By Gitte Laasby, Post-Tribune staff writer
A high-speed rail system could cut the commute from Gary to downtown Chicago to 20 minutes and create 19,000 permanent jobs. The hitch? About $2.5 billion in costs over 10 years.
Proponents of high-speed, intercity trains provided no shortage of arguments to a Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority working group Friday as they attempted to persuade the agency to pay $220,000 for a business plan of the project.
Building on similar studies in Ohio, the plan would outline the costs and economic benefits of various routes, and identify potential funding sources. The six-month study could later be used to seek state and federal funding and private investments, said W. Dennis Hodges, vice president of membership and marketing for the Indiana High Speed Rail Association.
Working group member Carmen Fernandez pointed out the RDA has only $27.5 million to distribute annually. The money comes from an income tax in Porter County and casino revenue in Lake County. She said she would like to see communities from outside Lake and Porter counties contribute to the study, too.
"Everybody should shoulder their share of the cost to get the benefit that would come from that," she said.
Alexander Metcalf, president of Transportation Economics & Management Systems Inc., said the Federal Railroad Administration could pay 50 percent to 80 percent of the cost. The rest would come from the state and destination cities.
Gary/Chicago International Airport would become the transportation hub for trains to Lafayette, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Fort Wayne, Toledo, Cleveland and Detroit. The rails could also be used for intermodal freight.
The system is intended to relieve highway congestion and could be operational in 10 years.
Metcalf, who would conduct the study, told the RDA group trains would also provide "economic benefits you haven't seen since you built the highway."
A railway system was originally intended to be a collaboration between nine states, but the states couldn't agree on priorities, he said. Ohio conducted a similar study in 2000 and is in the process of implementing its own system. Illinois, Iowa and Missouri are still collaborating, as are Wisconsin and Minnesota, he said.
Fernandez said she wanted to look at previous studies before deciding whether to support another one.