FEDERAL DECISION COMPLICATES GREAT REDWOOD TRAIL DEVELOPMENT
A ruling this week from federal regulators has put a damper on plans to turn 300 miles of rail line stretching from Humboldt County to Marin County into the Great Redwood Trail, though legislators say they aren’t surprised.
The Surface Transportation Board issued a ruling Tuesday that it will not prioritize trail use and, in so doing, cast aside the established process for considering offers from North Coast Railroad Company and Mendocino Railway to acquire or subsidize rail service along either the entire corridor or a stretch of the line.
“It is well settled that an (offer of financial assistance to acquire or subsidize rail lines) should take priority over a trail use proposal because of the strong congressional intent to preserve rail service wherever possible,” the decision states.
Mike Hart, CEO and founder of Mendocino Railway’s parent company Sierra Energy, said his intention is to ensure the rail line in Mendocino County, from about the Willits area going south, remains connected to the interstate rail network and
that he has no interest in operating the line north of Willits heading into Humboldt County. “It’s a mud glacier,” Hart said. Maintaining the rail line along the Eel River is financially infeasible because of landslides and other risks, but the North Coast Railroad Company wants to take over that portion of the line, with evidence suggesting it intends to deliver coal from the Midwest to Asia.
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (DSan
Rafael) and North Coast State Sen. Mike McGuire, who has been leading the charge for the Great Redwood Trail at the state level, issued statements saying they weren’t surprised by the decision, but that they were taking steps to ensure the “toxic coal train” doesn’t become a reality on the North Coast.
Huffman recently questioned the STB chair and board about the kind of factors they would consider when examining the offer presented by “the shadowy coal train LLC” and “got some helpful assurances in response.”
“Community input, transparency, and reaching our climate goals are all crucial factors when considering the future of rail lines,” Huffman said in a statement. “The toxic coal train is not only completely infeasible, but it would be a disaster for the North Coast.”
McGuire is also working on passing Senate Bill 307 at the state level, which would block any and all state funding that would go toward advancing North Coast Railroad Company’s plans. He said this “ruling forces the Toxic Coal Train and Mendocino Railroad to come out of the shadows and defend their dangerous proposals.”
“Let’s be clear. There is simply
no chance that any freight operation is possible or feasible along this corridor,” McGuire said in a statement. “The failed North Coast Railroad Authority tried desperately to attract freight rail shippers for the last 30 years and now they are out of business. They failed miserably. And to add insult to injury, rehabilitating the rail line up to modern standards will cost multiple billions at this point and these companies will most likely be asking taxpayers to foot the bill. It ain’t gonna happen.”
The Tuesday ruling also included a finding that the board doesn’t have jurisdiction over a stretch of rail line extending from north of Arcata to just east of Blue Lake because it was already abandoned and taken out of the interstate rail network in the 1980s.
The city of Arcata is working on developing 3.5 miles of trail along the railroad corridor from Sunset Avenue near Larson Park and Cal Poly Humboldt northward, along West End Road to Park 1 on the Mad River. The county and Caltrans have also been working on the idea of a trail between Blue Lake and Glendale, and using the rail corridor for those projects has
“Community input, transparency, and reaching our climate goals are all crucial factors when considering the future of rail lines. The toxic coal train is not only completely infeasible, but it would be a disaster for the North Coast.” — U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafae
now become more complicated, said Hank Seemann, deputy director of Environmental Services.
“The vision was to go all the way to Blue Lake but that connection is now more complicated,” Seemann said, “Several of those parcels had easements and STB said those can’t be railbanked because that branch line was already abandoned.”
Seemann said Arcata, the county and Caltrans already understood that using the rail corridor wouldn’t be feasible everywhere, both because of the potential inability to use the easements on the abandoned line and because some sections are incompatible with a trail.
“We’re already planning to bypass the railroad corridor to try to advance trail projects between Arcata and Blue Lake,” Seemann said. “The connection between Blue Lake and Glendale and Arcata will be a little more challenging now, but that just means there will be a need to find suitable properties and make offers of easements. That’ll be in the future.”