Providence Journal Editorial: The Aquidneck Express?

4/10/2008

As Aquidneck Island grows ever more crowded, the pleasures of driving a car on the island grow ever more difficult to identify. The Newport Dinner Train is not a commuting option, but from its state-owned 12.4 miles of track arises the prospect of a commuter train between Newport and Portsmouth.

The Dinner Train is devoting a $300,000 federal grant to track improvements that could eventually permit a sister entity — the Islander Shuttle — to offer commuter (and tourist) rail seasonally between Newport’s Gateway Center and Portsmouth’s expanding Melville district. The firm has applied for another $1.5 million grant to develop the line.

Already in hand are a pair of vintage Budd cars wrapped in corrugated stainless steel and operable in two directions by a single engineer — he’d sit at one of two sets of controls at either end. Track improvements will permit the train to travel at speeds of up to 14 mph: 4 mph faster than the leisurely Dinner Train. At full throttle that means a commute of almost an hour from Melville to Gateway Center — passing, to be sure, lovely scenery on the way.

We commend the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission’s effort to push commuter rail, but, as with the state’s recently canceled commuter ferry between Providence and Newport, a clear set of eyes must assess its practicality. Surely a commuter train on Aquidneck grows more feasible as vehicular traffic grows more difficult. But at what point does it become feasible?

Unlike the ferry service that did not last beyond its federal line of credit, this commuter service would be privately owned and run. As cheerleaders for commuting options that cut oil consumption and road congestion, we say good luck!