(The following report appeared at TheWorldLink.com on October 3.)
COOS BAY, Ore. — Inspectors working for the Federal Railroad Administration are scheduled to inspect the Coos Bay short line next week, according to Congressman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.
DeFazio met with the agency’s administrator, Joseph Boardman, on Tuesday. Boardman has agreed to have his agency perform a physical inspection of the Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad line “to evaluate what, if any, repairs are necessary to make the line safe for operation,” DeFazio said in a press release.
CORP closed the line earlier this month, saying three tunnels were in poor condition and posed a threat to employee safety.
CORP gave one day’s notice that it would be shutting down the line leaving sawmills and other shippers scrambling to get their products to market.
DeFazio said he also met with U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters about the issue. The FRA is evaluating CORP’s recent engineering reports. The railroad has been operating under a 2-year-old compliance review imposed by the Railroad Administration due to the condition and lack of maintenance of its tracks on its Siskiyou and Coos Bay lines. The FRA last inspected the line in October 2006, according to DeFazio.
According to state Sen. Joanne Verger’s staff, the Coos Bay Democrat and other state lawmakers are scheduled to meet with CORP officials in Roseburg on Thursday to discuss to the Coos Bay line closure.