Winchester, Oregon Railyard The Oregon Transportation Commission will discuss terminating ConnectOregon funding for the Winchester Railyard in their monthly meeting today in Salem. The move to approve termination of the grant was added to the agenda on Monday and provides little to no chance for public input on an issue that directly affects residents of Roseburg, Oregon. Three minutes has been allocated for the decision and nine others on the consent agenda. Up to 15 minutes of public input will be allowed at the end of the meeting – but after the decision will have already been made. In July of 2006, the Oregon Transportation Commission awarded the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad 7.7 million dollars in ConnectOregon funding to relocate the CORP switching yard from downtown Roseburg to Winchester located five miles north of town. The move was advertised as a way to remove the traffic jams that are created every time a long CORP train comes into the yard, just south of Oak and Washington Streets. But once the closure of rail line to Coos Bay went into effect, work on the switching yard came to a halt and the OTC froze the ConnectOregon funds. Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad has already invested 1.9 million dollars of its own money in the yard. Property was purchased and grading of the yard completed. That last step was to lay down the rails. The move appears to have also caught local officials by surprise. Oregon State Representative Susan Morgan told the local Roseburg newspaper the "News-Review" , “It sounds like they are pulling the plug.” Todays meeting starts at 9:30 in Salem.
The closure by CORP of the Coos Bay line without notice might have been the straw that broke the camels back. Corp might not need the new yard north of Roseburg since they are running off what business they have. Might be CORP means Can't Operate Railroads Properly.
Well, since CORP is wanting off the Siskiyou line, why need a large yard when it's all being detoured over the UP? Shedding the Siskiyou and Coos Bay lines has got to drastically decrease their presence in southwestern Oregon.
UPDATE: The Oregon Transportation Commission meets today in Salem. One of the agenda items is whether to terminate ConnectOregon funding for the Winchester Railyard. Yesterday, officials with the OTC decided to move the agenda item out of the consent agenda in order for more discussion to be allowed. Media inquiries prompted the agency to separate the vote from that list. CORP and Rail America officials were surprised to learn about the pending decision through calls from news reporters in Roseburg looking for reaction. The Roseburg, Oregon newspaper "News-Review" has learned CORP is planning to sue the state of Oregon in order to retain the funds to build the switching yard in Winchester. The project would alleviate some of the congestion in downtown Roseburg. The meeting starts at 9:30am in Salem.
From : KQEN News Roseburg, Oregon The Winchester Rail Yard project didn’t lose any ground yesterday at a State hearing. The Oregon Transportation Commission delayed any action on a proposal to terminate project funding. Roseburg City Manager Eric Swanson says that the City and community members supported continuation and final completion of the project. Swanson says the possibility for the Commission to still remove the funding is there. Swanson says community testimony helped, including a lawsuit that was filed this week by RailAmerica & Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad. When completed, the Winchester Rail Yard would take a lot of pressure off of the downtown aged facility. Traffic on Washington & Oak streets would not be blocked up as much as they are when a very long train passes thru town.
To believe the assertions made above by several posters, one must believe that there was a sizeable traffic decrease on CORP by the suspension of operations on the two line segments mentioned. That is incorrect by multiple measures. First, Coos Bay was served out of Eugene, not Roseburg. Second, Roseburg is the "on duty" point for locals both north and south of Roseburg. This means that all of the customers still being served to the south and many of those being served to the north are still served out of Roseburg. If anything, the rerouting of trains north has increased traffic through Roseburg because all of the traffic goes north instead of some going south. This means that there are more long trains coming into and out of the yard since everything comes from one place instead of 2.
I did not so much make an assetion as ask a question- slight difference. Personally, any improvement to the physical plant would be welcome, especially if it helps free traffic up in Roseburg & make life a little easier for the CORP crews. However, I need not remind you that CORP isn't exactly on the Christmas card lists of a lot of folks in Oregon, if ya know what I mean. (yes, I know you couldn't care less) BTW, if CORP didn't lose a "sizeable amount of traffic" when Coos Bay service was suspended, then what, by RA standards, IS a "sizeable amount of traffic"? And if this traffic was not much of a loss to CORP, then why are CORP, Coos Bay people, and the Surf Board all involved in a sale? FTR, I am well aware that a railroad, especially a short line, has to have a minimum amount of carloadings to stay viable, so I understand this.
The portion of Coos Bay which was abandoned was only 150 or 200 cars a year if that. Technically, Siskiyou has only lost the traffic that shippers/customers have chosen not to ship/receive. No customers were actually cut off when they closed the pass, which is why it is very likely the STB will rule the Shipper's Coalition dispute to be a rate issue and not a service issue, something that will be very bad for them becuase there are legal ramifications if that ruling does occur.
Roseburg Rail Meeting Less than a week after the state of Oregon attempted to remove state funds from the Winchester Railyard, a “who’s-who” list of government, business and rail officials have called a meeting in Roseburg. The meeting, set for this morning in the Roseburg, Oregon City Hall, will answer the question of ‘where do we go from here’ in regards to the proposed switching yard. The list of invited officials includes representatives of the City of Roseburg, Douglas County and the Oregon State Legislature. Business owners and local shippers will also be on hand. So too will David Arganbright of Rail America. The agenda includes a recap of the testimony that was given at last week’s Oregon Transportation Commission meeting in Salem, a status update on the project and pending litigation over the switchyard and an attempt to answer the question, “Where do we go from here?” The Oregon Transportation Commission nearly removed 7.7 million dollars in ConnectOregon funding from the Winchester Railyard Project in a meeting in Salem last week. Several key representatives learned of the possible move through the media just three days before the meeting, triggering a swift response. RailAmerica filed a breech of contract lawsuit over the lack of notice and Roseburg City Manager Eric Swanson and Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce President Dell Gray attended the meeting in Salem, offering testimony in favor of preserving the project. The OTC voted to table the funding matter, but made it clear the state no longer supports project, due to CORP and RailAmerica’s handling of the embargo of the Coos Bay Branch line. The switching yard is of interest to the City of Roseburg because it would shorten the length of trains that come through downtown core area on the way to the current switching yard. Motorists complaints and safety issues have arose from the regular delays.
This story just ran on KQEN, Roseburg, Oregon : Coos Bay Rail Line The Surface Transportation Board has issued its final decision this morning concerning the setting of a price for the Coos Bay Rail Line. The STB ordered the sale of the Coos Bay Rail line to the International Port of Coos Bay on October 31st. The STB set a value on the land but ordered the Port to submit additional information relating to update steel prices. The STB used the Ports data and price information submitted by Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad to come up with a purchase price. Today the STB set the total purchase price of the 111 mile rail line at $16,605,987 . In the same decision today the STB denied Congressman Peter Defazio’s request for additional time for the Port to complete the deal. The decision states the Port must notify the STB and CORP by December 1st if it wishes to proceed and complete the purchase at the price set by the STB.
The International Port of Coos Bay has agreed to buy the rail line that runs from Eugene to Coos Bay. The Surface Transportation Board set the price at 16.6 million dollars for the 111 mile branch line. According to an article published in the Coos Bay World, Port officials met last night for more than an hour to discuss yesterday mornings Surface Transportation decision. They all agreed to authorize Executive Director Jeffery Bishop to move forward with the purchase, with one important exception. He must file for a price reconsideration. The Port has to file a final answer to the STB by December 1st. The deal must be completed by February 18th. Shippers representative Bob Ragon estimates it will take another 20 million dollars to repair the line.
I realize that the economy is in the dumps and scrap metal is down, but I'm getting the distinct impression with the STB's denial of the time extension, that they've had just about enough of this issue and are getting a little cranky with all parties. I'd just pay the $17 million and thank them.
Or, the STB might be thinking that for as long as this process has been ongoing, the Port should have already had all it's financing arranged. As lengthy as this has been, I'm expecting every card in the deck to be played. Boxcab E50
If I were the Port and thought I had a shot at getting a couple mil knocked off I would drag my feet a little, too.
The City of Roseburg has sent a letter to the Oregon Transportation Commission and to Governor Ted Kulongoski in support of the Winchester Rail Yard Project. Letters were also sent to Oregon’s Congressional Delegation and other political leaders in the State. The letter asks for a meeting with the Governor and some advance notification of any future hearings and a chance to comment about the 7.7 million dollar grant for the uncompleted rail yard project. Other letters from the Police and Fire Department have been sent out expressing support for the rail yard and the effect on city services if the project gets canceled. The Oregon Transportation Commission has the final call on the decision on whether or not to pull the funding and cancel the States support for the Winchester Rail Yard. The matter could come up again on the agenda again during the December meeting of the Commission in Salem.
The International Port of Coos Bay has filed a Petition with the Surface Transportation Board for a price reconsideration for the Coos Bay Rail Line. The Port asked the STB last week for the formula that was used to set the net liquidated value for the rail line. The STB provided the confidential information and the Port yesterday afternoon filed for the reconsideration. The Port stated that they found a technical error in the Boards calculations and asked for a decrease in the purchase price by $20-thousand dollars. If the Board agrees with the Port’s filing the new purchase price would be $16, 585,760.00 . The STB is expected to make a quick decision On the Port’s filing request. The Port still has until Monday at 2PM to let the STB and the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad know if they intend to accept the STB’s set price for the line.
That's only a 0.1 percent (0.001) margin. That's encouraging - shouldn't be a make-or-break deal. Scott
