Getting aboard plans to expand services

"Ten years ago, we weren't talking about commuter rail in this city,” Rex said. "Now, when I go to civic events, normally one of the first questions asked is about light rail.

"We're starting to think differently,” he said.

Rex said though the cost of a light rail system didn't seem viable for the city, a downtown circulator — what Rex called a fixed-rail modern street car — may be plausible.

"A consultant has been selected to do the study,” Rex said. He said the study, which will be finished in 2009, will look at the cost and possible route of such a system.

John Dougherty, assistant division manager of rail programs for the state Transportation Department, said though additional and expanded rail service won't happen tomorrow, planning for the future is a positive step.

"I think we all foresee the future of the U.S., and we think that it needs to be rail,” he said.