Mark Richardson
Passenger trains move people around quickly, efficiently and safely. They are environmentally friendly, aid national security by reducing reliance on scarce resources, and help at times like this, when one in four state residents does not drive and $4 gas hurts many of those who do.
These — and many other benefits — are clear. The issue in New Hampshire — with no sales or income tax — is the belief that trains always lose money. Prudence is laudable, but we need to stop looking at only train operating costs and start looking at the overall economic impact rail service has on communities.
Private companies can only compare the cash costs and revenues related to running the train itself. State government — which represents us all — can justifiably take a wider view and should look at the effect on overall finances from rail service, not the narrower view of just the train service. This includes, for example, revenues such as new property taxes from transit oriented development (TOD) that wouldn't have existed without the initial rail investment.
So what would be different if we took that wider view? Maine, by example, has a passenger train called the Downeaster that actually has three stops in our state on its way from Boston to Portland. It has been so successful that the Maine is investing a further $30 million to extend service beyond Portland to Brunswick.
The service currently requires annual cash support of around $8 million per year so is Maine showing a lack of fiscal responsibility? No, it is it the overall anticipated economic impact of the Downeaster that provides the key.
Forecasts indicate likely private investment in Maine of over $7 billion over the next 20 years — $130 million already in place — as well as 17,000 new jobs and 40,000 new residences, investments that would not occur without rail service. Property taxes from these TOD's should eventually rise to $75 million per year, providing Maine with a 160 percent return on its investment. Maine provides us with a mature, sophisticated model for investing for the future.
The "New Hampshire Capital Corridor," is a project underway here aimed at providing frequent, reliable passenger rail service between Concord, Manchester, Bedford/Airport, Nashua and Boston, a more densely populated corridor than in Maine.
Skeptics in New Hampshire still say our residents won't use trains, yet over 50 percent of Downeaster passengers already get on or off in New Hampshire. This supports UNH studies that indicate 85 percent of state residents support passenger rail.
But will this project simply help export jobs to Boston? This is unlikely, because the service will help regenerate downtown Nashua, Manchester and Concord, and bring jobs to the state, not take them away. The Bedford stop will help our airport expand, and a stop right outside the entrance doors at Pheasant Lane Mall would bring Massachusetts residents here to shop tax-free.
The construction cost — estimated by the New Hampshire Rail Revitalization Association at around $200 million — could be reduced by federal grants and private contributions to a state match of $30 million, or $2 million annually after bonding. With $10 million needed each year to run the service, the total annual support to start with will be around $12 million. However, based on Maine's experiences, it is likely that the economic impact will create new state revenues in excess of this figure within 8-10 years.
This is responsible, long-term investing in our infrastructure that offers a real return for residents. It should prove compelling to fiscal conservatives, normally opposed to passenger rail, because it strips out peripheral "feel good" factors and concentrates only on the economic return.
New Hampshire must compete across New England, as our region must do nationally and our nation globally. Only world class infrastructure allows us to do so. A rail project like this is not something we can't afford to do; it is something we can't afford not to do.
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Mark Richardson of Bedford, N.H., is the chief executive of Orbial Inc., a professional services company serving the finance and information technology industries.
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