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Railroad Newsline for Monday, March 19, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

TRESTLE FIRE SUSPENDS RAIL COMMUTE BETWEEN AUBURN AND SACRAMENTO

AUBURN, CA -- Capitol Corridor commuter rail passengers on the line between Auburn and Sacramento, California will be busing it for at least the next two weeks because of a Union Pacific trestle fire.

The fire near Cal Expo in Sacramento broke out Thursday and charred sections of a 300-foot elevated trestle.

The 2,000-foot-high plume of black smoke from the burning creosote-coated timbers could be seen from Auburn but air-pollution officials said the wind's direction moved the polluted air away from the foothills.

Union Pacific freight trains and Amtrak's California Zephyr had disruptions and delays Thursday but a Sacramento-Marysville-Roseville detour had been set up by Friday.

Capitol Corridor transportation officer Carl Malvo said that in the short-term Sacramento to Auburn riders will take a motor coach on the morning ride to Sacramento and the evening return trip.

About 145 riders make the Sacramento-Auburn trip daily, with 45 using the Auburn station, 50 in Rocklin and 50 in Roseville.

Thursday's train to Auburn got through before the fire erupted, allowing rides to participate in the St. Patrick's Day party that has become a tradition on the train.

While Malvo said there was no way of knowing how long the bus service would be in place, Capitol Corridor officials are confident that ridership won't drop off once the trestle is rebuilt and the train starts running again. He couldn't recall a similar loss of rail service during nearly a decade of Capitol Corridor train service.

"Our customers are loyal," Malvo said. "We believe they'll continue to support and patronize the service during the disruption. We'll do what we can to make the best of the situation."

The Placer County Air Pollution Control District found readings on fine particulate matter were at normal levels overnight Thursday and into Friday, pollution control officer Ushuo Chang said.

Readings were from Roseville and Meadow Vista.

While Auburn air quality remained at normal levels, Sacramento County Health Officer Glennah Trochet issued a special health advisory Friday morning.

People were warned to restrict outside activities if they see or smell smoke, to stay indoors with doors and windows closed as much as possible if smoke is in the air, and stay away from the scene of the fire.

Lori Kobza, spokesperson for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District said that the warning would have been put in place whether the smoke was from creosote-soaked timbers or from untreated wood or other material. Creosote is a petroleum-based product used to preserve telephone poles and railroad ties.

"The black smoke is more visually startling but any smoke is bad," Kobza said. "If you smell it and see it stay away from it."

The health officer advised that wind patterns could change and areas not experiencing smoke at any time could find it blowing their way later.

Amtrak officials told The Associated Press that it could take two weeks or more before repairs are completed. The daily train from Emeryville to Chicago will be rerouted and run two hours late, Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said.

"It's a pretty good service disruption," Connell said. "We're accommodating passengers as best we can and getting them to their destinations as close to on time as possible."

About 130 passengers were stranded Thursday on a train in Roseville for nearly five hours. Buses were brought in to bring the passengers to Sacramento.

About 50 trains a day use the Union Pacific line over the trestle, spokesman Mark Davis said. The detour to Marysville adds about 80 miles to eastbound and westbound trains, he said. - Gus Thomson, The Auburn Journal

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URGENT RAIL LINE BUILT AT JUNCTION

Union Pacific Railroad workers are building a connector track in Marysville, California for trains being routed around a burned trestle in Sacramento.

The new segment will make it easier for trains on the Oakland-to-Salt Lake City route to bypass Sacramento by taking a right turn at Binney Junction in Marysville. The trains will then head south to Roseville and back to their original route over the Sierra Nevada.

Binney Junction is where a major east-west line from Sacramento through the Feather River canyon to Nevada, Utah and points east intersects at a 90-degree angle with a major north-south line between Roseville and Portland, Ore. The new connector will allow trains to seamlessly switch lines.

The bypass comprises a 90-mile detour around the burned-out trestle. Train traffic on the lines to and from Marysville is expected to double to about 40 trains per day.

About 30 track workers have been constructing the Marysville connector around the clock since Saturday and should be finished sometime tonight, said David Wickersham, chief engineer for the Western Region of the Union Pacific Railroad.

In the meantime, eastbound trains are stopping in Marysville and locomotives are being connected to their rear to pull them down to Roseville. This process adds more than an hour to the three- to four-hour detour route, Wickersham said.

The Marysville connector will ease delays for trains making the detour.

“This will help us get our railroad back in business,” Wickersham said.

The fiery destruction of the trestle carrying a double rail line through Sacramento on Thursday forced the bypass.

“It is a suspicious fire,” Wickersham said.

“We've had tremendous help from the governor's office on down to the fire departments to help us with this disaster. Everybody from the community to state government has offered assistance to help get our tracks restored,” Wickersham said.

The rebuilding process is expected to cost $25 million to $30 million.

The first rebuilt line through Sacramento should be finished in about 14 days, Wickersham said. This will lessen the amount of train traffic through Marysville.

“Then, after we complete the second track bridge in a month and a half, the train levels will be back to what we had before,” Wickersham said. - Breeana Laughlin, The Marysville-Yuba City Appeal-Democrat

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TRESTLE REBUILDING BEGINS

SACRAMENTO, CA -- More than 24 hours after fire ripped across hundreds of feet of rail along a Sacramento train trestle, Sacramento fire officials Friday continued efforts to put down hot spots and offered a $2,500 reward for information about anyone who may have sparked the massive blaze.

Meanwhile, Union Pacific workers began demolishing the charred wood trestle, the start of a 24-hour-a-day U.P. operation to rebuild 1,400 feet of ravaged elevated track. The project, estimated to cost $20 million to $30 million, could allow trains to once again cross the span near the Capitol City Freeway by Cal Expo in about two weeks.

By Friday evening, Sacramento City and Metro firefighters pumped a special mixture of foam and water on the remaining flames that brought the 60-year-old trestle to the ground Thursday night.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, but even though the flames were fueled by the creosote-soaked wood beams, the circumstances surrounding the blaze led investigators to believe that the fire was not an accident.

"I've never seen one that spread so fast, so big in such a short period of time. We're not ruling anything out right now," said Sac City Fire Capt. Jim Doucette, recalling other train trestle fires during his 27 years in firefighting. "This is a time of year where this grass really doesn't burn so I don't think we had a grass fire, anything like that."

A $2,500 reward was offered by U.P. for any information leading to the arrest of any person who may have been responsible for the fire. Investigators will also look over black box recordings of a train that went over the tracks just 15 minutes before the fire ignited.

"The last train that went over the trestle before the fire did not notice anything out of sorts. There was nothing reported out of the ordinary," said James Barnes of Union Pacific Railroad. "I've covered several of these incidents (before) and I've never seen a reward offered."

The Sacramento City Fire Department is asking anyone who knows anything about how the blaze may have started to call its arson tip line at 916-808-8732.

More than 100 workers began the process of tearing down the remaining structure to begin rebuilding the trestle.

"The railroad is a 24-7-365 operation," Barnes said. "Our objective is to get up and running as safely and quickly as possible." Carting away debris from the fire was expected to be completed this weekend with U.P. beginning work on a new concrete and steel trestle immediately.

Barnes expected one of the two planned tracks to be finished by April 1, with the other to be completed by May.

Businesses near the fire began getting back to normal. The nearby Costco store at 1600 Expo Parkway reopened late Friday. - KXTV-TV10, Sacramento, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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SACRAMENTO RAILROAD TRESTLE BLAZE CONCERNS LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS

LODI, CA -- A day after a fire tore through a section of railroad trestle in Sacramento, officials with local fire agencies say they're concerned about similar fires in their districts.

The blaze, which was not fatal, delayed Sacramento-area Amtrak trains, but did not affect service through Lodi. The fire spread quickly because the trestle was soaked in creosote, a flammable chemical.

Rob Firman, a captain in the Mokelumne Rural Fire Protection District, said there is a similar trestle spanning the Mokelumne River east of Lodi off Guild Road. He said it is possible the creosote-soaked trestle could be the scene of a comparable conflagration.

"When I saw the (Sacramento) fire, I thought, when are we going to have one of these?" he said.

Firman said his team has kept an eye on the area and has had periodic training exercises near the trestle.

"We've had a few fires come close, but luckily we were able to stop them," he said.

There are no wooden trestles to worry about in the Woodbridge Rural Fire Protection District, according to Chief Mike Kirkle, but there are creosote-soaked railroad ties that can cause hazards.

Kirkle said that a project to replace Union Pacific railroad ties has left a large pile of highly flammable wood in his district.

"That's a possible hazard," he said. "It would be a pretty large fire when you have a large stack of creosote-soaked ties."

While passenger trains from the Bay Area to Sacramento have been disrupted, the daily Amtrak train from Bakersfield to Sacramento, which stops in Lodi, has had no delays.

"San Joaquin County trains are not affected at all," Amtrak spokesperson Vernae Graham said. - Matt Brown, The Lodi News-Sentinel

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RAILROAD BRIDGE BLAZE SENDS REROUTED TRAINS THROUGH ROSEVILLE

ROSEVILLE, CA -- Several trains are being rerouted through Roseville after a railroad trestle in Sacramento caught fire Thursday, railroad officials said.

Amtrak and Union Pacific trains are experiencing delays but operations are running.

Amtrak's Zephyr line between the Bay Area and Chicago will be rerouted from Roseville, said company spokesperson Vernae Graham. The westbound Zepher that departed Chicago March 13 will arrive in Roseville today and passengers will be bussed to the Bay Area, Graham said.

About 130 passengers were stranded Thursday on a train in Roseville for five hours.

"We're detouring some of the traffic that normally would have gone across that bridge and we're bringing it to Roseville," said Union Pacific spokesperson Mark Davis.

"The fortunate thing in this case, the average of 50 that go over that line are able to continue their operation."

More than 150 firefighters responded to the trestle blaze next to the American River that started about 17:40 Thursday, Capt. Jim Doucette of the Sacramento City Fire Department said.

Representatives from the California State Department of Fish & Game also responded to monitor the water runoff from the fire. There was no evidence of toxics entering into the American River Thursday, Doucette said.

Officials said cause of the fire is under investigation.

The creosote trestle collapsed in sections starting about 21:00 Thursday, Doucette said.

"About a 100-foot section of the trestle is still on fire, Doucette reported from the scene Friday at 10:00. "The rest of it's just smoldering."

He said he thought it would be several hours before it would be extinguished and turned over to the railroad companies for dismantling. - Ansel Oliver, The Roseville Press-Tribune

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SACRAMENTO TRESTLE FIRE CAUSES RAIL TRAFFIC DELAYS BETWEEN STOCKTON AND DENVER

On Thursday, March 15, a fire damaged a Union Pacific mainline bridge over the American River near Sacramento, CA. According to UP, the bridge will be out of service an estimated two to three weeks for repair.

As traffic is rerouted around this bridge outage, BNSF Railway Company customers can expect delays to carload freight moving between Northern California and Denver, CO.

BNSF will provide updates as additional information becomes available. - BNSF Service Advisory

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BNSF TRAIN DERAILS AT EVERETT. WASHINGTON

At approximately 07:15 CT, Saturday, March 17, 2007 BNSF Railway Company train M EVEABN1 17 derailed one car blocking the single main track at Everett, Washington. This location is approximately 28 miles north of Seattle, Washington.

Main track was returned to service at 17:10 CT Saturday, March 17, 2007.

Customers may experience 12 hour delay on traffic moving through this corridor. - BNSF Service Advisory

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AMTRAK MOBILE GOES BILINGUAL

WASHINGTON, DC -- Amtrak Friday announced the launch of Amtrak Mobile En Español, a new service that enables Spanish-speaking passengers to use any web-accessing mobile device, such as a cell phone or PDA, to instantly connect with the train reservation and information systems of Amtrak.com in Spanish. Making a reservation or getting information on any Amtrak train is as easy to do on a PDA or cell phone, as it is from a desktop PC, all without accessing a different URL or registering for the service. Spanish speakers will enjoy all the features of the English version of Amtrak Mobile by logging on to Amtrak.com.

With Amtrak Mobile, passengers may view up-to-date train status information and obtain wireless access to key functions available on Amtrak.com using the system's mouse-less navigation feature. This interface for mobile devices is available to BlackBerry®, Treo™, and Pocket PC users as well as through most web-enabled cell phones. In addition, Amtrak Mobile provides users with access to wireless functions not offered by competitors. Currently no airline wireless service offers all of the functions that Amtrak Mobile delivers: reservations, cancellations, travel status, schedules, and best of all, no need to access a separate URL.

Making the service even more convenient, customers do not need to register for Amtrak Mobile, and there are no special downloads needed to use the service. It may be accessed simply by logging onto Amtrak.com. The customer is recognized as using a handheld device and automatically is connect to the functions available through Amtrak Mobile. From there, a customer may check the status of any train in the Amtrak system, make or cancel a reservation, or sign into their personal profile.

For the millions of cell phone and PDA users in the United States today, Amtrak Mobile brings even more value to their devices. In the busy Northeast Corridor, where approximately 30,000 Amtrak customers travel daily between Washington, New York and Boston, Amtrak Mobile now provides business travelers, in particular, with a valuable resource to make or change travel plans at a moment's notice. This also means even more activity for Amtrak's ever-popular website, which currently accounts for 42 percent of the corporation's sales as customers may now log on from literally any location.

Amtrak offers its entire website in Spanish, by simply visiting Espanol.Amtrak.com or going to Amtrak.com and clicking on "En Español." - Amtrak News Release

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RAILROADS POST SAFEST YEAR IN HISTORY IN 2006

According to three key safety measurements released by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) last week the nation's railroads experienced their safest year in history during 2006.

Railroads had 402 fewer train accidents in 2006 than 2005, down 21.4 percent. Texas led the nation with 51 fewer train accidents, followed by Ohio, Nebraska, Indiana, New Jersey and California. A total of 36 states experienced fewer train accidents.

"The railroad industry is committed to safety and it shows," said Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO, Association of American Railroads (AAR). "Last year was the safest year ever -– with lower train accident rates, lower grade crossing accident rates and a lower employee injury rate than at any time in the 175-year history of the industry."

In addition, last year was also the safest year on record for railroad employees, with both injury and fatality numbers and rates reaching the lowest point in history.

Hamberger noted that the record-breaking numbers coincide with a record-breaking year for investment in railroad infrastructure and improvements. Last year alone, freight railroads invested $8.6 billion to expand and maintain infrastructure and equipment. "Those investments have a direct impact on safety," said Hamberger.

The FRA data also showed that human error –- the leading cause of all train accidents -– declined 20.2 percent.

"Our employee training programs certainly deserve some of the credit for last year's tremendous safety record," said Hamberger. "New employees are put through extensive training programs, often lasting many months, before they are permitted to operate trains or work on track or equipment. And all operating employees -– regardless of how long they have been with the railroads –- receive daily safety briefings and annual training. The main focus of everything we do is safety."

He also noted that new technology is contributing to the improved safety record.

"Use of remote control technology in rail yards is reducing the number of accidents previously caused by miscommunication between employees on the ground and locomotive engineers," he said. "And as advanced train control systems are deployed, accidents caused by human error should decline further."

Hamberger expressed disappointment that fatalities involving grade crossings and trespassers both increased last year. Ninety-seven percent of all rail-related fatalities in 2006 involved trespassers or highway-rail grade crossing accidents.

The number of grade crossing fatalities was up 1.4 percent, even though the number of grade crossing collisions was down 5.0 percent. The number of trespasser fatalities increased 14.5 percent.

"The increase in grade crossing and trespasser fatalities underscores how important it is that the public understand the dangers of being on railroad property," he said. "Railroads will continue to work closely with local and state law enforcement agencies, highway safety groups, the Suicide Prevention Action Network and Operation Lifesaver to educate the public about safety around tracks and trains."

Freight rail is by far the safest way to move goods and products across the country. Since 1980, the rail industry has reduced accident rates by 70 percent and employee injury rates by 81 percent. Over that same time, the grade crossing collision rate has fallen 76 percent. - BNSF Today

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KCSR CREW REACTS QUICKLY IN BENAVIDES

On the morning of March 11, Kansas City Southern Railway's train MXJA was traveling south through Benavides, TX when engineer Joe Elizalde and conductor Jose Santos felt a bump in the rail. The crew stopped to inspect the train and discovered broken rail in the middle of a curve, 40 to 50 cars deep in a 117-car train.

No defects were found to the locomotives or cars. Thanks to the crew's quick action and attention to detail, a more serious incident was prevented. - KCS News

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STATE LAWMAKERS TALK TRAINS

GALESBURG, IL -- As freight trains rolled by across the street, two state representatives talked Friday afternoon about the new House Committee on Railroad Industry.

Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, chairwoman of the new committee, and Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Gilson, minority spokesman for the committee, talked at the Packinghouse about rail issues facing Galesburg, Illinois and the rest of the state.

Nekritz was given a tour of the BNSF Railway Company railyards here Friday, a trip into the tower there, as well as a look at the rail crossings on North Seminary Street, East Main Street and West Main Street where underpasses and/or overpasses have been proposed.

Moffitt credited Nekritz for the committee's existence.

"She went to Speaker (Michael) Madigan and said it was needed, it was important and our goal is to keep Illinois as a rail hub," Moffitt said.

Nekritz said Friday's visit "opened up a whole new perspective for me on the importance of freight in the area (Moffitt) represents."

She called Galesburg a "hub" and said private and public interests have to become involved in the rail industry to keep it that way. She said the needs of the railroads must be identified to keep the industry viable in Illinois.

"We're identifying ... what other facets of our economy is dependent on rail or working with rail," Nekritz, a third-term representative, said.

The committee hopes to hold a number of hearings around the state. Members of the nine-member committee -- five Democrats and four Republicans -- hope to talk with representatives of important components of the state's economy, such as agriculture, manufacturing and energy generation.

Nekritz said a hearing may be held in Galesburg.

"I think there would be a good possibility we will have a hearing here," Moffitt said.

Moffitt said the grade separations are an important component of what the BNSF needs here, because it affects expansion plans at the railyards. The city has identified the overpass at North Seminary Street as its first priority so emergency vehicles will have a direct route from downtown to north of the tracks without waiting for trains to pass.

"With the expansion mode it appears the railroad industry is in, more and more trains will come through Galesburg. Not only more trains but longer trains," Moffitt said.

Rick Danielson, Galesburg Terminal superintendent, said about 125 trains pass through Galesburg daily during the winter, with 150 to 160 in the summer.

"We've been very fortunate in the last four years, where we've seen about a 10 percent per year growth," Danielson said. "Projections for this year is in the 6 to 7 percent growth range."

The reason grade separations are important to BNSF is trains crossing East Main Street often back up from the yards and block the busy street. Because of regulations as to how long the railroad can block a crossing, an overpass would allow more work to be done in the yards. Recent construction of the overpass on Illinois 41 between Galesburg and Abingdon was another key, because trains coming into the yards often blocked the highway.

Will the state have money to help with the projects?

Nekritz said the General Assembly first needs to pass a capital budget, something that has not happened since she has served in Springfield.

"I think we'll be doing a capital budget, perhaps this year or next year," she said.

"We need to identify a revenue stream," Moffitt said. He explained a capital budget would be dedicated to specific projects and would not be directly affected by the state's current financial woes.

Moffitt said construction of the grade separations "converts to construction jobs if we get that capital budget, and, hopefully, more railroad jobs."

One direct connection between the budget proposed by the governor, however, is the perception of many that Illinois is becoming more anti-business. The proposed gross receipts tax has come under fire from business and the BNSF is no exception.

"Our company has very significant expansion plans, not only for Galesburg but Illinois," said Paul Nowicki, BNSF's assistant vice president for government and public policy.

But, he hinted that the governor's proposals could derail some of the railroad's plans in Illinois.

"We have some very serious concerns about some tax proposals brought forth by the governor in the past couple of weeks," Nowicki said. - John R. Pulliam. The Galesburg Register-Mail

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CAUSE OF ANHYDROUS LEAK STILL UNCERTAIN

ROCHESTER, MN -- It might be several days before a cause is known in Saturday's tanker car leak, said an Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad official.

A 28,000-gallon tanker containing anhydrous ammonia leaked part of its contents as it moved south between Red Wing and Lake City early Saturday. After responders plugged the leak, they attributed the problem to a problem with the cap on the tank.

But Jafar Karim, a spokesman for the IC&E in Sioux Falls, SD, said the problem was with a valve on the affected car. He said he did not know the nature of the problem with the valve.
"The actual cause is not yet determined, but we'll be working with others to determine that cause in the coming days," Karim said.

IC&E is a sister company of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad, which owns the east-west track through Rochester. The two rail companies are owned by Cedar American Rail Holdings, Inc., a Sioux Falls, SD-based company.

The leaking car was part of an IC&E train operating on Canadian Pacific track. Karim said the car belonged to a customer and that the IC&E had picked it from the CP yard in St. Paul on Saturday morning.

The tanker was part of a 37-car train with two crew members aboard. Neither crew member was injured in the accident.

Karim could not say how the crew members learned of the leak.

It was not yet determined at what point the tanker started leaking its contents, though observers reported the smell of ammonia gas as far north as Red Wing. Karim could not say where the train began its travels on Saturday.

Local safety officials said the tanker lost only a small portion of its contents, but they did not have an exact amount.

Karim said IC&E would be working with others on site, including Canadian Pacific, to determine the cause of the incident.

Besides evacuating homes, the incident stalled traffic on Canadian Pacific's main line. Karim said the tanker car involved in the leak would be moved to a siding track where it could be examined. - Jeffrey Pieters, The Rochester Post-Bulletin

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BILL SEEKS TO REIN IN PLANS FOR RAIL YARD NEAR PICACHO

PHOENIX, AZ -- Union Pacific's plan to build a rail yard near Picacho Peak could lose some steam under a new bill being pushed by a Tucson lawmaker.

The proposed legislation Rep. Jonathan Paton, a Republican, expects to introduce Wednesday would create a process much like what is used to approve construction of other utilities.

If passed, the bill would require Union Pacific to make its case to the Arizona Corporation Commission and possibly meet tougher environmental regulations.

The legislative involvement is in response to several railroad fights around the state, most notably a proposed 1,500-acre switch yard near Picacho Peak, a popular landmark between Tucson and Phoenix.

The specific wording of Paton's bill is still being hammered out, but the idea is to give the Corporation Commission power over deciding whether a railroad can use state land and also whether the railroad can exercise its condemnation power to acquire property.

Unlike other utilities, which are regulated by the state, railroad construction is mainly dealt with on the federal level. Paton and others say the state should have more authority over the process.

"For every other kind of infrastructure, no matter what it is, you would have to have some kind of process," Paton said. "Whether it is right or wrong that they are putting it there, they should at least have some input from the neighbors more than they're having."

Union Pacific, which wants to buy 1,500 acres of state trust land near the peak to build the sixth-largest rail yard in the country, says it's already listening to the community, despite cries from area residents and business owners who worry about the negative health and economic impacts a rail yard might create.

In November, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors voted to change the county's comprehensive land-use plan to accommodate the rail yard. The county sees the project as a major boon to the area, which will need jobs to employ thousands of new residents that housing developments are attracting.

Environmentalists and state park officials had urged the board to turn down or delay Union Pacific's push to buy the state land. One issue is the yard's proximity to the Central Arizona Project canal.

But county and railroad officials say the rail yard is needed to accommodate the influx of freight traffic caused by new growth.

Behind the bill is Marana Vice Mayor Herb Kai, who leases most of the land Union Pacific is looking to buy from the state. Kai runs a cotton and pecan farm on the property.

"We don't want to stop the project, but we think there might be a better place," he said. "The railroad is such a big giant right now, they don't really need to answer to anyone."

Union Pacific points to the Surface Transportation Board, a federal entity charged with railroad oversight.

"This would be pre-emptive," Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said of Paton's bill. "When you start down a path where each state wants its own process, you get a patchwork of varying regulations that would make it difficult for the industry to exist."

But lobbyist Nick Simonetta, who represents Kai and others in the area, says that since the state grants railroads condemnation power, it is legitimate and legal to exercise authority over how the land is used.

"What the state giveth, the state can manage," Simonetta said. "We need to at least vet the local impacts. This is not 1920. We're not looking to the railroad to 'please, please put track down in Arizona.' "

And while the potential rail construction in Picacho has received much attention, other places in the state -- specifically Yuma and Willcox -- are also facing fights over new rail lines.

That's why the bill is garnering bipartisan support, such as from Yuma Rep. Lynne Pancrazi, a Democrat.

"I really think something needs to be done," she said. "This is a much bigger issue than just Yuma."

Paton is prepared for complaints that the bill intrudes on local control, but he says it's actually empowering local citizens who claim they have no voice.

"There's an appeals process in this state, and (the Legislature is) at the end of that appeals process," he said. "Local control assumes there is a fair process where the neighbors at least get to comment. If those neighbors are being abused ... we have a responsibility at the Legislature to support the citizens of this state." - Daniel Scarpinato, The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ)

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SENATOR THUNE: COMPETING RAILROADS FOUGHT LOAN: BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY ACCUSED OF KILLING $2.3 BILLION DEAL

SIOUX FALLS, SD -- Potential competitors to the DM&E played a key, albeit behind-the-scenes, role in derailing the South Dakota railroad's bid for a $2.3 billion loan, according to Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.

While most agree that one Class I railroad -- the Union Pacific -- stayed out of the battle, actions by the BNSF Railway Company bolster the senator's claims that competition in the marketplace translated to a fight in Washington.

Efforts to finance its planned $6 billion reconstruction and expansion abruptly shifted tracks when Thune secured changes in the 2005 federal transportation bill that seemed to make the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad uniquely qualified for a huge federal loan.

DM&E officials applied for a $2.3 billion Federal Railroad Administration loan behind claims that hauling coal from Wyoming to power plants in the East and Midwest would further a federal goal of energy independence and would relieve a rail capacity shortfall.

All signs were favorable that the loan would be granted, Thune said, until the FRA on Feb. 26 announced it was denying the application. Administration head Joe Boardman said the DM&E, which already had received more than $200 million in loans from the FRA, was leveraged too far to take on an additional $2.3 billion in debt.

Thune said the existing Wyoming coal haulers, the BNSF and the Union Pacific, two of the nation's largest railroads, worked behind the scenes to kill the loan.

Union Pacific officials denied they had any role, and DM&E Chief Executive Officer Kevin Schieffer agreed.

"I would have to credit the UP with being straight up on this thing. I don't think they are rooting for us on the sidelines, but by the same token, they said what they would do and did what they said. As a matter of fact, they have gone out of their way to make it clear they do not want to be viewed as anti-competitive."

The BNSF, however, was another thing, Schieffer said. As he sought to shepherd the loan application through federal bureaucracy last year, "I certainly saw the BNSF coming in every office I was six times over with twice the people. They were all over the place."

While the Mayo Clinic and other entities in Rochester, Minnesota, and a confederation of West River and Wyoming landowners and environmental groups were the most vocal opponents, the BNSF did work hard quietly to kill the deal, Schieffer insists.

He said he knows this "from talking to people who were directly involved ... and actually from customers."

"They have been working long and hard on it both in Washington, DC, and with customers," he said.

BNSF spokesman Patrick Hiatte declined to directly address Schieffer's claim. He referred to comments BNSF CEO Matt Rose made at a RailTrends Conference in October 2006 and a filing from BNSF to the federal Surface Transportation Board in December of that year.

Rose told RailTrends participants that large federal loans would undercut the market-based model under which railroads operate.

"The example of this is the DM&E," he said.

"If the government allows nonmarket-based loans of this magnitude for certain carriers, that will have a negative effect on railroads' ability to continue to invest private capital.

"Why, given the challenges to our nation's economy, would the federal government be putting taxpayer money in the billions of dollars range at risk while simultaneously inhibiting private investment?"

Two months later, BNSF told the Surface Transportation Board that if the DM&E were allowed to haul coal on its sister line, the Iowa Chicago & Eastern, it would result in significant delays to BNSF trains entering Chicago. The BNSF filing also questioned whether the board, which regulates rail in the U.S., adequately studied the environmental impact of allowing the DM&E to haul coal on the IC&E before granting it approval to do so.

Schieffer also said a BNSF lobbyist last year circulated through Congress a white paper without attribution that made the points about market distortion and taxpayer risk.

"A congressman asked Matt Rose about it at a hearing out there, and he didn't know anything about it. Then a day or two later, in a letter or a phone call, they acknowledged it was from their lobbyist and asked him to withdraw it," Schieffer said.

He also called the BNSF hypocritical for using FRA loans and grants "to compete against us for South Dakota corn and wheat traffic. ... That's good public policy, as opposed to bad public policy when somebody uses it against them."

The BNSF does have a long corporate history with public largesse. In 1864, the federal government gave the railroad's predecessor, the Northern Pacific, right-of-way from Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean and 40 million acres of public land to sell to raise capital to build that railroad. - Peter Harriman, The Sioux Falls Argus Leader

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SHORTLINE RAILROADS DOMINATE REGIONAL FREIGHT SHIPPING BY TRAIN

With deregulation, intrastate shortline/regional railroads have assumed a greater role in moving freight in Oregon.

In 1993, the shortlines ran 44,161 cars. That soared to 207,000 cars in 2005, according to the Oregon Shortline Railroad Association.

Technically, a shortline is defined as one grossing less than $40 million annually over 350 track miles or less. The regionals have an annual gross revenue of between $40 million and $289 million and operate more than 350 miles of track. The common reference for both is shortline.

There are 21 shortlines operating in Oregon, many spun off from major carriers following passage of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980. The Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad (known as CORP) provides the only freight service for Jackson, Josephine and Coos counties, connecting to Union Pacific lines in Eugene and Weed, California.

In 2005, CORP moved 49,446 carloads of freight, second only to Portland & Western Railroad with 105,000 carloads.

The CORP spur between Coos Bay and Eugene would be critical to a proposal to bring container cargo into Coos Bay harbor for shipment to the Willamette Valley. But the cost to upgrade would be high -- some $125 million.

About 60 percent of Oregon's shippers are located on shortline railroads, mainly in Western Oregon.

Like Class I lines, the shortlines have problems with maintenance and preservation. The Oregon Shortline Railroad Association listed the following needs:

· Upgrade 500 miles of rail lines to handle heavier loads. The estimated cost is between $125 million to $150 million, or $250,000 to $300,000 per mile.

· Replace, repair or upgrade hundreds of railroad bridges throughout Oregon and enlarge some tunnels to accept double stack container traffic.

· Increase rail yard capacity and switching and servicing facilities.

The major priorities, according to the association, are stable funding for capital upgrades and continued improvement of rail safety and security. - Don Jepsen, The Medford Mail Tribune

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IN OUR VIEW: CHANGE THE RULES

VANCOUVER, WA -- Money can compete with safety when it comes to railroads, which is why it is encouraging that the government’s top railroad official is lobbying to change rules concerning workers’ schedules.

The change could lead to reduction in the number of train accidents caused by crew fatigue. The National Transportation Safety Board told Congress in February that fatigue has been a probable cause of 16 major train accidents in the past 23 years.

This policy change could impact a lot of people in Clark County. Vancouver, long a major switching and maintenance yard, has 450 train-yard and engine employees. More than 50 trains a day move through the terminal here.

Statistically, train workers already can expect to be involved in a fatal railroad accident if they spend a working lifetime on the tracks. There are simply too many people sitting, walking along or crossing tracks when they shouldn’t be.

What train engineers should not have to cope with is being so tired on the job that their physical state contributes to a wreck. Antiquated rules concerning the number of hours a person works versus the number of hours of rest between shifts are a problem.

Joseph Boardman, head of the Federal Railroad Administration, is asking Congress to repeal a 100-year-old law that regulates workers’ schedules, saying the laws are not up to date with scientific knowledge of the impact a lack of sleep has on workers. Boardman wants to require more rest between shifts, or shorter work days.

Right now, the Associated Press reports, train crews and signal workers can work 12 hours straight with 10 hours of rest. But if a train employee works even one minute less than 12 hours, law mandates just eight hours of rest. By the time one gets home, settles in and falls asleep, it isn’t hard to imagine workers getting inadequate sleep before they are due back at work. Unpredictable schedules are also a problem. If a worker doesn’t know when he might be called up next, how can he physically prepare and still have a decent family or social life?

While workers might crave more predictability and more rest, they also know any change is likely to hurt their pocketbooks if the industry has to hire more workers. Ensuring that current workers won’t face dramatic drops in income is key. Boardman and the National Transportation Safety Board need to continue working with unions representing train employees to find the best solution. - Editorial Opinion, The Columbian

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FIRST BOAT OF THE SEASON ARRIVES

Photo here: [www.miningjournal.net]

- The Mining Journal

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MINI STEAM TRAIN COMES TO HISTORIC HORSESHOE CURVE

ALTOONA, PA -- Steam could be coming back to the Horseshoe Curve in more ways than one.
The Railroaders Memorial Museum is planning to oversee the placement of a miniature steam train at the site six miles west of Altoona. The hand-built trains are operated by an engineer sitting atop the steam engine at the lead of the train. The trains are strong enough to pull passenger-laden cars.

Photo here: [www.pittsburghlive.com]

The Horseshoe Curve allows trains to pass through the Allegheny Mountains via three sets of tracks installed on a man-made ridge completed in 1854. The engineering feat attracted visitors from the day it opened. Families visit the site for picnics, and thousands of railroad enthusiasts spend the day at the site each year to watch the trains coming through.

"When I took over here four-plus years ago, a lot of people said, 'I'd really like to have the old Curve back,' " Railroaders Museum Executive Director Scott Cessna says. "It was free. It was a place for families to go picnic and hang out on a Sunday afternoon.

"And then I remind them what the facilities were like when that was the case. You had to walk the stairs; there was no incline to get you up and down the hill. There were no bathrooms. I said, 'You don't really want the old Curve back ...' "

What visitors will find for a new $3 one-day ticket to the Curve are a visitors center with souvenirs and food as well as a description of the work required to build the Curve.

Cessna said there also are plans to "put a stage up there and hopefully do some free concerts. Try to take the Curve back to what it used to be, in some respects."

The museum and Horseshoe Curve facilities also will be open until 10 three nights this summer -- once each in June, July and August.

"It's a great place in the daytime," Cessna says. "At night, it's very dramatically lit, and nobody ever gets to experience that or see that or see the trains come around in the dark. So we're going to give that a shot." - Dirk W. Kaufman, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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TRANSIT NEWS

DOWNED WIRES SNARL MUNI RAILWAY

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- MUNI officials say they've restored partial service to underground lines affected by downed overhead wires. Trains are reportedly running on a single track while crews work to restore full service.

The downed wires, which fell west of Casto Station, have stalled a number of Municipal Railways throughout San Francisco just before the rush hour commute.

MUNI spokeswoman Maggie Lynch says inbound and outbound service on lines: K Ingleside, L Taraval and M Ocean View, between the Castro and West Portal stations, are affected. - KRON-TV4, San Francisco, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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PROGRAM SEEKS TO RAISE AWARENESS OF SPRINTER DANGER

Map here: [www.nctimes.com]

OCEANSIDE, CA -- When the Sprinter makes its first runs -- probably in December -- it will cut through North County neighborhoods that have not seen a daytime passenger train since World War II.

That fact, coupled with the knowledge that there are 32 schools within a mile of the railway, has spurred transit officials to begin talking safety with local city and school officials long before the first sleek Sprinter train makes its inaugural run.

"We are committed to getting out into the schools and into the community far in advance of the Sprinter getting up and running to make sure that we can educate children in the schools and the whole public about what is coming and what they need to do to be safe," said Phyllis Hall, a community outreach liaison with the North County Transit District.

While they applaud the transit agency's education efforts, many school administrators said last week they think the transit agency should pay for crossing guards at intersections where children routinely cross the train tracks on their way to and from school.

Photo here: [www.nctimes.com]

For now, the $440 million Sprinter's safety focus remains on education.

The district, which owns and will operate the new passenger rail service, launched its Sprinter safety outreach effort in July. Since then, Hall said she and other district staffers have met with every school principal in Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and Escondido to give them educational videos, pamphlets and other materials stressing rail safety.

With the Sprinter projected to make its inaugural run in December, specially trained presenters have taken a national rail safety program called "Operation Lifesaver" into schools near the tracks.

On Thursday, presenter Jay Sarno stood before a rapt audience of students in kindergarten through third grade at South Oceanside Elementary School.

A volunteer with a passion for trains, Sarno clicked through slides showing his young audience why it's important to stay off the tracks and away from the lumbering giants that pass a few blocks from their school night and day.

He hammered home the simple mantra of the national Operation Lifesaver program, which has been credited with reducing rail accidents at crossings by 50 percent: "We want you to look, we want you to listen and you will stay alive."

"That's our motto," Sarno added. "Say it for me."

"Look, listen, live," the kids responded with an enthusiasm usually reserved for ice cream or recess.

At the end of the assembly, Hall took the stage and drove home Operation Lifesaver's second message.

"You all can help by going home and telling your moms and your dads and your friends to stay off the tracks," he said.

A busy schedule

The new train service is scheduled to run seven days a week from 05:00 to 21:00. The Sprinter offers half-hour east and west service, meaning that a train headed one direction or the other potentially could pass through any given railroad crossing once every 15 minutes.

That schedule would mean that crossings would be active when kids throughout North County are walking to school in the morning and home in the afternoon. The transit district has no plans to station safety officers at railroad crossings frequented by children on their way to and from school.

"There is just no way we could station a safety officer at every grade crossing," said Sarah Benson, a spokesperson for the district.

In Oceanside, an estimated 250 kids cross the Sprinter tracks at Crouch Street on their way to Lincoln Middle School every day. Principal Bob Mueller said that a recent decision to bus middle schoolers who live more than a mile and a half away from school will reduce that number to between 25 and 50. He said a school crossing guard already watches over the Crouch Street crossing in the mornings and afternoons when students are coming and going, and he has no plans to remove that guard once busing resumes.

"I still plan to post a campus supervisor at that crossing in the morning as students leave," Mueller said. "Our campus supervisor (which is a security guard) does crossing duty. They treat it as another intersection."

Who pays for crossing guards at newly reactivated railroad crossings remains a bone of contention for some school administrators in Sprinter cities.

Ken Noonan, superintendent of the Oceanside School District (who this week announced his retirement), praised the transit district's education efforts but said he had not been able to get transit officials to budge on the idea of crossing guards.

"I think they've made it clear that they wouldn't do that," Noonan said. "The problem I see is that they have created a hazardous condition at some of these crossings that did not exist before."

Chuck Taylor, chief operations officer for the Vista Unified School District, said last week that he too was happy with the transit district's education efforts so far. But, like Noonan, he wondered whether more security at crossings would be necessary, especially at schools whose attendance boundaries are bisected by the rail lines.

"I think we will have to see the effects of their outreach program first," Taylor said.

If the district decides that adult supervision at crossings is necessary, then Taylor said he too thought it should be paid for by North County transit.

"If someone is creating a hazard, then I would think that they would be responsible," Taylor said.

But Benson noted that the transit district does not pay for crossing guards during school commute times for its coastal route either.

"We have decided to focus on prevention through education and outreach to the community," Benson said.

Teaching train safety

The district has budgeted $5,500 this year for its Operation Lifesaver efforts, which are aimed at schools along both the coastal and Sprinter tracks. Next year, the outreach budget will be $27,000, and the district has also received a $90,000 federal grant to produce materials and lectures in Spanish.

To date, Operation Lifesaver has conducted most of its assemblies and education efforts at San Marcos Elementary School and San Marcos Middle School. Both schools are within a block of the Sprinter railroad tracks and are near a stretch of new rail where Sprinter cars are already being tested.

Stephanie Wallace, assistant principal at San Marcos Elementary, said that, in addition to holding a student assembly on the subject last fall, she has sent home numerous fliers about rail safety. She said that when test trains began running this winter the school used an automated calling system to let parents know in advance that crossings would be active.

"It's on everyone's mind here at school," Wallace said, adding that 85 percent of the school's students walk to class.

Last week, the school held its second parent meeting to explain the train situation.

"We had about 75 parents show up," she said, adding that information was provided in Spanish as well as English.

Though she said parents were initially worried that the Sprinter, which will reach speeds up to 55 mph, would be dangerous, Wilson said that repeated discussions about the new rail service have recently become more positive.

"Many of our parents don't have cars, so it's another way for them to get around, and that is exciting for them," she said.

A real danger

Recent events have underlined the importance of train awareness in North County.

Last April 1, a northbound Amtrak train running at an estimated 50 mph on the district's coastal rail line struck 15-year-old Graham Suchman as he ran across a railroad crossing at Wisconsin Avenue in Oceanside. Coroner reports found that the Oceanside High School student died instantly from the collision.

Rail officials said Suchman and a group of friends congregating around the crossing were playing a game of "chicken" with passing trains when the accident occurred. Suchman's friends and family disagreed with that assessment, saying that the student's death was simply a tragic accident.

The accident occurred on the district's busy north-south railway, which carries dozens of passenger trains daily in addition to regular, round-the-clock freight trains.

By comparison, the Sprinter will use a rail line that has not seen significant traffic for decades. The only traffic the old line has seen in recent years are a few late-night freight trains carrying raw materials from the coastal line inland to several manufacturing companies in Escondido.

David Papworth, director of the district's security department, said trespassing -- defined as crossing railroad tracks at any location other than a designated crossing -- had become common in some locations along the reborn Sprinter line, perhaps because it has not been used during daylight hours for so long.

He said his department is working with local law enforcement officers to identify common trespassing locations. The full 22-mile Sprinter line will be fenced on both sides to discourage shortcuts.

Papworth said enforcement will be key when the Sprinter starts running in December or early next year.

"We're looking at hitting it as hard as we can in the initial phases of opening," Papworth said.

He added that the transit district intends to increase its $3.1 million Sprinter budget next year in order to hire additional security guards, video surveillance employees and deputy sheriffs to patrol the Sprinter's east-west right of way and its 15 stations. - Paul Sisson, The North County Times

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THE END