Editorial counterpoint: Why we should thank the railroads

St. Paul has been shaped by railroads. And our community continues to benefit from our good fortune of being in the right place at the right time. Railroad pioneer James J. Hill was in some ways his era's Steve Jobs — a forward-looking innovator who wouldn't take no for an answer.

Hill's railway extended from St. Paul to Puget Sound. By the middle of 1893, America's West and East coasts were linked by regular service, with St. Paul right in the middle.

If you wonder why our region is home to 18 Fortune 500 companies, outpacing all other U.S. metro areas on a per-capita basis, you need look no further than the rail lines that cross through our cities. Our entrepreneurial success began when leaders built railroads that linked us to both coasts.

Last week, the Star Tribune editorialized that railroads need to help safeguard Minnesota's safety ("Ask railroads to do their part for safety," March 20). No one would disagree. But the paper failed to mention what the railroads are already doing to improve rail safety.

This year alone, four Class I railroads will privately invest more than $500 million in safety and capital improvements in Minnesota. That's a big number — more than a quarter of the current state budget surplus.

The editorial also laments that seven or eight oil trains per day travel through Minnesota. But railroads don't have the ability to turn away products. Under their "common carrier" obligation established by the federal government, railroads are required to carry legal goods from any shipper.

The railroads didn't discover oil in North Dakota. But because other methods of transporting it are being stymied by politics, they're doing their part to safely deliver domestically produced energy by making strategic investments and supporting stronger federal regulations proposed by President Obama's administration.

There are a couple of big problems with that. First, the property tax provision is likely illegal under federal law. The federal 4-R Act makes it illegal to tax railroads in a manner different from how other commercial and industry property is taxed.

Second, the grade-crossing tax is unnecessary when railroads are investing more than $500 million of private money in improvements. It doesn't make sense to take the money from the railroads and put it in the hands of government, providing disincentives to making direct systemwide safety improvements.

Finally, as we learned with the now-repealed warehousing tax and other business-to-business tax hikes, the costs would be passed on to railroad customers and ultimately to consumers.

We are the beneficiaries of many good jobs created by the railroad industry. We should recognize the significant and ongoing economic and safety contributions railroads make to our region — not single them out for excessive taxation.