What Am I Missing on the KRM Line?

It seems these days I cannot look at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's editorial page without being told how critical the KRM line is to the region. I want to be good and support things like this, but the accounting side of my brain kicks in and asks if this is something we really need as opposed to something we really desire. I am at a conference this week in Chicago so I've had plenty of time to think about this while riding the train.

In case people didn't know we already have two train options that can get you to Chicago. The first is the Amtak that has a station in downtown Milwaukee and one at the Airport. The other is the Metra which has a station in Kenosha.

I have ridden them both many times and each has their pros and cons. Amtrak, which still needs an operating subsidy, is extraordinarily expensive at $44 a round trip and the Kenosha Metra is slow moving and inconvenient to get to, but it is relatively inexpensive. The Amtrak is a faster moving train whereas the Metra has the feel of being on a bus due to the frequent stops and people getting on and off.

I believe people use mass transit for a few reasons. They have to, it is convenient, it is less expensive than a car trip. As the vast majority of people in our region own a car, let's throw out that a large amount of people will have to use this because they have no other option.

In order to become a great alternative the KRM line then will have to be a more convenient and a less expensive trip than a car ride in order to be successful.

Having rode the Chicago Metra several times I have no doubt this is more convenient to a person working in the Chicago area. Driving to Chicago is a nightmare. The Metra makes sense in Chicago. However, has anyone ever said that driving to Kenosha is a nightmare? I know I never have. In fact, it is one of the easiest commutes that one can make. So I can't see the KRM line being more convenient especially as you will have to be on their schedule and you will need to use an additional form of transit like a bus or taxi unless the place you are going is near the line.

Then we look at cost. I have no idea what the charge for a ride will be, but I do know that the ride down to Chicago is currently $12 round trip. If I'm to go to Kenosha from my house it is a roughly 20 mile commute. Using the Federal mileage rate which takes depreciation of your vehicle into account that trip costs me $11.70. So the cost of the train will likely be cheaper assuming I will not have to use a bus or can to get to my destination. While it will likely be cheaper, I'm not convinced that the cost savings offset the inconvenience factor of using the train.

In any event I would suspect most people would continue to use their cars to commute from Milwaukee to Kenosha.

Supporters will say that you know have the opportunity to take a lower cost train from Milwaukee to Chicago now and that will be true. However, that overlooks two key things. The first thing is what will the annual operating subsidy be? Amtrak isn't profitable at a $44 round trip cost, so it's imperative we know how high that cost is especially in this time of high government spending. You also have to consider the convenience factor. The Metra train from Kenosha take 1.5 hours to get to Chicago which is what it takes the Amtrak to get there from the downtown station. Given the number of proposed stops the trip to Chicago may take in excess of 2 hours which makes it a more unattractive option despite its costs.

Supporters of the plan fall back on two other positions that I really do not get. One is that train lines spur economic development and the other is that other cities are doing this so why don't we.

Having travelled the Metra to Chicago many times I've noticed that the stations are almost exclusively surrounded by residential area. They are not linked to job centers. The Metra train exists largely to get people into downtown Chicago which is a massive economy. It is far different than even Milwaukee in it's economic power. I'd encourage anyone to visit the Kenosha station (assuming you find it) and let me know what economic development is happening anywhere near that station. I just don't think all sorts of good paying jobs are going to come into Oak Creek and such just because there's a train that connects the OC to Milwaukee and Racine.

Sure other cities have trains, but other cities have much worse traffic than we have. We seem to have a crush on Portland. We were there last year and the car traffic stinks and it's not exactly easy to get around on public transport. When we were in Seattle car traffic was also an issue, but they had a great public system that was largely anchored by the use of buses.

I like to think I'm forward thinking, but I'm just not seeing this one.