Lexington, KY - A group of business commuters board the double-decker, diesel-powered train in downtown Lexington for the relaxing 50-mile-per-hour trip to downtown Frankfort and the State Capitol. At the station, they had the option of taking trains that make a total of 11 stops, ranging from Winchester at the eastern end of the system to Louisville at the western end, with stops in between at Lexington, Midway, Frankfort and Shelbyville.
Sound farfetched? Not to Ralph Tharp, executive director of the Kentucky Capital Development Corporation, part of the city of Frankfort's economic development and industrial recruitment effort.
Tharp, who came to work in Frankfort last fall, has experience with economic development and rail and transportation systems, having worked on them in Chicago, St. Louis, Las Vegas and Baghdad, Iraq.
"We have existing track and right of way, which is the bulk of any new system," said Tharp. Typically, those items cost $800 million to a billion dollars or more to put in. We just have to upgrade the rail between Lexington and Louisville and buy new, modern trains that are easy to maintain," he explained.
Tharp thinks the region can do that for between $110 million and $120 million. He would attempt to secure what is known as a "small start" grant from the Federal Transit Administration.
"Because we are not asking for a lot of money, I feel we might be pushed to the front of the line, which is why I'm optimistic we can do this in a short amount of time," he said.
How does the end of 2012 sound? That's the completion date Tharp thinks is possible, if all communities buy into the plan.
"In order to market ourselves globally, we need to look at central Kentucky as one region," Tharp said. "Investors from the global economy will look at Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort and the communities in between."
Tharp adds that a commuter line would demonstrate to potential corporate prospects that the region has the amenities to connect communities wherever a company wants to locate along the rail corridor.
President Barack Obama's recently announced 2012 budget proposal includes a major piece for transportation - $128 billion. That figure includes $8 billion in passenger rail funding, a first step toward the administration's desire to see $53 billion in high-speed rail investment.
Various sentiments have been expressed about whether commuter rail, higher-speed rail and high-speed rail systems can affordably be built around the United States. Recently, Florida's new Tea Party-backed governor Rick Scott told Washington "no thanks" to federal grants that could be used for a high-speed rail link between Orlando and Tampa.
Noel Rush, vice president for strategic planning and development for the R. J. Corman Railroad Group, said his company is aware of the research being conducted by Tharp and others on whether the Lexington-Louisville corridor warrants passenger service in the next five years.
"From my perspective, the merits of passenger service of any type are really problematic for the foreseeable future," Rush said. "That's due to the combination of overall cost, the attention to our country's budget deficit and the competing requirements for government funding, whether it's for health care or education."
Rush, who said he is not necessarily against the plan, pointed out several realities.
"Frankly, it's the size of this Lexington/Louisville market, this corridor," he said. "The general size would certainly be among the smaller of the higher-speed rail lines that I'm familiar with. The corridors getting attention are many times larger than the one from Lexington to Louisville."
Rush believes that the price of gas may also factor into this equation. Conceivably, lower fuel prices might prompt people to drive more. Higher prices might make them consider taking a train, if available.
R.J. Corman operates the proposed track, in a long-term lease, from Winchester to the eastern edge of Louisville (Anchorage). Continuing the rail system into Louisville would require using CSX track. Once in place and operating efficiently, a linkage to Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati could be considered. Cincinnati connects by rail to other large cities, like New York, Tharp said.
The first step in the plan is to do a feasibility study to identify how all of the parts would come together, Tharp said.
"We need to fine-tune the numbers to get exact specifics," he said. "I hope it can be done in four months. That's a fast schedule, but I'm calling this an 'opportunity surge.'"
He also needs to determine what any local match for the communities or the state might be.
Tharp has "heard" that there is support for the concept, although he has yet to schedule meetings with Lexington Mayor Jim Gray and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.
"The mayor of Frankfort (Gippy Graham) and the Franklin County Judge-Executive (Ted Collins) are behind it 100 percent," Tharp said. He also claims support from officials in Shelby County, the City of Winchester and at Commerce Lexington.
"I feel very confident we can get this accomplished," Tharp concluded. "It will determine how we're perceived in the global economy."