Train Watch: Railroaded in Muncie . . . July 2, 2008
Nearly five years after the study was first proposed, a consultant has come up with a proposal for diverting railroad 
trains running past the stretch of Norfolk and Southern tracks between the Muncie Mall and downtown Muncie. The tracks would be relocated east of the Muncie Bypass and swing from the point just about where the railroad goes underneath the Bypass up to Royerton, at CR 500 N.
The relocation would be marvelous in eliminating the miserable traffic jams and delays at Granville/McGalliard roads, plus every grade-level crossing south of that point (Streeter, Centennial, Highland, a dozen others) and eliminate the crossing downtown on Wysor south of the old Broadway (now MLK) bridge.
One can’t have driven much in Muncie and not have been stopped sooner, later, or frequently at one of these crossings — unless, of course, you saw the sluggish locomotive in time and rerouted yourself to McCullough Boulevard, slipped under the railroad bridge through the park.
Because of the number of street crossings, the trains usually travel at a crawl. In addition, the trains need to make a 90 degree turn crossing the White River heading into downtown and 
to continue southbound, a nearly 180 degree turn along Gavin Street, the scene (adjacent to a nursing home) of multiple mishaps where trains have jumped the tracks. The map to the right (from the consultant’s draft) shows these two acute turns and again, tight turns make trains slow way down. NS railroad actually reports adhering to a 10 mph speed limit through Muncie.
Delays are costly, and the consultants came up with a staggering $1.9 million annual cost to motorists of waiting on the trains along this stretch. The worst crossing, of course, is on McGalliard, where 25,000 cars daily traverse the tracks. From 2001 to 2005, eight car-train collisions occurred along the entire stretch, and you might recall two weeks ago, a motorist, probably talking on a cell phone, driving into a train at the McGalliard crossing. (Am I correct in thinking that the motorist is *always* at fault in a car-train collision?)
The relocation of the rail line, which would equal about four miles of new track, would decrease traffic delays for thousands of automobiles, improve air quality, allow trains to travel faster (time=money for the railroad, too), reduce noise pollution of locomotive air horns, save drivers millions of dollars, decrease likelihood of hazardous materials spills, possibly even free up four miles of track to add to Cardinal Greenway with no adverse effect on wetlands, the environment, wildlife species, archeological sources or historic sites.
And the cost, were the project to start today: $20 million for construction and land acquisition. That’s well less than the savings over an estimated 30 year life span (a time period that must be conservative: that stretch of railroad from the Mall for downtown is well more than 30 years old).
So the cost is well worth the money. Yet . . . where does the money come from? Even with federal funds paying 80 percent, Muncie and Delaware County doesn’t have $4 million for a local match. It’s not like we can assess each motorist a quarter each time they drive over a former railroad crossing.
Our best hope is that the railroad, indeed, sees the shortcut as a huge money-saver and coughs up a big part of the local expense. This would be too much: that the railroad sees the location as perfect for a railroad yard, and constructs additional tracks for sorting and storing cars, maybe even loading and unloading freight, all requiring 250 local employees. Of course, this is close to Desoto, who’s motto is “BANANAS”: Building Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone.”
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