America’s Interurban Revival

Much has been written about the revival of street cars in America but little has been stated about an equally exciting development the revival of Interurban rail lines.
Interurbans were essentially electric powered railcars (trolleys to the general public) that operated between cities and towns hence the term Interurban. Most of the Interurbans served rural and suburban lines and some of their routes quite long distances. Unlike most commuter trains (which only operate on weekday mornings and afternoons), Interurbans provided regular service all day.
In their heyday in the 1920s, Interurbans served virtually every America city and many of its small towns and suburbs. The famed Pacific Electric connected Los Angeles to Long Beach, Riverside and even Redlands as well as dozens of other communities. The Northshore line provided high speed service and streamlined trains between Chicago and Milwaukee. My home state of Colorado boasted Interurban lines between Denver and Golden and Denver and Boulder.
Competition from automobiles and buses killed off most Interurban lines by World War II. Only a few lines such as the South Shore line between Chicago and Gary, Indiana, and New York’s Long Island railroad remained by the 1990s.
Now something exciting is happening, Interurban Rail lines are being revived and a new technology diesel electric engines is being used to reduce costs. Three new Interurban rail lines using existing railroad track and new sleek diesel electric rail cars have been opened in North America in the last few years. The River Line which connects Trenton and Camden, New Jersey (http://www.riverline.com), the O-Train (http://www.octranspo.com) in Canada’s capitol, Ottawa, Ontario, and the Sprinter (http://www.gonctd.com/sprinter_intro.htm) which connects Oceanside and Escondido in north San Diego County. These projects are exciting because they restore transit rail service to areas that lost it decades ago and because they could serve as models for cheaper and more efficient rail transit in other American cities.
Several other Interurban lines are now in the planning stages in the United States. The most exciting projects are in my home town of Denver. Here the Regional Transportation District plans to implement electric powered commuter rail service to the suburbs of Thornton, Westminister, Commerce City, Aurora, Arvada Denver International Airport. This would be an Interurban system because most of these trains would use existing railroad tracks but operate on a time table comparable to a light rail system. RTD also plans to restore Interurban service to the nearby cities of Boulder and Longmont using an existing track and diesel electric trains. Interestingly enough this ambitious project called Fastracks (http://www.rtd-fastracks.com) would use Union Station, the historic hub of Denver’s Interuban system as its hub.
In Chicago the Metra commuter rail system which operates on all day basis, is planning its first suburb to suburb rail line the Suburban Transit Access Route or STAR Line (http://metraconnects.metrarail.com/star.php). This project would use diesel electric rail cars to connect Joliet with O’Hare Airport in a line that would loop around the city. This would be an Interurban project because it would use rail cars and existing track in a suburban setting.
Many more Interurban systems will be proposed and quite a few will be built in the years ahead with the price of gas skyrocketing. Real estate developers and home builders who have land and houses in bedroom communities and suburban office and industrial parks sitting empty will be prime movers behind these projects.
America’s far flung suburbs and exburbs are perfect environments for Interurban rail. With large numbers of Americans living twenty or thirty miles from their jobs and changing patters of living alternatives to the car become imperative. Interurbans which are cheaper and easier to build than heavy or light rail transit are a perfect alternative. They can use existing rail lines, abandoned rail road right of ways or unused sections of freeway right of ways to reach their destinations. No expensive subways or elevated rail structures are needed. It wouldn’t be hard for diesel Interurban cars to run on light rail tracks. In the city center and more crowded areas Interurbans can use the same tunnels, elevated lines, stations and cuts as existing transit systems, a huge savings. Philadelphia’s excellent transit system should be a national role model here, Los Angeles an example of what not to do.
The Interurban fits the suburban lifestyle perfectly it allows citizens to keep the flexibility and freedom of the car and access the efficiency and convenience of commuter rail. Residents of small towns and subdivisions can drive to park and rides park their cars and use the train. When they get off the train these people can walk or take a cab or shuttle bus to their final destination. One Interurban stop can easily serve a huge shopping mall or office park. Changing commuter patterns also favor Interurban rail many Americans now live in gentrified Downtown areas and commute to jobs in suburban office parks.
Interurban rail is an old idea whose time as come again as evidenced by the huge success of America’s light rail systems many of which resemble Interurban rail lines and often operate on old Interurban rail routes. The question is how can we can get our politicians to fund this practical and sensible transportation alternative?