Governor stands firm in demanding reopening of rail spur line

Gov. Ted Kulongoski re-emphasized Tuesday that the state of Oregon will not commit any money to the Central Oregon & Pacific spur line between Coquille and Eugene until the railroad makes repairs to a series of tunnels and reopens the 120-mile line.

“As I stated at our Jan. 24th meeting and am reiterating in this letter, once you have completed repairs and reopened the line, I will then bring all of the stakeholders together to discuss a long-term solution to this rail line,” Kulongoski wrote in a two-page letter to Paul Lundberg, vice president of RailAmerica Operations Support Group, one of CORP’s parent companies. “I cannot commit to any partnership until after the line is reopened.”

Kulongoski said it appeared CORP was willing to spend $2.9 million to repair the tunnels, but first wanted state assistance in raising the rest of the $20.4 million needed for other infrastructure improvements identified by the railroad.

A story in Sunday’s News-Review indicated the railroad was willing to foot the entire $23.3 million, but Kulongoski spokeswoman Patty Wentz said that conclusion was a misinterpretation of Lundberg’s original Feb. 4 letter to the governor. A separate breakdown of repair costs, included in a term sheet provided to the governor’s office, made that clear, she said.

If the Central Oregon & Pacific makes the tunnel repairs and reopens the line, Kulongoski said he would ask shippers, legislators, local officials, congressional representatives and other transportation providers to discuss plans for a “reasonable and equitable investment strategy.”

However, the governor said he did not believe the state, as a public entity, could provide a subsidy to a private company to cover a portion of the operating expenses on the line. RailAmerica had previously asked the state for $10 million over five years to cover $1.5 million in annual operating losses.

Kulongoski also said resumption of state payments for Central Oregon & Pacific’s new rail yard under construction next to Interstate 5 in Winchester was contingent upon the reopening of the spur line. The company was awarded $7.7 million last year as part of a ConnectOregon grant — the largest in the state. Funding, of which about $1 million has been given to the company, was shut off after the spur line was closed without notice in September.

“Until I am satisfied that the service — and the willingness to provide service — is consistent with the application that CORP provided to the state, the Oregon Department of Transportation will not be willing to disperse (sic) any more dollars,” Kulongoski wrote.

Lundberg was out of the office this morning at RailAmerica’s headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., and unavailable to comment on Kulongoski’s letter.



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