Rebuild our infrastructure

“If the government wants to lower health care costs, their first priority should have been rebuilding a national passenger rail system.” That was my thought while eating an excellent doner kebab at a small bistro outside Munich’s train station two weeks ago.

I had just spent a week in the Netherlands and another in Munich and Frankfurt visiting economic development agencies and companies. And even while eating typical business-traveler fare that week, I noticed my suit pants were ever-so-slightly looser. That was because my meetings and excursions were done by train, trams and walking. But while I see the European lifestyle of using public transportation as healthier, I also saw how true infrastructure redevelopment in the U.S. should be an absolute priority. And I fear we will be soon heading right in the opposite direction.

National rail system

Infrastructure spending is essential to keep the U.S. competitive, and I am not simply talking about repaving roads. In the late 1800s, the United States was a debtor nation. It borrowed significant amounts of money (continental Europe buying a significant amount of bonds from us), and the proceeds were used to build our national rail system. That rail system connected the Atlantic and the Pacific, and connected the political integrity of what was to become the 48 states of the U.S. Goods could move faster, more cheaply, and thus speed up the development of industry.

As the U.S. is more dependent on the service side of economy, then it makes sense that the movement of people should be addressed. Our national freight rail system is actually quite efficient. Companies like Norfolk Southern and CSX have spent millions on integrating rail lines and high tech mapping systems to create a very cost effective way to transport goods. But what about people? In my train hopping between Amsterdam and the Hague, I was able to relax, enjoy beautiful scenery, and sit there with iPod in hand and respond to the needs of the office 4,000 miles away. I was able to read the Financial Times cover to cover, something I have a tough time doing while driving up Belmont on the way home (no, I actually don’t try to read it while driving, but you get my point). As we work to further integrate the Cleveland-Youngstown-Pittsburgh TechBelt into a regional economy and a regional psychology, having a regional rail system would speed the process up. And that would assist in bringing more private investment dollars into this region.

We at the Regional Chamber did an analysis of the TechBelt and realized that 31 suppliers to the rail industry already operate here. So if this country is to fund high speed rail development, our area is a natural for manufacturing those train cars. We are already letting all the multinational rail car manufacturers know this.

The national rail system maps proposed by the federal government are somewhat flawed in my opinion. The only way passenger service would work is if the regional economies are already interconnected. The cities of Northeast Ohio and Southwest Pennsylvania are connected, more so then Cleveland to Columbus.

Flawed argument

Commuters who travel from the Mahoning Valley to metro Cleveland might not ride the rails today because they do not necessarily work in the downtown. But we must plan not for our current workplace geography but for future urban planning, where public transport opens many options. I was politely reminded at the offices of a European multinational company that Americans have been too short term focused for too long. We need to be thinking about 20-year-plus solutions.

While in Europe I received an e-mail from my brother. He noticed that on the same day that the long-proposed Hudson River rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York was killed, China announced the opening of a new high speed rail line from Shanghai to Hangzhou.

Even while considering our reckless spending of the last 10 years in America, if we don’t spend on modernizing our infrastructure, other countries will pass us up like a bullet train passing a grazing cow.

Eric Planey is vice president, international business attraction, for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber.