(The following report appeared on The Oregonian website on November 15.)
COOS BAY, Ore. — Talk about reopening a closed short-line railroad from Eugene to the Oregon coast is proceeding along two tracks.
Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad has called a meeting in Eugene this week to unveil a proposed public-private plan.
The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay says it wants to wrest control of the rail line from the company and has authorized its executive director, Jeffrey Bishop, to spend as much as $200,000 exploring the idea of owning the assets and finding new partners to finance repairs.
To accomplish that goal, the Port would file a “feeder line application” to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, which oversees railroads, setting out a plan to buy and run the line.
The Port would control the line’s infrastructure. It already owns the Coos Bay rail bridge and a spur line. It would seek an operator to run the railcar part of the business.
“The Port has no intention of operating the railroad,” Bishop told the World newspaper of Coos Bay.
The railroad shut down the 120-mile line in September, saying three of nine tunnels pose a safety risk, and there wasn’t enough traffic to justify repairs.
Four major shippers were affected, forcing shutdowns or truck shipments.
In October, the Port sued the rail line’s owner in federal court, seeking at least $15 million in damages and contending the railroad breached its lease contracts for the rail bridge and rail spur by closing the line without giving 180 days’ notice.
The rail company’s manager of marketing sales, Thomas Hawksworth, meanwhile, said the company is inviting the rail line’s former shippers, state officials, Union Pacific, Port of Coos Bay, journalists and railroad executives to a meeting.
“We’ve come up with a plan, this public-private partnership proposal, and we want to run it by everybody to see if it’s good, bad or indifferent,” Hawksworth said.