TARC to blow $150K on study (in a time of budget reductions?!)

This, while Louisville is looking to cut $20 million from their budget and threatening all sorts of service reductions?

Are you kidding me?!

Here's Sheldon Shafer in today's C-J on a TARC plans to spend $150K for a study on the feasibility of (highly subsidized) commuter rail service between Louisville and Fort Knox.

I can save you a lot of money and reach the proper conclusions. Send me a check for $1,000 and I'll send you a report detailing why it's a waste of money and a boondoggle in the making.

The Transit Authority of River City plans to spend as much as $150,000 to hire a consultant and study the possibility of establishing commuter rail service between Louisville and points southwest of the city, including Fort Knox.

While it's unclear how much a commuter line would cost, and how popular it might be, the study "is the next logical step" in assessing alternative modes of transportation for the region, said TARC Executive Director Barry Barker....

The trip, over Paducah & Louisville Railway tracks, ran from the company's yard near 13th and Kentucky streets in Louisville, past Fort Knox and ended in Cecelia -- a 49-mile excursion. The one-way rail trip (the riders returned by bus) took about 90 minutes, longer than it would by car. But it met the goal of getting "people thinking more seriously" about commuter rail service, said David Morse, spokesman for The Coalition for the Advancement of Regional Transportation, which partnered with the Kentucky-Indiana Rail Advocates to organize the ride.

What's the market for people interested in that ride at that speed? How would they get to and from the train?

Barker said a commuter rail service, using existing lines, would be far cheaper than light rail, an idea that has been a topic of discussion since the 1980s but has been shelved in recent years because of its high cost.

I'm sure it is a better bad idea, but that doesn't make this a good idea!

"A back of the envelope" cost estimate for commuter service southwest out of Louisville would be $50 million to $75 million, Barker said. That would include building side or switching tracks, stations with platforms and a signal system, and buying diesel-powered commuter cars....

He stressed, however, that TARC cannot afford to build or operate a commuter rail line without some guaranteed source of new revenue, perhaps from federal aid or a tax increase.

It's doubtful, Barker said, that commuter fares would cover all costs.

I appreciate his realism here. If TARC is so heavily subsidized, can you imagine the money they'd pour down a hole for this project?

TARC officials said they will try to find partners, including the city, to help pay the consultant...

Even if the consultant recommends commuter rail, it's unclear what part Paducah & Louisville Railway is willing to play. Spokesman Tony Reck said the company would not permit a commuter service on its tracks, unless it is indemnified and assured it would have no liability....