While Fresno residents and supporting agencies wage the campaign to begin Fresno Rail Consolidation and see it through to reality, the nation’s largest public works project, the Los Angeles area “Alameda Corridor” (rail consolidation), moves on.  

 

The Fresno Bee’s Russell Clemings, in Sunday’s “Slow track of Progress” story, presented a comprehensive description of rail issues plaguing valley residents for too many years. He detailed how the lack of attention to dangers posed by the increasing volume of trains traveling through our valley countryside and cities has grown to devastating proportions.

 

With the expected opening of the $2.4 billion LA “Alameda Corridor” rail speedway April 2002, the rail dangers in the valley will only grow.

 

The 26 Gateway Cities between Vernon and Long Beach look to the new corridor to spur their economy with greater movement of the merchandise coming into Southern California ports. From 3.2 million containers in the late 1990s to over 7 million containers today, distributing those containers throughout the state means more trains through Fresno on their way north and east. 

 

Since 1863 when railroaders, Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford and Collis B. Huntington, began the Central Pacific Railroad in Sacramento, joining Southern Pacific in 1865, miles of rails in California have been an attractive nuisance and hazard to adults and children alike. In 1896, along came what is now the BNSF Railroad driving through the heart of Fresno. With more tracks continually laid to satisfy the expanding needs of a growing California, the ever-increasing, faster, longer and heavier trains accordingly increase the evident dangers. 

 

What I believe that growing number of Valley residents cannot understand is the lack of political will by numerous legislators to take action on Fresno rail consolidation, fixing a problem that affects many local areas, the state and the nation. When representatives such as US Congressman George Radanovich, US Senator Dianne Feinstein, State Senator Jim Costa and State Assemblyman Mike Briggs submit legislation and/or letters presenting solid solutions to this problem, why do other elected officials either oppose the solutions or take partisan positions defying logic.

 

Partisan politics and money constraints cannot be allowed to overshadow common sense and reality concerning the serious problems caused by obsolete, under-maintained equipment and rail routes outgrown by community and population growth. Combine the many recent derailments, accidents, fatalities and injuries with the dire need to reduce traffic congestion and pollution affecting air quality in our Central Valley, the need for serious cooperative effort at all levels becomes not just an issue for discussion, rather it becomes a priority demanding action.

 

In Fresno city, “Capital of the Valley”, as coined by Mayor Autry, rail consolidation resolves the many problems described. A recent study shows throughout the country, on average, each vehicle is delayed 36 hours annually, idling in traffic stoppages, wasting time, consuming gasoline and spewing pollutants into the air. That equates to about 6 round trips from Fresno to San Francisco, resulting in approximately $132.00 of just gasoline costs at today’s prices. Could those 36 hours be higher in Fresno, above the average, due to the increasing trains on the BNSF rail corridor? Perhaps!

 

As Fresno reportedly now owns the third worst air quality rating (unhealthy) in the nation, I continue our plea to Mayor Autry, City Council President Perea, all Councilmembers, new City Manager Daniel Hobbs and all city departments to make Fresno Rail Consolidation their number one priority because it is a major element in reducing congestion and air pollution.

 

“Fresno Area Residents for Rail Consolidation” (FARRC) keeps growing with local residents, community groups, government officials and agencies supporting rail consolidation. FARRC representatives recently appeared before the California Assembly Transportation Committee in Sacramento providing testimony supporting Assemblymember Briggs bill AB1094. They brought the need for Rail Consolidation to the committee’s 19 members, some coming from other communities in need of rail consolidation. The testimony described the positive impact Fresno rail consolidation would have on rail traffic through Fresno headed to the rest of the state and nation.

 

As Fresno citizens intensify the demand for rail consolidation and Fresno COG begins (early June) the engineering update of the 1993 Fresno Rail Consolidation Study, all Fresno officials must take definite action now to make consolidation a reality. More details can be found on the FARRC website, www.movethetracks.org.

 

 

John F. Ferdinandi Jr., Chairman

Fresno Area Residents for Rail Consolidation (FARRC)

 

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