Taking on trains

Find a way to mitigate local effect of taller cars

North Side neighborhoods like the Mexican War Streets and Allegheny West have fought mightily to bounce back from poverty, crime and decay. Once two of the city’s least desirable neighborhoods, they’re now among the finest. Norfolk Southern Railway shouldn’t be allowed to change that.

Yet rail traffic has played an important role in Pittsburgh’s industrial development, and the city should strive to maintain its status as a transportation hub. That’s why residents and the railroad should try to find common ground on the latter’s plan to enhance its freightcarrying presence through the North Side.

To the residents’ dismay, the railroad wants to raise two bridges at Pennsylvania and West North avenues by about 3 feet so that it can begin double-stacking freight cars on trains it runs beneath them. The disruption would not be minimal. It would change the alignment of roads and sidewalks, without adjusting the footprint of the homes that front on them.

The railroad, which now operates as many as 20 to 25 conventional trains on that route each day, wants to up the number of daily trains to as many as 50 once it starts running the double-stacked variety there as well. That would mean more noise and more air poll u t i o n from trains running through the North Side.

In all, Norfolk Southern wants to raise or otherwise alter 14 bridges in Allegheny County to forge a faster, higher-capacity route to Philadelphia, running double-stacked trains where it doesn’t now. Manchester — another North Side neighborhood on the move — also would be affected. Suburban communities like Braddock, North Braddock and Swissvale likewise would face the additional noise and air pollution from more-frequent trains and doublestacked freight cars.

The railroad landed a $20 million state grant to cover much of the bridge work, and its attitude is: We want it, so it must be done. While railroad executive Rudy Husband said Norfolk Southern isn’t trying to ram a project down anyone’s throat, it sure seems like it.

It got the grant without making peace with the people who live along the route or the officials who represent them. Dan Gilman, Mayor Bill Peduto’s chief of staff, cited the railroad’s “minimal” contact with the city and his boss’ frustration with a disorganized public meeting on the project.

When officials suggested a compromise that would lower the tracks a little and raise the bridges some, Mr. Husband said, “The grant was for work to be done in a specific way.” The moral here is that community input should come at the beginning of a project, not when the train is well down the tracks.

Yet residents should be openminded and realistic, too. The railroad is a long-term neighbor looking to expand its reach for its own good and for broader economic gain. Moreover, transportation of goods by train is kinder to the environment overall compared with transportation by big-rig trucks.

The city, county and state should work with residents and the railroad to find common ground that allows for peaceful coexistence.