Printable Version Tell a friend

Culver encourages passenger rail efforts

(Cedar Rapids Gazette)CEDAR RAPIDS — Two local proposals could fit into the energy-efficient future Gov. Chet Culver envisions for the state, but one hoped-for development is going to California and Illinois.

A proposal to revive passenger rail service over the CRANDIC route between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City has ‘‘incredible potential,’’ and Cedar Rapids could receive additional state aid to counter the loss of revenue if its transit system stops charging fares.

‘‘I don’t think that’s a crazy idea,’’ Culver said of the fare proposal during a meeting Thursday with The Gazette’s Editorial Board. ‘‘You were one of the first to move to biodiesel for your buses. Why not look at other ways you can stay out there and be a model?’’

Culver mentioned the CRANDIC plan as a potential way to get motorists out of their cars in the Interstate 380 corridor. A consultant estimated in December the restoration of downtown-to-downtown service would take $70 million.

‘‘The No. 1 priority needs to be conservation’’ through more efficient vehicles and alternative transport modes, Culver said. ‘‘We’re trying to move as quickly as we can.’’

One project that could have boosted energy research and development is BP’s $500 million Energy Biosciences Institute.

Iowa State University was a candidate for the institute, but the energy company announced later Thursday its selection of the University of California Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.