The state director of transportation compares the many aspects of bringing commuter rail service to the city’s intermodal project to the Hydra, the mythical nine-headed water serpent killed by Hercules.

But whether Michael Lewis can subdue the beast and have trains stop at the Warwick station with a connecting skywalk to Green Airport by the time the $266 million project is completed is a feat even he is questioning.

However, Lewis feels the odds are on his side. Last month he met with Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation James A. Aloisi, Jr. chairman of the board of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority that would make eight daily roundtrip runs between Providence and Wickford Junction with a stop at the intermodal facility. Lewis said Aloisi is a proponent of rail service and that they set an arbitrary 60-day deadline for the state and the MBTA to come up with an operating agreement.

The agreement is one of several pieces of the puzzle.

In order for the trains to stop in Warwick, Wickford components of the project must also be completed. That will require construction of a station platform, 1,100-car parking garage and about a mile of side track there all by the projected opening of the intermodal facility in the fall of 2010.

Lewis said the department is actively negotiating with developer Robert Cioe, who would build and maintain the parking garage on land that he owns. The platform, which is now in design, would be built under a separate contract.

Lewis is optimistic this element of the project is feasible by late 2010.

Discussions are also being conducted with Amtrak for the sidetrack that would provide MBTA with the space it needs to “turn around” trains so they can make the return run to Providence and eventually Boston. The trains don’t actually turn around but rather they are brought to a stop and the conductor walks to the opposite end to drive it from there. That track would not be used as a layover for trains, Lewis said. He also said $25 million of project funding would be in FTA new start funds with added amounts coming from a Federal Highway Administration earmark, commuter rail bonds, rail modernization funds and federal congestion mitigation and air quality monies for a total of $50 million.

However, Lewis notes, the state has no control over Amtrak, which demands that it do all work within its rail corridor. This presents issues on at least two fronts, the construction of the siding that would parallel Amtrak rails and the switching and signalization needed for both the Wickford station and the intermodal facility.

“Amtrak has a long list that may hang things up,” he said.

In addition, since the state would rent Amtrak rails, Amtrak requires the state to provide $200 million of general liability insurance indemnifying them of any action resulting from use of their system. Lewis said research of MBTA losses and of rail systems across the country project that for the 20 miles of track to be used, Rhode Island could expect an average annual loss of $20,000. Lewis said the plan is for the state to self-insure the first $7.5 million of claims with a letter of credit that has already gained General Assembly approval. The state would then purchase additional coverage to meet Amtrak’s requirement.

A lack of agreements has plagued the intermodal project since the vision of connecting the airport with a rail station was advanced more than a decade ago.

While the late Senator John Chafee secured an initial $25 million for the project, additional funding was slow to come by and it was only after his son, Lincoln Chafee was able to obtain Federal Highway funding and an agreement was reached with car rental companies for use of the garage that will serve as the major component of the station, that work moved forward. Even with all that lead time it was only within the last six months after construction had already started that the state reached an agreement with Amtrak enabling the MBTA service to extend south of Providence.

Lewis said a sticking point of the operating agreement with MBTA is how to handle revenues generated by the new service. He said the intent is for revenues to cover operating costs, a break-even situation.

It is projected that the service will have a strong Wickford to Providence commuter ridership that will enable the MBTA to sell those seats for a second time as trains head north to Boston. The issue, Lewis said, is whether the state will make up a short fall should revenues not meet expenses. On the other hand, there also needs to be an agreement on what becomes of profits should the service become hugely successful.

Mayor Scott Avedisian was irked to learn yesterday that service to the intermodal facility could be delayed because of delays in Wickford. He said he was disappointed by a “lack of communication” and that the two projects should be linked.

In response, Lewis said yesterday that the projects are independent of one another but that they are being planned concurrently.

“Both are on the plan to provide South County rail service,” he said.

Stephen Devine of the DOT said the department is developing a contingency plan that would enable MBTA trains to “turn around” in Quonset or to proceed to Wickford and use a temporary platform there if needed.

Can it all come together in time for completion of the intermodal facility?

Lewis is up for the Herculean task, but he’s not making promises.

If it’s any consolation, Lewis observed the skywalk, with its moving sidewalk that will arch over Post Road and give Warwick a Star Trek façade, won’t be for naught. People won’t be using it to get to a station without a train, but rather – and this is ironic – to rent cars.