Commuter Train: It’s Fun, But Is It Feasible? Demonstration Gives Glimpse Of Potential In Boise Area

The RegioSprinter is fun. But is it feasible?

Many southwestern Idaho residents are getting a taste this week of a potential commuter train that could run as far west as Caldwell to carry people to work in the Boise valley.

My ride left the Boise Depot at 11:01 a.m., about a minute behind schedule. It took 15 minutes to travel six miles west where it turned around and took 14 minutes more to get back to the depot. Since it was just a demonstration, it didn’t stop to pick people up along the way.

About 90 were aboard the RegioSprinter, a one-unit, two compartment train that runs in either direction. Representatives of Siemens Transportation Systems Inc. of Iselin, N.J., which is promoting sales, called it “a safe, simple and smart solution” to mass transit needs.

Most were impressed with the train, shiny and new. Some passengers joked the huge picture windows, which give a great view of the countryside, probably wouldn’t last long in graffiti-prone big cities.

It was a quick, quiet and fairly smooth ride. Passengers got to see parts of Boise and its outskirts that aren’t visible from roads. If light commuter rail ever got off the ground, it would be about a 40-minute trip from Nampa to Boise. The first daily run would leave as early as 7:26 a.m.

A lot of people rode the train because rail passenger service is a vanishing experience. District Judge George Carey used his Columbus Day holiday to take a ride because he’s a railroad buff.

“If it’s a train, I’ll be on it,” he said.

Boise resident John Dennett also likes trains. Last fall, he and his wife rode the Amtrak to Seattle. And if there were a train to downtown Boise, he probably would use it to avoid the traffic congestion that has officials looking at a train system in the first place.

Boise Mayor Brent Coles, who spent much of the day riding the train, has been pushing the concept. The demonstration this week and next is costing $228,000.

But it’s still just a concept, and a regional commuter train seems far away.

Coles doesn’t know how much the train would cost to operate so there’s no idea what the passenger fare would be although the major concedes fares would have to be heavily subsidized.