Now imagine stepping into a comfortable rail car with your latte and newspaper. The train pulls out of the depot at its scheduled time and arrives in Anchorage less than an hour later.

That is the vision that advocates of a commuter rail promoted during a demonstration of a new self-propelled commuter rail car.

Representatives from Colorado Railcar in cooperation with the Alaska Railroad Corporation brought the rail car to Alaska to promote it to railroad officials and legislators as part of a tour through the United States and British Columbia.

The DMU burns one-quarter the fuel that a locomotive would burn to move the same amount of passengers and emits one-fourth the emissions. During the design phase, the DMU was expected to get between 1 and 1.1 miles to the gallon. Due to the computer-controlled engine management system, it gets 2 mpg, almost doubling its expected efficiency.

"This car may be painted bright red, but it is green," said Tom Rader, president of the Colorado Railcar referring to the fuel efficiency of the DMU.

The idea for the rail car came about during a conversation with Bill Sheffield during his stint as president of the railroad, said Rader. Sheffield said the time was coming for a commuter rail in Alaska. After an analysis of the market, officials at Colorado Railcar found a niche market for light rail cars that could run on heavy rail used for freight. According to representatives for the manufacturer, this is the only rail car of its type on the market.

"This type of car hasn't been built in the U.S. for 40 years," said Tom Janaky, vice president of sales for Colorado Railcar.

The DMU has been available for 10 months, though it just completed its final testing phase in March.

The car has two applications for the Alaska Railroad. One is to replace the railroad's aging rail diesel cars, said Janaky. The rail cars were built in the 1950s and are reaching the end of their life-span.

"We have an extraordinarily talented crew in our maintenance department but even they are becoming challenged," said Pat Flynn, spokesperson for the railroad.

The railroad is considering whether to replace the diesel rail cars with the DMU but has not made a decision, said Flynn.

"We are not in a desperate situation yet but we need to keep an eye on what our future plan is," he said.

The railroad has four rail diesel cars. All five cars could likely be replaced by two DMUs, said Janaky. The rail diesel cars are mainly used between Talkeetna and Hurricane where there is no road access.

The second application for the DMU would be as a commuter service.

"We like to call it 'commuteresque,'" said Flynn because the car has potential not only as a commuter train but other functions, including service to Girdwood for skiing.

Several projects would have to be completed before the commuter service could become a reality, including the new intermodal center at Ship Creek, a new depot in Wasilla and track rehabilitation in between.

"If we started today, it would be about five years before we were 100 percent ready to go," Flynn said.

Another key to the success of a commuter rail is to have logistics worked out, such as bus service to disperse passengers from the train to their work places.

"We have to have buses in place so this is not designed to fail," said Cynthia Wentworth, one of the founders of the Rail Commuters Advocacy Commitee. The advocacy group is comprised of Anchorage assembly members, business people, environmentalists and interested individuals who are lobbying for the commuter rail.

The idea of a commuter rail has been met with skepticism by many, including Rick Singsaas, conductor for the railroad, who recently moved to the Valley.

Alaskans are an independent type of people who do not like being told what to do, said Singsaas. Relinquishing the control and independence that a car provides is something that will be hard for many commuters to accept.

"The reality of it is, you're going to have to drag me from my car," said Singsaas.

One solution is for dual-car families to drive one car in to Anchorage on Monday morning and park it for the week at a garage facility that the railroad will build as part of the Ship Creek intermodal project.

Perhaps the greatest task faced by advocacy groups will be convincing drivers that it will be more convenient to take the train than to drive. The road to a successful commuter rail may be a long one but many, like Sheffield, believe the time is coming.

"Is it time for commuter service now?" said Janaky. "No. But it's time to start thinking about it."