(The Tryon Daily Bulletin posted the following article by Chris Dailey on its website on April 8.)
TRYON, N.C. — It s been 15 months since the last freight train rumbled through the area on Norfolk Southern s rail line.
It may be much longer before the next one comes through.
Norfolk Southern has cut the local rail line in two places, making a 20-mile section of track impassable. The line was cut a little past Saluda and again just south of the Hwy. 14 intersection in Landrum.
The rail company has also removed crossing arms at Hwy. 14, and plans to disengage other crossings and signals.
Norfolk Southern says it made the moves to cut down on the cost of regular inspections and maintenance.
Since the track is impassable, Norfolk says it isn t required to perform regular maintenance and inspections of the track or equipment at railroad crossings.
Norfolk can continue to serve its one local customer, Capps Brothers Wood Yard, which is located just south of where the line was cut in Landrum.
Susan Bland of Norfolk’s public relations department says the track can be reconnected quickly at any time, even if it s not maintained for awhile. Trees and grass may grow up but it s nothing a bushhog and chainsaw can t take care of quickly, she says.
Although some area rail supporters say they suspect Norfolk will abandon the local line, Bland emphasizes that her company currently has no intention of removing the line permanently.
“This is a line that has strategic importance for our railroad and because of that we want to keep it,” says Bland. “There is the potential for future business. ”
Maintenance costs
The local section of track, which includes the historic Saluda Grade, may be a bit more costly to maintain than some other sections. Bland notes that it has many “at-grade” crossings where the track intersects a road.
The crossings for those intersections require regular maintenance and inspections. If one isn t working, she says, the gates come down, blocking the road. Removing the crossing arms alleviates potential problems, says Bland.
Since Norfolk has no plans for immediate regular freight traffic here, Bland says it makes sense economically to eliminate costs associated with the line.
“We think this is the right way to go at this time, ” says Bland. “By (cutting the track) we’re able to railbank the line and keep it as a strategic asset without having to continue all the maintenance. ”
Bland says the company’s plans for the local line can change as Norfolk’s business needs shift.
But she adds that the company would have to pursue a public process if it decides to formally abandon the line.
“If we were planning to take up the track this is not the way to do it, ” says Bland. “That’s not a simple process. It’s not a unilateral decision. ”
According to Pam Davis at the N.C. Department of Transportation, Norfolk would currently have to file for abandonment with the state s surface transportation board since the track was in use within the past two years.
After the line has gone unused for two years, though, Davis says the rail company could proceed with a “simple abandonment process that is much quicker.”
Future use
Jim Ott of the Carolina Heritage Line Committee, an organization formed last year to preserve the local rail line, says he believes that Norfolk is planning to abandon the line.
“They’re not saying it, but it seems they’re definitely interested in abandoning it, ” says Ott. “They’re under no obligation to tell us what their plans are. We just have to be ready. ”
Ott says he thinks Norfolk may wait another nine months, until the two-year period has elapsed, and then move quickly with abandonment.
He says Carolina Heritage Line Committee wants to be ready to save the line when that time comes. Ott says the committee is drafting a plan to show that passenger train service is feasible here. “We’re about three quarters of the way complete with the plan,” he says.
When it’s done, the rail committee plans to take the plan to DOT and ask for state assistance. Ott says DOT has expressed a willingness in the past to assist with funding to buy the line and bring in a new owner.
Ott emphasizes that Carolina Heritage Line Committee is not interested in running passenger train service, only helping to bring it here.
“We just want to have some say in what happens to a valuable asset in our area,” says Ott, adding that passenger service could provide a big boost to local tourism and bring in needed revenue for local governments.
He says he doesn’t look at Norfolk’s latest move to cut the line as a negative development. He says it could mean that Norfolk will abandon the line and give someone else a chance to bring back local train traffic.
“We don’t look at this as a bad thing,” he says. “We’re thinking this is the first move toward what we’ve been expecting all along. “