Go High Tech! Network Mississippi! Build A Railroad Of Light!
Support building a railroad of light with fiber optics in all homes, schools and businesses!
Clarke County Board of Supervisors Votes to establish railroad authority
By Terry Lynch
I agree with the editorial by Wade C. Bolen published in the The Clarke County Tribune on Aug. 29, 2009. Although his earlier editorial of Aug. 13th raised some questions about supporting the establishment of a railroad authority, after attending the meeting to discuss this issue on Aug. 17, both Mr. Bolen and I seem to agree that it was a wise decision for the Clarke County Board of Supervisor to vote uanimously to invest in establishing a railroad authority to plan and build a railroad between Waynesboro and Lucedale.
Initially Mr. Bolen expressed some skeptisum about supporting a railroad authority, given the intial budget projections of $65,000.00 or more for Clarke County. My initial reaction to this report was that the general public should NOT support the expenditure of $65,000.00 to establish and fund a railroad authority for a line between Waynesboro and Lucedale. This was because there are many, many better ways that this money could be spent in Clarke County to boost business, generate commerce and expand job opportunities.
What Clarke County and all municipalities need to do is go high tech! Railroads are low tech. Instead of building railroads, we need to be building high speed fiber optic Internet connections and technology centers so that at the speed of light we can do business around the entire world!
A railroad is just a way of hauling goods made in third world nations at slave labor wages cheaply to stores in America, so that the big companies which have relocated off shore overseas can continue to exploit Americans and destroy our local economy. Instead of aiding and abetting these corporate giant criminals, we need to be spending money right here in Clarke County to build high speed Internet services that can be used to attract business, industry and even provide jobs for local citizens. Doing this will result in growth and development, spark new businesses and enterprises, and keep jobs right here in Clarke County instead of flooding the area with products made in Bangladesh, Red China or God only knows where!
We need to be doing everything possible to keep jobs at home in America. That will NOT happen by giving away $65,000 to establish a railroad authority to plan and build a railroad from Waynesboro to Lucedale, not unless we also invest in high technology to keep jobs in Clarke County. In case no one has noticed, there is already a railroad running through Quitman. But what Quitman and the rest of Clarke County does not have is county wide high speed fiber optics piped into every home, school and office.
The railroads of the future are not going to be build out of iron spikes, wooden ties, and steel castings, but out of light streaking through cables connecting all the people of the world. We do not have much here in rural Mississippi, and certainly cannot afford to waste what little we do have. Therefore I urge everyone who supports a railroad to the Gulf and giving away $65,000 to the railroad authority, to also urge that the county spend an equal or greater sum on an Internet railroad of light that would open the door to a new and bright future for Clarke County and all its citizens!
There are also many, many other needs that Clarke County has which should be a priority. This includes everything from a state-of-the-art Animal Rescue Center to new, modern schools and shopping centers. Why we do not even have a Wal-Mart or other major shopping center in Quitman. If anything, the people of Clarke County should support these type of projects and developments in addition to giving $65,000 or whatever it ends up costing to the railroad authority for nothing anyone can see, measure, hold in their hand, or benefit from directly.
A whopping $65,000 is a lot of money, but it does not even begin to cover what it will actually cost to build a railroad to the Gulf. Acutual cost will probably run on the order of $172-million, which does not even include improvements for existing tracks, crossings, bridges and other intrastructure. Investment in a railroad authority and construction of a railroad to the Gulf is only a good idea if it also includes investment in other priorities and good works that our tax dollars could be supporting to bring ourselves and our children a better quality of life throughout Clarke County!
After listening to Gil Carmichael's presentation to the Clarke County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 17, 2009, about building a railroad to the Gulf, I have changed my mind. Construction of such a railroad would benefit everyone in the region. However, I am concerned about how this is being done and whether or not tax payer money invested in such a project is spent wisely.
Although Gil Carmichael's dream of a railroad to the Gulf is a great aspiration, I am concerned that no one could tell me exactly how much it would cost to build such a railroad. Also I'm wondering how much operating cost would be and what would the profit be to the tax payers who live in the various counties through which the railroad to the Gulf would pass? Why could not all the cost to the tax payers to establish a railroad authority be reimbursed through profits made by the railroad once it is built and operational?
I'm also concerned about who would have power and control with regard to matters concerning the railroad. And who would be liable for any accidents or injuries to workers or the general public. This is a genuine concern given the fact that people may be injured during the construction of a railroad. Also during the operation of a railroad there may be derailments or other accidents. Who is going to be responsible for such accidents, injury and/or loss of life?
I was not satisfied with the fact that no one could tell me how much it was going to cost to build such a railroad. When I asked Gil Carmichael this question he rambled on and on about his dream of building a railroad, but never addressed my question. Although the presentation he and others gave to the Clarke County Board of Supervisors convinced me that such a railroad to the Gulf would be a benefit to everyone, I was genuinely concerned that no one could give me an accurate figure as to how much it would cost. A board members did say that $4-million dollars per mile of track laid was the estimate given to them; however, no one said how many miles of track would need to be laid. I was left to make my own calculation based upon it being some 55 miles as the crow flies between Waynesboro and Lucedale. Hence it would cost $220-million to just lay the track; this does not include an additional sum for right-of-ways, bridges, safe crossings or other expenses.
With an accurate cost estimate being left up in the air by those proposing a railroad, I am left wondering if they should be entrusted with such an expensive project. If they cannot say how much it will cost now, how can they be expected to be accountable later for hugh sums of tax payer money they might be given to plan and impliment such a project?
After learning of the benefits of a railroad to the Gulf, I agree that such a railroad is a good idea. However, there are more questions which need to be asked and answered BEFORE tax payer money is used to fund such a project. First, I think such funding should be properly appropriated and budgeted; I don't think it should come out of sums not budgeted specifically for the purpose of funding a railroad authority. Second, I think that however the railroad authority is initially funded, said authority should be required to reimburse the tax payers from future profits it makes and/or that all profits generated via the railroad authority and operation of the railroad be proportionally distributed to the various counties based upon their population. In this manner the various counties will have a long term benefit from the operation of the railroad authority.
I also think that consideration needs to be made to such matters as security. When I asked about this matter at the public meeting, those making the proposal only mentioned that land/sea containers were scanned; but the general consencious of opinion was that there was no way to guarantee that terrorist could not smuggle a weapon of mass destruction into a container and have it blow up in Clarke County. That does not set well with me and I do NOT believe this assumption. Rather, I believe this represents a great opportunity. The railroad authority could include construction of a state-of-the-art facility to inspect containers and charge fees for said inspections. Containers so inspected would be bar coded and certified as safe; only then would they proceed upon their way. Such an inspection facility could create so much potential revenue for the railroad authority that it would pay for building and maintaining the railroad over time, making such a railroad and security facility the best in the nation! Regardless of what other quick checks containers might go through off shore, at foreigh ports or once they arrive in US ports, the passage through an ultra secure, state-of-the-art container security system operated by the railroad authority would create a demand for such a service and certification, and set an example for the rest of the nation for how a railroad may operate to guarantee national security.
Another consideration would be proper planning to insure that loading and unloading facilities are provided at ever sixty miles along the railroad, such that the maximum benefit may come to communities serviced by the railroad. Such facilities would include the ability to load and unload crated upon rail cars and put them on trucks for hauling to areas withing sixty miles of the loading facilities. Lucedale, Waynesboro, Quitman and Meridian should all have such loading facilities so that maximum benefit may come to these communities from the economically transportation railservice to the Gulf would provide. The building and construction of such loading and unloading facilities should be part and parcel of the plan to build the railroad as this is the best way to guarantee that communities along the railroad get a fair share of business from the railroad.
Also as far as Clarke County and others participating counties are concerned, it is my opinion that the various Boards of Supervisors should consider employment of a private consulting firm to make a cost analysis, budget and plan for the railroad. This is because only such firms have the expertise and resources to make an accurate determination of costs based upon a sound analysis and plan; a committee appointed by the various county Boards of Supervisors simply does not have the same expertise and resources as does a private consultation company. Although a railroad authority may serve as a public body and political action group to promote and initiate the railroad project, a private consulting firm can give a better assessment of the costs based upon a comprehensive plan to construct not only the railroad, but facilities to load/unload fraight and a state-of-the-art facility to inspect containers and certifiy their safety.
With these considerations in mind, I endorese the idea of building a railroad to the Gulf. Yet such a railroad of iron, spikes and ties is only a beginning. What is also needed is a railroad of light, to bring high technology industry to the cities and towns of Clarke County and southeastern Mississippi. Unless we also build such a high tech infrastructure, we will not be able to support the high technology industries that may manufacture goods to export upon along the railroad to the Gulf. Plus, for every individual in every home and office to benefit from goods and services they may produce or offer, we need a railroad of light as much or more than we need a railroad of steel, spikes and ties.
I therefore support both railroads, that of steel, spikes and ties, and that of light; We need all forms of progress and with this in mind the various counties, cities and their governing bodies should set priorities. What does each county and municipality need? This question needs to be asked and answered. Plus detailed plans need to be made and priorities set, such that those projects in greatest need may be brought to light and properly funded. It is not enough just to say we need a railroad; the brightest and sharpest minds need to be brought together to plan and build that railroad, that the tax payer's money be invested and spent wisely, such that the greatest benefit comes to all from what little or much that we have to give.
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