(The following story by Jared Miller appeared on the Great Falls Tribune website on December 29.)
MOORE, Mont. — The federal Surface Transportation Board approved a request by the BNSF Railway Co. to abandon the out-of-service rail spur that links Lewistown to Moore in Fergus County.
The decision could mark the end of the line for the 21-mile stretch of track historically used to shuttle grain, lumber and other products in and out of Lewistown.
“Projected business volumes (on the line) do not support operating costs,” said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas in Seattle. “This was a business decision.”
Lewistown and Fergus County officials, meanwhile, are working to gain ownership of the spur line, betting that the tracks could be a selling point for industry looking to locate in the area.
“There isn’t anybody right at the moment looking, but down the road who knows, and once you lose (the track) completely, then there’s no chance,” Fergus County Commissioner Ken Ronish said.
The abandonment is a defeat for the county, which last month filed formal opposition with the STB.
Rail traffic on the spur line was in precipitous decline even before a storm washed out a section of track in 2003. BNSF did not repair the damage, and the spur’s roughly 90-year life span all but ended then.
The spur handled roughly 2,000 carloads of grain and wood products in 1991. The total dropped to 591 cars by 2000 and then to just 17 carloads in 2003.
A 2004 study commissioned by the state listed the track as one of the branch lines most at risk for closure in Montana.
Abandonment of the line will eliminate 39 public and 15 private railroad crossings, mostly in Lewistown. BNSF considered the large number of crossings a safety concern.
The abandonment also allows BNSF to salvage the track and ties for scrap.
But city officials have filed an application with the STB to “bank” the line, a process frequently used to transform abandoned rail beds into trails, or to allow for other local ownership.
If the railroad agrees to negotiate with the city and county, it would be the second round of such talks over the fate of the line.
BNSF offered the line’s right-of-way to the county three years ago at no cost. The county declined the offer because it required the county to accept liability for cleanup of soil contamination along the line.
Ronish admits the move was probably a mistake and said the city and county now may be willing to accept the liability in order to keep the corridor intact.
“You try to do the best you can and not put your constituents in harm’s way,” said Ronish, explaining the rationale for the 2003 decision.
County officials hope the current low prices for scrap iron on world markets will be incentive for BNSF to discuss the takeover rather than trying to salvage the aging tracks for profit.
Regardless of the outcome, the rail abandonment will affect local tax coffers.
Fergus County collects more than $100,000 from BNSF property taxes each year, most of which goes to schools and fire districts.
Abandonment of the spur line could trim that amount by as much as a quarter or a third, forcing some level of belt tightening in an already cash-poor county, Ronish said.