Agree, 100%

Sorry to disagree with you, Dave, but take a look at how times have changed in the 25 years since Boise last had rail service: a.) Boise’s demographics have changed. Half the town is now refugees from Portland, Seattle, and the Bay area. Say what you want about the desirability of so many in-migrants, but potential patronage to the West Coast from a radically altered population base in Boise changes the picture drastically. Ever driven that long stretch of I-84 around Pendleton in winter? That’s your future?; b.) it’s not just about eastern Idaho where, yes, the towns are small and the spur rails don’t exist. It’s about connecting the Denver/Salt Lake eastern segment with the Portland/Seattle western termini, and all of those other “little towns” to the west of Boise that DO have rails and once had train service, like Nampa, Ontario, Baker City, La Grande, Pendleton, The Dalles, etc.; c.) it won’t work? How do you know? It’s been 25 years since passenger services was last offered in this corner of the Pacific Northwest where, yes, growth is proceeding on steroids at the moment.

Boise was a far different place the, so if you’re relying on that as your baseline, you’re out-of-sync with what Boise has become (regrettably in many ways, in my view). And Amtrak, if you haven’t heard, has actually been increasing service and expanding lines in the East … and in some fairly rural stretches like northern Maine and central North Carolina, lest the naysayers parrot the mantra that trains only work in the crowded urban Northeast. Boise better get moving correcting its “Achilles heel” — public transportation — lest all of this explosive growth throws the Treasure Valley into gridlock very soon. You can’t sustain the “growth gleam” in the eyes of Boise’s leaders and yet ignore how all of these new people are going to need to move around. You won’t solve it by keeping everyone on the road, in their monster cowboy pickups, just by building more highways. And an inadequate city bus system, the recently-exiled interstate bus depot that was booted out of downtown Boise so more gentrification might occur, and an airport that STILL lacks direct connections to any city east of Chicago and Atlanta (off-and-on, as Boise fluctuates) do not add up to a balanced transportation system. One piece — a simple rail connection — is now within Boise’s power to restore, with a supportive rail president in the White House. Boise better seize the opportunity, and dispense with the “it’ll never work” attitude, lest you find yourselves in a bigger transportation pickle a decade from now.

David Klinger moved. Who cares what he thinks? Maybe he should worry about writing long-winded drivel about wherever he lives now.