Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Energy

The ‘Infrastructure Condo’ That Could Help Make High-Speed Rail Happen

As the Obama administration prepares to roll out its ambitious new investment in high-speed rail (HSR), right-of-way -- primary control over a stretch of train track, whether existing or envisioned -- has become a major consideration for states that want to jumpstart local networks.

In California, freight railroad Union Pacific is negotiating with HSR planners over sharing right-of-way. In upstate New York, planners concede that proposed HSR trains may not reach Niagara Falls because of the hard bargain getting driven by CSX, the freight company that controls right-of-way.

So how can the White House's HSR plan avoid miring in local right-of-way struggles?

Urban studies professor and transportation expert Anthony Perl outlined his proposed solution today at the U.S. High Speed Rail Association conference. Perl's answer to the right-of-way conundrum: the "infrastructure condominium."

Perl's term may not roll off the tongue, but his concept is simple. Instead of freight railroads engaging in high-stakes dealmaking for rights-of-way, HSR planners would lease the rights to the track.

"Freight railroads can collect 'rent'
for their rights-of-way," Perl explained today, "and can get involved in the operation end [of HSR] if they're
interested. All they have to do is sign the right documents … and they'll
get a check every month."

Perl, director of the urban studies program at Simon Fraser University, explains the concept further in his book Transport Revolutions:

In a railway infrastructure condominium, the right-of-way would be owned separately from the tracks, communications and signalling systems and electric power distribution equipment. ... The tracks occupying a railway condominium could remain quite segregated operationally, or some could be integrated into a common network. Rents could be paid to a ground-lease holder, which in many cases would be a private railway company that had previously owned the integrated tracks, signals, and right-of-way. These rents could be used to finance electrification of America's freight rail network, which could remain in private hands.

Perl acknowledged that his "infrastructure condo" would not solve all the difficulties facing the U.S. government's HSR buildout, and that the freight industry "would fight such an idea" given that their existing rail infrastructure stands to receive a major upgrade as part of the U.S. DOT's first round of HSR grants.

Still, with conservative critics predicting that the need to accommodate existing track ownership could turn into a "subsidy" for freight railroads, the prospect of reining in the freight industry's bargaining power -- while providing it a guaranteed source of revenue for rights-of-way -- could catch on in Washington.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Wednesday’s Headlines Got the Worried Blues

Transit agencies listen to that whistle blow. They're going where they never gone before.

July 17, 2024

Study: More Evidence That Safer Streets Help Loca Business

...and more insight into why that belief is so hard to quash.

July 17, 2024

Tuesday’s Headlines Turn Up the Heat

Triple-digit heat, fueled by climate change, is warping rail lines, interrupting construction work on transit lines and causing burns on sidewalks.

July 16, 2024

These Are the Most Dangerous Congressional Districts for Pedestrians

The deadliest congressional districts in America are dominated by BIPOC communities — and federal officials need to step up to save the most vulnerable road users.

July 16, 2024

Delivery Worker Minimum Wage Shows Promise … For Some, Data Shows

New data from New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection shows minimum wage is bringing order to a previously wild industry.

July 15, 2024
See all posts