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Re: Capitola Trestle closed
Author: Opoooos
Date: 11-12-2021 - 07:04
A few potential issues here:
1. RCBT may in fact have some kind of residual common carrier rights.
2. An embargo cannot be indefinite if there is a demand for service. STB made this clear with the Coos Bay fiasco. I don't believe any of the line has been officially abandoned. Once abandonment is applied for, that triggers the Offer Of Financial Assistance rule which allows any financially responsible party to offer to either subsidize losses or the right to purchase the line for continued service at net salvage value, determined by the STB if necessary. So someone with more money than sense could potentially buy it.
3. Wasn't the purchase of this line originally funded by state funds restricted to use for rail passenger service that would have to be reimbursed to the state if not used for such purpose? Then again, Kalifornia politicians never seem to think any laws or rules actually apply to them....
4 A trail next to the rail might be the least legal entanglement. But unless some effort is made towards rail passenger service? And I never liked the liability issue if inviting unaware/oblivious people to be next to active tracks without one hell of a fence to safely separate them.
1. RCBT may in fact have some kind of residual common carrier rights.
2. An embargo cannot be indefinite if there is a demand for service. STB made this clear with the Coos Bay fiasco. I don't believe any of the line has been officially abandoned. Once abandonment is applied for, that triggers the Offer Of Financial Assistance rule which allows any financially responsible party to offer to either subsidize losses or the right to purchase the line for continued service at net salvage value, determined by the STB if necessary. So someone with more money than sense could potentially buy it.
3. Wasn't the purchase of this line originally funded by state funds restricted to use for rail passenger service that would have to be reimbursed to the state if not used for such purpose? Then again, Kalifornia politicians never seem to think any laws or rules actually apply to them....
4 A trail next to the rail might be the least legal entanglement. But unless some effort is made towards rail passenger service? And I never liked the liability issue if inviting unaware/oblivious people to be next to active tracks without one hell of a fence to safely separate them.
