed out by the mayor was the fiscal impact on Sundance’s citizens.

“I don’t think we’ve hit a point of critical mass where fuel is so high that people are not still traveling, but as they begin to tax carbon more and more, I can see the point where communities that don’t have access to other forms of transportation could be held hostage by being rural,” Brooks said.

Bilka agreed, noting that a person from the eastern part of the nation does not have the same “concept of space” as we do here. There may be a dozen cities within a stone’s throw of wherever you are out east, he said, whereas there are only a select number in the west and therefore each must have all the necessary services, such as grocery stores and hospitals.

“I see the need for this and I see the fact that it’s probably going to be a part of the future, with or without us,” said Brooks.

“I think it’s always better to be the first one to the race than the last one.”

The council agreed to pen a letter of support for the working group, as requested.