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Railroad Newsline for Monday, April 02, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

SECOND SET OF TRESTLE TRACKS FINISHED IN SACRAMENTO

Video clip here:

[www.news10.net]

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Just over two weeks after a massive fire reduced a Sacramento train trestle to ruin, Union Pacific employees completed rebuilding work on the second set of tracks over the American River early Saturday.

The second of two sets of rail tracks were completed at around 01:00 hours Saturday, Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said. The work completed a nearly 24-hour-a-day operation to rebuild nearly 1,400 feet of rail trestle ravaged by flames March 15. The project was also done well before the original late April projected finish date.

UP rail traffic detoured by the fire was restored to its normal routes, though trains will travel the span at reduced speeds for the next few days as a precaution. The tracks accommodate nearly 50 trains a day along the major rail artery.

The first set of rails were completed early Tuesday. - Jason Kobely, KXTV-TV10, Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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OFFICIALS WANT UP TO MOVE FAST SO POPULAR SECTION CAN REOPEN

Map here:

[media.sacbee.com]

SACRAMENTO, CA -- With Union Pacific's fast reconstruction of a burned train trestle nearly complete, Sacramento County officials are urging the railroad company to move quickly to clean contaminated soil in the American River Parkway.

Parks officials say they have arranged a meeting Monday with UP representatives to push for rapid steps so the county can reopen a nearly two-mile section of the parkway and recreation trail that has been closed since the fire.

"The question is how quickly can we get the bike trail opened up," said county parks deputy director Dave Lydick.

UP showed it could amass the necessary equipment and crews to swiftly rebuild its freight line. Lydick said county officials would ask the railroad to "work with the same urgency to remove any contaminated soil."

Some 1,400 feet of wooden trestle on UP's Sacramento mainline -- serving freight and some passenger trains -- burned down March 14.

The fire's cause remains under investigation, fire officials said, as investigators interview witnesses and review videos shot at the site.

Working day and night, UP crews have built a new concrete and steel structure at the site just north of the American River.

One track reopened for freight traffic last Tuesday -- just 12 days after the fire -- and the second is expected to reopen by next Tuesday, UP spokesman Mark Davis said.

UP officials have scheduled a ceremony at the site Tuesday where they will distribute $4,000 financial grants to several community organizations from neighborhoods negatively affected by the fire and the construction, including night-time pile driving.

They also will award two local fire departments with $20,000 grants.

"We appreciate what they have done for us," said UP official Adrian Randolph. "It's a small token."

UP spokesman Davis, however, offered no timetable for when and how UP will conduct soil work.
Regulatory officials have said it is likely the railroad will have to remove contaminated soil and replace it with clean material.

Soil sampling has not yet been completed, UP's Davis said last week. But he said the railroad company doesn't intend to go slowly.

"Our people will be very direct in analyzing and determining what effects there are to the soil and the water," Davis said.

UP is responsible for rebuilding the county's recreation trail, he said.

Davis, based in Omaha, Nebraska, said he was unaware of the meeting county officials have planned with local UP officials. A local UP representative confirmed a meeting will take place, but offered no details.

Some cyclists have complained that the main detour route is a poor one, taking them for several miles along Exposition Boulevard, a busy retail street.

"It would be nice to work something out so they can get the trail open while they do remediation work," said Walt Seifert, executive director of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates. - Tony Bizjak, The Sacramento Bee

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BNSF TO PAY $800,000 TO SETTLE AGE DISCRIMINATION SUIT

BNSF Railway Co. has settled an age discrimination suit with a federal agency, agreeing to pay $800,000 to a group of current and former employees.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission today said BNSF agreed to the settlement with 137 workers but denied any liability.

The dispute arose last year when the federal agency alleged the railroad offered an incentive-laden buyout plan for certain groups of clerical workers except those already eligible for retirement. The offer gave BNSF employees a chance to leave the company but continue receiving $2,500 a month for three years while still accumulating employment credit. The alternative was a $90,000 lump-sum payment.

The agency alleged the discrimination occurred when clerical employees eligible to retire were not offered the same buyout. Those workers were located in Kansas City, Kansas; Topeka, Kansas; Fort Worth, Texas; and Alliance, Nebraska.

BNSF countered that discrimination had not occurred because the offer was designed to give employees an opportunity to retire before they became eligible for government benefits. Those already eligible to retire were excluded because they had access to the same or greater benefits payout, not because of age, the railroad said. More than 100 employees over age 60 were eligible for the buyout program, according to BNSF.

Despite the settlement, both sides remained firm in their positions.

“Denying employees benefits because they are eligible to retire is age discrimination,” said Barbara Seely, attorney in the EEOC’s St. Louis office, in a statement. “Employees who are old enough to retire don’t necessarily want to stop working; they are entitled to receive the same benefits as younger workers.”

BNSF said its voluntary early retirement programs do not discriminate against employees based on age.

“The railroad decided to settle to avoid the substantial cost of further litigation, but in doing so insisted on an express statement that there is no admission of liability,” said BNSF attorney Donald Munro in a statement. - Randolph Heaster, The Kansas City Star

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SOME HOPING IN REJUVENATING A FOLSOM RAILROAD

FOLSOM, CA -- Some people in Folsom, California probably couldn't believe their eyes when history was literally on the move. Motorists in Folsom got quite a shock Thursday what was this rolling down the abandoned railroad tracks that run from the city all through the foothills?

Aboard a railcar were historians and city officials getting a sneak peak at about 18-miles of track that has been cleaned and repaired. The route takes us past shopping centers, through secret forests, over deer creek and past some of the most beautiful scenery in our foothills.

"We want you to see what we have here, most people have no idea about the potential here," said Bill Anderson, a rail road historian.

Rail buffs hope to begin running an excursion train in this area sometime in the future. All these tracks and right of way are already owned by the city.

"We bought all of this," said Anderson.

The tracks are still pretty bumpy since they haven't be used or maintained for decades. After a quick check, we're back on the rails trying to convince these city leaders that a tourist train here would attract thousands of visitors and lots of revenue. Vice Mayor Kerri Howell seemed convinced.

If these rail buffs' dreams come true, this line could be expanded all the way to Placerville. All they need now is a bigger train and lots of money, volunteers and sweat. - John Iander, KOVR-CBS13, West Sacramento, CA

To view a related video clip, click on the following link -- then click on the "play" button:

[cbs13.com]

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AT THE THROTTLE: I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD; HOW 'BOUT YOU?

Photo here:

[www.elynews.com]

When I was growing up, I use to sing the song Working on the Railroad. If you have a little gray on your head, you probably remember how it goes. -- “I've been workin' on the railroad, All the live long day. I've been workin' on the railroad, Just to pass the time away.”

Little did I believe I would actually be doing it as an adult, but here I am and I invite you to join me. That's right, as the old US Army recruiting poster says (with a slight twist), I want you to volunteer at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum! Again, that's right, volunteer! The short version is that the volunteers of the museum are our secret weapon. Without the volunteers, the railroad would not be as successful as it is.

The museum has hired more and more staff. It might appear that with so much staff there is not place for volunteers at the museum. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We have more staff, because we have so much more that needs to be done. And the list at times can seem endless. (Actually the list is endless, because once we get something done it needs maintenance.)

Every staff member at the museum has at least two jobs; most have three, four or five jobs and there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that needs to be done. And then there is the feeling of frustration. It takes a staff member hours to accomplish the simplest tasks. The reason for this is they can't focus on just one item or have the time to quickly do anything. Frankly, their job would be impossible without the volunteers.

Photo here:

[www.elynews.com]

The volunteers are like the cavalry riding over the hill. They're the reserves that make the

difference on whether something gets done or not. And boy do we have a lot to accomplish.

For 2007, we'll be investing time and resources into locomotive 109, 40 and 93. Then we are going to start a ground up restoration on locomotive 81. We have new coaches coming in April.

Those coaches and our current coaches all need a paint job. Then there is the day to day maintenance that operating decades old equipment requires.

Then there's track, without track, the trains don't run. We have a bridge to replace, hundreds of ties need renewal, low joints to raise and did I mention hundreds of ties that need to be replaced?

And don't overlook our sixty-six buildings and structures. There are windows to repair, doors to fix, buildings to paint, a restroom to build, continuing work on the McGill Depot, and utility upgrades needed throughout the property.

And the paper!!! The endless paper that we need to move. We are swimming in the stuff. We have all kinds of the stuff -- correspondence, membership, bills, flyers, brochures, newsletters, posters and the list goes on and on. Then there is the historic paper and records on top of our modern paper.

On top of taking care of the locomotives, rolling stock, track, buildings and paper, we have a railroad to run! This is where the volunteers do the heavy lifting. Our volunteers serve as engineers, firemen, brakeman, conductors, narrators, concessionaires, tour guides and help out in the gift shop. Volunteers also help out in the shop; work on locomotives and rolling stock, on track, with buildings and that mountain of paper. There's plenty of work for everybody.

So how does a person volunteer? Is there a secret handshake or password? Do you need to be a railroader or machinist? No, its really simple-show up and say I want to volunteer. No secret handshake or password. You don't need any special skills, just the desire to help out. Let us know what you're interested in and we'll do our best to match you to your desires.

Don't live in Ely? Again, no problem, we have volunteers from around Nevada and our neighboring states. Some people come for a long weekend, some come for the summer. Some only show up once a year, while others show up once a week and most are somewhere in between.

To be a volunteer takes dedication and motivation. And it doesn't pay anything. Yet there is a payoff. It is at the end of the day. You'll know that you accomplished something. Your work preserved another little piece of this national treasure. And over time you'll see your efforts blend with that of other volunteers and the staff actually does something, you'll see real progress. So don't be bashful, step up to the plate help is needed in all areas.

And then you'll be singing our song -- “I've been workin' on the railroad, All the live long day. I've been workin' on the railroad, Just to pass the time away” -- and preserving a National Historic Landmark at the same time. It just doesn't get any better than that. - Mark Bassett, The Ely Times

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RAIL LINE IS TUCSON COULD BE TERROR BAIT

TUCSON, AZ -- More than 1,600 rail tanker loads of poisonous gas vulnerable to terrorist attack roll through Tucson in a year, potentially threatening most of the city.
A chlorine disaster could kill people up to 5.6 miles downwind of Union Pacific Railroad in Tucson.

In a less-likely or "worst-case" scenario in which the weather and other conditions are ideal for toxic terrorism, the deadly fog could maim and kill up to 9.6 miles away, newly disclosed emergency-planning documents show.

"That's incredible," said Gwyneth Scally, an artist whose warehouse studio is just off the tracks near North Sixth Avenue and East Ninth Street. "I'm sure that would never occur to the people in the (upscale) residences just a block or two off."

Photo here:

[www.azstarnet.com]

Security experts have known for years that terrorists could try to blow open a highly hazardous rail car to send a lethal cloud across a U.S. city.

The chemical industry is scrambling to design rail cars less likely to break open if they derail. Congress, while moving to increase funding for railroad security, continues wrestling with whether to reroute hazardous cargos from densely populated areas when possible.

Metro Tucson, home to more than a million people, has grown up around Arizona's biggest rail yard. Kids play in neighborhoods close enough to hit a baseball into the rail yard, which borders Barraza-Aviation Parkway, stretching nearly from the 22nd Street Bridge to the Palo Verde overpass. Trains crawl or hurtle through the metro area on the state's busiest line, which links cities from Los Angeles to New Orleans. Phoenix is a branch line on this economically vital "Sunset Route."

That main line's potential appeal to saboteurs is one reason the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently named Tucson to a list of 45 areas of "high threat" for terrorism.

Map here:

[www.azstarnet.com]

There is no known immediate threat to Tucson. The "high threat" designation allows the city and other places to compete for funds to continue hardening themselves against attack. Many say the country has focused on securing airlines and, to a lesser extent, passenger rail lines, while largely ignoring the freight lines.

"When you look at the amount of money that both the federal government and the railroads are spending on railroad security, you just have to shake your head and wonder why there isn't more focus on that," said Kris Mayes, a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, which inspects railroads on behalf of the Federal Railroad Administration.

"It's particularly relevant at a time when Union Pacific is proposing to lay down the first new railroad track in Arizona in more than 50 years, which will almost double the rail traffic through Tucson and the rest of Arizona," she said.

The area hit by poison or explosion would depend on where a tank car blows up or derails, the rate at which the gas or liquid gets released and the atmospheric conditions that affect how it spreads.

"There's highly hazardous things that go through, I would say, on a daily basis," said Brad Olson, a Tucson Fire Department deputy chief in charge of disaster planning.

Olson and Pima County emergency-response officials said Union Pacific cooperates with local authorities, provides free training to local hazardous-materials responders and is quick to disclose what's on board once a derailment occurs.

Unlike many businesses that make or use hazardous materials, railroads are exempt from key right-to-know laws designed to let citizens know what environmental hazards are in their neighborhoods. When the city of Tucson recently requested a list of the most commonly shipped hazardous materials, Union Pacific required the city to sign a standard nondisclosure agreement.

Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis told the Star he would not divulge the types and quantities of lethal loads "because of the security enhancements."

But documents prepared in October for the Arizona State Emergency Response Commission give a glimpse at what comes down the rails. AMEC Earth and Environmental Inc. obtained carload counts from the railroad as part of a study for the commission.

In 2005, Union Pacific carried 629 tanker loads of poisonous chlorine on the tracks at Tucson and east of the city, the records show.

Photo here:

[www.azstarnet.com]

Another 998 loads at Tucson were anhydrous ammonia — the poison involved in a North Dakota derailment that killed one person and injured 1,442 five years ago.

Those two gases are highly toxic when inhaled — the type of cargo that is drawing attention these days in part because insurgents in Iraq have increasingly blown open tanker trucks hauling chlorine.

Together, those two gases make up 3 percent of the 231,502 cars loaded with hazardous materials that traveled through Southern Arizona in 2005.
The railroad also hauled 2,439 carloads of liquefied petroleum gas.

Other types of highly hazardous cargo also rolled down that Tucson-area track, including 754 carloads of flammable toluene diisocyanate and 541 loads of corrosive hydrochloric acid.

Similar amounts of most of these hazardous chemicals show up on the tracks west of the city, suggesting most hazardous freight passes through Tucson instead of being unloaded here.

The documents show only the top 20 most-recorded hazardous materials.
Railroad officials say that since 9/11 they have taken big steps to secure rail yards and hazardous shipments, including tightening access to key facilities, restricting information that terrorists could use to plan an attack and training employees to report suspicious activity and to keep mum about sensitive information.

"Individual terminal plans are something I cannot comment on," Davis told the Star, "but I can say our employees and the public have become a great (help) by reporting anything out of the ordinary to UP police or local law enforcement."

Tucson's Union Pacific main yard, a maintenance facility, appeared easy to get into when a reporter made unannounced visits in recent weeks.

On the east end near Palo Verde overpass, anyone could park a car and walk alongside the tracks into the yard. A reporter loitered there 20 minutes without being challenged. Elsewhere, emergency entrances to the rail yard were open and unguarded.

Finding highly hazardous loads outside the yard, as a terrorist might do, is even easier. On a recent weekday afternoon, a reporter reached four tankers marked to carry explosive liquid petroleum gas as they paused on the tracks for 40 minutes within 200 feet of golfers swinging their clubs at practice tees. A reporter also had no trouble reaching propane tankers paused on other parts of the track.

A terrorist could blow up a truck on the road, of course. But a 30,000-gallon rail tanker has more appeal as a target because it carries nearly three times the hazardous material and because a rail wreck promises more news coverage, said Capt. Frank Duarte, head of homeland security for the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

"Terrorists generally want something spectacular. That's part of their game," he said.

Former trucker Emmett P. Gracey thinks officials might be more eager to reroute highly hazardous loads if they'd been with him in Kingman in 1973.

He and his co-driver were eating in a restaurant as workers across the street unloaded liquid propane from a rail tank car.

"We had just gotten up to go out and they told us to get out of there, the propane was on fire," Gracey recalled last week.

Witnesses reported the rail car erupted in a 350-foot fireball, destroying or damaging gas stations, restaurants and motels along U.S. 66. Gracey hit the ground near his truck as the heat seared the tops of his ears and head.

"I remember thinking, 'God almighty. You're supposed to lie on the ground when you get hit by fire, but I've got to get out of here!' "

A highway patrolman hurried to evacuate others until "he shriveled up like a ball," Gracey said. "You couldn't even recognize him."

All but one of 13 who died were volunteer firefighters and other public-safety officers responding to the emergency. More than 100 people suffered burns or other injury. Rail tankers have been strengthened since then to prevent that type of catastrophic explosion.

Concerned after Kingman, the Tucson City Council in 1973 sought to reroute hazmat shipments but decided the rails were under federal control.

But in the wake of 9/11, the city councils of Washington, D.C., and some other cities have challenged federal control and moved to limit the most hazardous rail shipments. The railroads are fighting back in court, saying the local laws wrongly interfere with interstate commerce.

UP spokesman Davis said rerouting promises to increase not only transit time — which increases the risk of terrorism or accidents — but "also shifts any risks from one community to the other."

Advocates of rerouting say moving cargoes through less-densely-populated areas makes them an unappealing target, so there's no real risk.

Railroad officials stress that they are required by law to accept shipments of hazardous materials, but Congress should cap their liability if they must carry toxic, inhalable gases like chlorine and ammonia, even though accidents are rare.

"Every time a railroad moves one of these shipments, though, it faces potentially ruinous liability," Edward R. Hamberger, head of the Association of American Railroads, told a U.S. House panel last summer.

Accident or terrorist attack, part of a long-term solution may be finding alternatives to some of the scariest chemicals we use.

For example, Tucson dramatically reduced its vulnerability with respect to Tucson Water when the utility phased out chlorine gas for treating water in the 1990s.

Others have proposed dedicating a single cross-country rail line to hazardous materials to avoid high-risk cities.

Frank Walter, a hazmat specialist in the University of Arizona emergency-medicine division, warns that the threat of toxic terrorism in this country remains at an all-time high. He calls that a significant concern and says cities must be prepared to respond.

"Obviously, we are on a major rail artery," he said. "So in terms of the possibility, it's always present." - Enric Volante, The Arizona Daily Star

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RAILROAD FIGHTS BILL AIMED AT CUTTING SHIPPING RATES

HELENA, MT -- The BNSF Railway Company says a proposed law aimed at raising its taxes unless it reduces its shipping rates is illegal.

A House committee listened to arguments Friday on a plan that would tie BNSF's property taxes to its shipping rates.

Supporters said the company overcharges Montana farmers and ranchers and needs to be forced to lower rates.

The proposal is specifically engineered to penalize the company in a way that would prevent it from increasing shipping rates to pay for the tax, said sponsor Rep. Julie French, D-Scobey. If the company raised rates, their taxes would also go up.

The rates would be monitored by comparing Montana shipping charges to those in other states.

French said the measure is needed because BNSF has a monopoly in most of the state, and federal regulators have failed to crack down on it.

But BNSF said it has made big strides in meeting the concerns of shippers in Montana. It said the punitive law is the wrong way to solve the problem.

Alec Vincent, tax director at the company, called it "extremely poor tax policy." He said federal law bans states from enacting such "discriminatory taxation."

A similar proposal stalled in 2005 amid pressure from BNSF, which said at the time that it would sue if the state adopted the tax.

The House Taxation Committee did not take immediate action on the bill. - The Associated Press, The Billings Gazette

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ALAMEDA CORRIDOR TRAFFIC INCREASING

The Alameda Corridor continued to be a key southern California intermodal route last year. A total of 19,924 trains – an average of 55 per day -- used the 20-mile corridor, a 15-percent increase compared with 2005 data, according to the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA).

In addition, trains moving through the corridor in 2006 hauled about 5 million 20-foot container equivalent units (TEUs), up 32 percent compared with 2005’s 3.75 million TEUs. On average, trains move 14,000 TEUs through the Alameda Corridor daily.

A recently released trade impact study by ACTA and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which are served by the corridor, shows the ports handle more than 40 percent of the nation’s total containerized import traffic and 24 percent of exports.

Since the Alameda Corridor opened in April 2002 as a freight-rail expressway between the ports and downtown L.A. rail yards, the route’s cargo volume has increased 106 percent, ACTA said. The corridor is operated by a unique partnership between the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach, BNSF Railway Company and Union Pacific Railroad. - BNSF Today

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FREIGHT TRAFFIC OFF ON U.S. RAILROADS FOR WEEK ENDED MARCH 24

According to the Association of American Railroads, both intermodal and carload freight were down on U.S. railroads during the week ended March 24 in comparison with the corresponding week last year. Intermodal volume totaled 222,484 trailers or containers, down 4.7 percent from last year, with container volume off 2.9 percent and trailer volume down 10.4 percent.

Carload freight totaled 334,633 cars for the week. Although this was down 2.7 percent from last year, the total was the highest reached so far this year. Loadings were up 0.6 percent in the West but down 6.6 percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 34.1 billion ton-miles, down 1.2 percent from last year.

Among the five carload commodity groups registering gains from last year were petroleum products, up 15.0 percent, and nonmetallic minerals, up 13.8 percent. Of the 14 commodity groups down from last year, metallic ores was down 45.4 percent; lumber and wood products off 22.4 percent; and coke down 20.2 percent.

Cumulative volume for the first 12 weeks of 2007 totaled 3,810,447 carloads, down 4.5 percent from 2006; 2,710,100 trailers or containers, up 0.4 percent; and total volume of an estimated 387.3 billion ton-miles, down 3.2 percent from last year. - BNSF Today

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CN TO BUILD C$20-MILLION TRANSLOAD CENTER, INTERMODAL YARD IN PRINCE GEORGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA

PRINCE GEORGE, BC -- The Canadian National Railway announced Friday it will construct a C$20-million transload operation and intermodal rail terminal in Prince George, BC, for the export of containerized products to and from Asian markets through the new Port of Prince Rupert, BC, rail/maritime intermodal facility.

“The new Prince George terminal is an important part of the Pacific Gateway Strategy as it will maximize the potential of new port capacity at Prince Rupert,” says Peter Marshall, CN senior vice-president, Western Region.

Prince George, situated 500 miles east of Prince Rupert, is in close proximity to British Columbia’s large fiber reserves and other natural resources and is CN’s divisional headquarters and main operations hub in northern BC.

“The Prince George facility is ideally located to tap backhaul export opportunities, filling empty containers moving to Asia via Prince Rupert with lumber, panels, woodpulp and paper, as well as ores, plastics and some metals products. It will help CN maximize revenue potential generated from the new terminal at Prince Rupert, and create new economic and employment opportunities in northern BC,” says Marshall.

CN’s new Prince George transload facility, with an 84,000 square-foot warehouse and 10 acres of outside storage, is expected to open in fall 2007. It will load containers with products arriving at the facility by rail or truck. The loaded containers will then be lifted onto railway flatcars at CN’s new adjacent intermodal rail yard, and daily service will be offered from this terminal to the Port of Prince Rupert.

Scheduled to open in fall of 2007, the Prince Rupert terminal with a phase one capacity of 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent containers (TEUs), will create a new North American gateway for goods moving to and from Asia and the principal centers of Canada and the United States Midwest and South. - Kelli Svendsen, CN News Release

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KCSR PUBLIC SAFETY FOCUS IN LAREDO THIS WEEK

This week, the Kansas City Southern Railway public safety, security and transportation team conducted two separate initiatives focused on improving public safety in Laredo, TX. This area is particularly important for this kind of activity with 34 public at-grade crossings in the first five miles north of the International Bridge.

On March 28, KCSR district special agent J.L. Alonso hosted an Officer on a Train event in downtown Laredo, in cooperation with the Laredo Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Webb County Sheriff's Office and Webb County Constables Precincts one and five. A special train comprised of two locomotives made a round trip from downtown to milepost 4.5. As with like events, some officers are on the train, while others are on the ground at crossings. In all, 40 citations were issued for stopping on the railroad tracks, disregarding crossings signals or approaching the train at close proximity.

On March 28 and 29, KCSR director public safety Allen Pepper conducted an Operation Lifesaver presenter training course for employees Edward Punches of Corpus Christi and Carlos Solis, Jr. and Steve Vela of Laredo, who have all volunteered to help spread the crossing safety message on the Laredo Subdivision. Other employees who are interested in becoming an Operation Lifesaver presenter are encouraged to call Pepper at 662-617-0727 to learn more.

Special thanks to Texas Division general manager Jim Riney, general superintendent Doug Haywood and trainmaster Tom Garrison, J.A. Alonso and Allen Pepper for providing the resources and coordination to make these public safety efforts possible. - KCS News

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RRHOF PROJECT IN CONCEPT STAGE; FUNDRAISING EFFORTS MOVE TO NATIONAL ARENA

GALESBURG, IL - The board of directors of the National Railroad Hall of Fame wants to "redefine" what a hall of fame is. Pre-concept design work that will be unveiled in three to four weeks will give the public a look at what is steaming down the track.

Julie King, Hall of Fame executive director since November, said BRC Imagination Arts of Burbank, California, is doing the pre-concept design work.

"They are the same company that did the work for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum," King said.

A major turning point for the Railroad Hall of Fame came when members of the board visited the Lincoln museum in Springfield in May 2006. Shortly after that visit, board member Jay Matson said, "When our board visited the Lincoln Museum, we were unanimous -- that's what we want our Hall of Fame to be."

King said Hall of Fame board members are "reviewing the preliminary documents now. The new look on our Web site reflects some of that."

The concept diagram on the Web site shows areas such as Building the Engines of Freedom Theater, Storybook Station, Lonesome Whistle Gallery and 4D Train Experience.

Asked about Storybook Station, King said, "I'm just going to keep you in suspense on that. ... I'm not going to comment on any of the design concepts. We're pleased with it and we think the public will be pleased with it also."

King said about 10 people from Galesburg, including board members, members of the public and business leaders traveled to Burbank in January to BRC Imagination Arts for what was, in effect, a brainstorming session.

"We refined what we want in the Hall of Fame and just threw out all of the ideas everybody had" to determine which might be incorporated into the hall and which might not.

The Hall of Fame originally hoped to raise $1 million locally but has already raised about $1.5 million during local fund-raising.

"I would say we are at the very beginning of our transition to national fundraising," King said of the effort to garner enough money to build what is expected to be a $60 million Hall of Fame. "We're very pleased with the support we have received from the community at all levels."

What is planned is a 84,500-square-foot building in the north section of Kiwanis Park, just off Interstate 74 on the east side of the city. A number of efforts by local governmental bodies to raise more money are continuing. The Knox County Board is expected to consider donating $100,000 to the Hall of Fame, but King said the board was asked to wait to take any action until it can see the new design concept. The city of Galesburg is seeking a 12-year extension of TIF II, on the east side of Galesburg, which could provide money for the Hall of Fame.

King said some important studies have begun and are expected to be completed in 10 to 12 weeks.

"One critical piece of information that has to happen before the beginning of national fundraising is completion of our market analysis and feasibility study," King said. "Our study will be specific to Galesburg and specific to our design work and specific to our market. They will tell us what the right size is for a museum in Galesburg. It may be a $60 million facility or it may not."

Asked if that meant the concept design on the Hall of Fame's Web site will change, King answered, "I think anything can change if we get better ideas."

The concept design "is the plan at this point. That is a peek at what we'll be unveiling from the BRC Imagination folks. ... These are really fun details," King said, acknowledging that, "The public is hungry for news from us.

"We really want to redefine what a hall of fame is." King said the idea is to find a new way of telling stories of the people who built the railroads, to look at "the vision, the ingenuity and what it did for our nation. It's an American story. It's everyone's story." - John R. Pulliam, The Galesburg Register-Mail

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MAN SEVERELY INJURED WHEN HIT BY TRAIN

DEL MAR, CA -- A 22-year-old man, who had been drinking with friends near the railroad tracks, suffered a severed leg, a broken back and neck, and broken ribs when he was struck by an oncoming train Friday night, authorities said.

The man was hit by the train at 18:41 on the tracks at 8th Street, Deputy M.A. Cook said.

"He is expected to survive," Sgt. J. Mata said Saturday.

He was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital where he was underwent surgery. His condition later was not available.

Deputies were told a group of 6 to 7 adults, who had all been drinking, ran down a slight hill toward the tracks just prior to the incident, Cook said. The injured man slipped and fell and was struck by the northbound Coaster train, he said.

The Coaster engineer saw the man falling and brought the train to a stop, but it was too late to avoid striking him.

The incident was under investigation by the sheriff's railroad enforcement unit.

Cook noted the group ignored No Trespassing signs posted in the area. - The North County Times

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ETHANOL DEMAND BOOSTS CORN PLANTING

DES MOINES, IA -- An ethanol-fueled boom in prices will prompt American farmers to plant the most corn since the year the Allies invaded Normandy, but surging demand could mean consumers still may pay more for everything from chicken to cough syrup.

Farmers are expected to plant 90.5 million acres of corn, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual prospective plantings report released Friday. That would be a 15 percent increase over 2006 and the most corn planted since 1944.

Mother Nature will play a large part in the actual acreage planted. Muddy fields are already slowing plantings in some states.

"We're awfully wet out here," said John Scott, a grain farmer in west central Iowa. "Normally by this time of year we're doing quite a bit of field work. There just isn't a wheel turning out here. Illinois is in the same boat."

Corn should be planted by mid-May for good yields and soybeans can be planted as late as June, which could be a fallback plan for farmers if corn doesn't get planted in time.

The move to plant corn is in large part due to a rush to produce corn-based ethanol, which is blended with gasoline. There are now 114 ethanol refineries nationwide and another 80 under construction.

The corn rush was sparked by President Bush's initiative to support flexible-fuel vehicles, which are capable of using gasoline and ethanol blends, and his administration's plan to cut gas consumption by 20 percent in 10 years.

Corn prices were already rising when Bush announced the initiative in Washington on Jan. 23 and there has been growing concern that the corn rush could hurt the poor in less-developed nations such as Mexico, where the crop is a staple used in tortillas.

On Thursday, Cuban leader Fidel Castro wrote in an editorial for the Communist Party daily newspaper that President Bush's ethanol plan could deplete corn and other food stocks in developing nations, putting the lives of 3 billion people at risk worldwide.

"You're in the middle of an emergence of a food versus fuel debate," said Lincoln Ellis, director of asset management for the Linn Group, a Chicago-based privately held financial trading business focusing on commodities and futures. "This is the pregame show. We haven't even hit the first quarter."

Corn is a key ingredient in many foods, from corn syrup found in candies and cough syrup to feed used in meat production.

Chicken producers welcomed the planting report, hoping that an increased corn supply would reduce feed costs that have led to a 40 percent rise in chicken prices. But they noted that the bigger corn harvest would come at the expense of soybean acres, expected to drop by 11 percent.

"This is definitely a mixed report," Bill Roenigk, senior vice president and chief economist at the National Chicken Council, said in a statement.

Livestock and dairy producers also were optimistic that increased corn production could lead to a decline in feed prices. That presumption showed up in the stock prices for chicken producers on Friday. The shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corp., Tyson Foods Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc. all rose after the news.

Corn for May delivery was trading at $3.74 a bushel Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, down 5.1 percent, or 20 cents from Thursday, the daily limit for loss set by the board.

Corn prices had fallen about 17 percent from their Feb. 26 10-year high of $4.50.

Agriculture industry analyst David Driscoll, of Citigroup Research, said in a report to investors Friday that he expects the increased corn acres to cause the price of corn to fall to about $3 a bushel by December.

Corn had been stuck at around $2 a bushel for years before the ethanol boom lifted prices.

Bob Ray, a senior vice president at the Chicago Board of Trade, said predictions that corn prices will continue to decline because of plentiful supply from a huge harvest must be balanced with increasing demand from the export market.

Both China and India have sent signals recently that they'll import significant amounts of U.S. corn. The Chinese can't raise enough corn to feed their rapidly growing livestock market and India has recently lowered tariffs, indicating plans to import grains from the United States.

A wild card also could be the European Union, which also has to meet required renewable fuel mandates and doesn't have enough land available to set aside for grains to make into ethanol.

John M.A. Roy, an ethanol analyst for WR Hambrecht and Co., predicts that ethanol demand will grow by at least 32 percent in 2007.

"Overall this was a good report for ethanol producers and could help their stocks short-term, but the issue of high priced corn is not over," Roy said in a research note.

The USDA based the planting report on surveys of more than 86,000 farmers across the country.

Increased corn planting also could mean a large drop in cotton production, expected to be down 20 percent from last year.

In Arkansas, for example, farmers intend to plant 66 percent more acres in corn. Cotton acres are expected to drop from 1.2 million acres last year to 740,000 acres this year. A similar drop in cotton acreage is expected in Mississippi.

Stuart Sanderson, who farms 4,000 acres of wheat, soybeans, corn and cotton near the Tennessee River in northern Alabama, converted all of his cotton acres to corn this year, a move he expects to pay off in an extra $150 an acre.

He said all neighboring farmers he knows have converted at least 30 percent of their fields from cotton to corn.

"When corn goes over that $3 mark it really catches attention," he said. "The thing about cotton is you can't turn it into a fuel. With corn, you can eat it, you can feed it, you can turn it into fuel. With the ethanol engine, it's a really good time to be growing corn."

He doesn't anticipate a shortage of cotton, however, because domestic stockpiles remain large.

In its report, the USDA said Iowa remains on top with the most corn acres to be planted at 13.9 million -- a 10.3 percent increase from last year.

Besides a drop in soybean and cotton plantings, rice was expected to decline 7 percent to 2.64 million acres.

Some grains are expected to rise. Wheat is expected to rise 5 percent with 60.3 million acres.
Other increases include: sorghum, up 9 percent; canola, up 12 percent; and barley, up 7 percent.

Figures of actual acres planted for the year will be released on June 29. - Nafeesa Syeed and David Pitt, The Associated Press, The Billing Gazette

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TRANSIT NEWS

LIGHT RAIL TO TACOMA AFTER ALL?

TACOMA, WA -- A 3.5-mile gap in light-rail service from Sea-Tac Airport to Tacoma, Washington would disappear under a revised transit plan voters will consider in November.

Thanks to a rosier revenue forecast, the Sound Transit board agreed Thursday to extend light rail to the Tacoma Dome if voters approve a nearly $18 billion road and transit construction plan. Originally, the plan would have extended light rail only to Fife.

“It’s big news for Tacoma,” said Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, chairman of the Sound Transit board. “It’s a done deal. We’re going to the Tacoma Dome.”

The 3.5-mile extension from Fife to Tacoma is expected to cost about $453 million. On Thursday the transit board learned that federal grants and transit fees would generate $1.2 billion that previously hadn’t been included in revenue forecasts.

Most of the money – $960 million over 20 years – would come from federal grants. About $229 million would come from transit fares from expanded service.

Ladenburg called the estimates of additional revenue “very conservative.”

The remainder of the new money could be used to extend light-rail service north of Lynnwood in Snohomish County and from Bellevue to Redmond in King County.

Or it could be used to speed up the timeline of other projects, including the extension of light rail from Sea-Tac Airport to Tacoma.

Right now the Tacoma line isn’t expected to be finished for about 20 years.

“For the people of Tacoma and Pierce County, I want to accelerate the timetable,” said Tacoma City Councilwoman Julie Anderson, a Sound Transit board member.

But Anderson acknowledged there is immense pressure to use the extra money to extend light rail in Snohomish and King counties. Voters will have the ultimate say on whether any project gets built.

In November they’ll consider a roads and transit package that would cost the typical household about $150 a year in sales taxes, plus about $68 per typical vehicle in motor vehicle excise taxes, according to government estimates. Sound Transit is expected to finalize the mass transit portion of the ballot measure on April 26.

Another agency, the three-county Regional Transportation Investment District, is finalizing the roads portion of the plan. It includes money to extend Highway 167 from Puyallup to the Port of Tacoma, expand Highway 162 near Sumner and Orting, and build the cross-base highway from Highway 7 to Interstate 5 between Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base. - David Wickert, The Tacoma News Tribune

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TRANSIT AGENCY TO EVALUATE LIGHT-RAIL PLAN

KANSAS CITY, MO -- “There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just that some people don’t like it. They have the right to their opinion. They don’t have a right to change it.”

Clay Chastain, saying it would be out of order for the Area Transportation Authority to develop a new plan

Kansas City’s transit agency will begin a study this summer that could bring a revised light-rail plan before the same voters who approved Clay Chastain’s rail proposal last fall.

“We have a plan in front of us that has had no true analysis,” said Mark Huffer, general manager for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, which operates the Metro bus system.

The transit agency has earmarked $400,000 for the study’s first phase, which will dissect Chastain’s plan: a 27-mile route from Swope Park to Kansas City International Airport.

The Kansas City Council recently designated the ATA as the project’s “sponsor” so it can work with the federal government for funding.

The study, Huffer said, is to assemble a “reasonable, workable and defensible” light-rail plan that could be presented to voters.

“If we go back to the public and say what was voted on in ’06 was not realistic, but this plan is, I think it’s going to get a lot more scrutiny than what the original plan did,” Huffer said.

The study is required in order to secure the federal money needed for light rail.

But Chastain said it would be out of order for the ATA to develop a new plan.

The ATA’s job “is to implement the plan people voted for,” Chastain said from his home in Virginia. “Their job is not to design a new transit system and take it back to the people for a vote. They’re wasting public money and time.”

Huffer said the first phase of the study would evaluate Chastain’s plan and see how much it would cost, what kind of ridership it would attract and how it would affect congestion, the environment and poor neighborhoods.

The second phase will examine transit options within the proposed light-rail corridor and how they stack up against one another and the choice to do nothing about transit.

The overall study, which could take two years, will cost between $2.5 million and $3 million. The ATA hopes to get $2.5 million in next year’s federal budget.

Huffer suspects that parts of Chastain’s plan would not qualify for federal funding in the short term. For example, there might not be enough population density to merit running light rail to KCI.

But Chastain said his plan should not be changed just to get federal funding. He said the federal government should make an up-or-down decision on what voters approved.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just that some people don’t like it,” Chastain said. “They have the right to their opinion. They don’t have a right to change it.”

Huffer said officials also must get a better grip on how much light rail really would cost the taxpayers.

Chastain’s plan estimates the cost at $945 million for the 27 miles, or $35 million a mile, but a study done for Kansas City noted that costs elsewhere range up to $65 million a mile.

“We want to have good documentation to say why there’s a problem in that original (plan), but here’s an alternative that’s realistic,” Huffer said.

Kansas City’s legal advisers have said that the city can’t alter the plan without voter approval.
As far as Chastain is concerned, the voters have spoken.

“There was a fair campaign, and the people voiced their decision,” he said. “It’s got to be respected, and upheld and honored, not second-guessed.” - Brad Cooper, The Kansas City Star

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HAYS COUNTY WANTS IN ON AUSTIN-SAN ANTONIO COMMUTER RAIL

AUSTIN, TX -- A few times a week Texas State University sophomore Angela Salinas waits for the bus outside the LBJ Student Center in San Marcos. Salinas owns a car but chooses to ride the bus from Austin to school.

"It takes away the whole stress of dealing with gas prices and driving an hour each way," she said.

The proposed Austin-San Antonio commuter rail system will get Salinas from downtown Austin to downtown San Antonio in the same amount of time. Sid Covington is the chair of the Austin San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District, which is leading the project.

"We want to make sure that it's faster than an automobile when automobiles can actually flow up and down I-35," Covington said.

The commuter rail will travel from San Antonio to Georgetown, with 13 stops along the way. The project has been in the works since the late 90s and was launched to relieve congestion on I-35.

There are two proposed stops in Hays County - one right past the county line in Buda/Kyle and another in downtown San Marcos, near the university. Hays County Judge Liz Sumter wants a third stop at the outlet malls.

Currently, Hays County is not part of the district. Sumter said Hays would benefit from joining. The $50,000 yearly price tag gives them a voice in deciding where the rail will stop.

"The hopes of that is to bring more people to San Marcos and grow our economic center," Sumter said.

Covington said the more counties that join, the easier it will be to decide where to put stops.
Funding is still a problem but getting a train on the tracks by 2012 is still the goal.

"From an outward standpoint sometimes it doesn't look like we're doing very much. What I found is railroads work at glacial speed but we are moving very quickly in the grand scheme of things," Covington said.

Hays County will hold a series of workshops before deciding to join the Austin San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District. Comal County is the only other county impacted that has not joined. - Veronica Castelo, News8, Austin, TX

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THE END